For Roseville's John Marty, Redistricting Means A Tough Negotiation

For Sen. John Marty, the redistricting of the state legislative boundaries is unwelcome news.

The location of Marty’s Lydia Avenue home means he will share the new District 66 with Sen. Mary Jo McGuire, a fellow DFLer.

“Mary Jo McGuire, my friend and colleague, and I are both in District 66 and both want to run, and we’re talking to each other trying to resolve it because we both care about the work we’re doing,” Marty said.

He said the two lawmakers will make a decision about how to proceed in the next few days but that he would not be interested in moving to run in another district.

“It’s not the kind of situation you’d want to have happen,” Marty said. “Fairness is always in the eyes of the beholder, and I wish it hadn’t come down this way, but that’s the way it has. The courts are going to do what they think is appropriate, and that’s the way the ball bounces.”

Marty was first elected to the Minnesota Lgislature in 1986 and was the DFL candidate for governor in 1994.

“Every time there’s redistricting, 40, 50, 60 percent of my district disappears, and I get new territory,” he said. “I love representing the people I’ve been representing, and I’ll be picking up some new people here, but [District 66] is the area I’d like to represent.”