Ysursa lawsuit back in court
BOISE - A lawsuit to force a group touting public schools chief Tom Luna's education overhaul to reveal its still-secret financiers was returned to state court after Secretary of State Ben Ysursa argued a ploy to move the matter to federal court was a desperate delay tactic.
The nonprofit group, Education Voters of Idaho, sought the venue shift late Thursday, to help it fight Ysursa's demands that donors of $200,000 to broadcast campaign ads be identified before voters weigh in Nov. 6 on whether Luna's education changes survive.
Just after noon Friday, Ysursa's attorney and the group's lawyer, Christ Troupis, filed papers agreeing to contest the lawsuit in 4th District Court.
Still, a hearing on Ysursa's complaint - originally set for Friday at 1:30 p.m. - was postponed. That's because Troupis demanded that 4th District Court Judge Deborah Bail be removed from the case. A new judge now must be assigned.
Despite Bail's removal, Ysursa's office remains hopeful a hearing on the disclosure matter can be rescheduled as soon as possible with a new judge.
"We'd love it if it was held this afternoon," deputy secretary of state Tim Hurst told The Associated Press. "It's still our goal and our hope that we'll get pre-election disclosure."
In promoting the shift to U.S. District Court, Troupis argued EVI, a nonprofit 501(c)4 group, has the constitutional right to conceal its donors' identities to protect their First Amendment free-speech rights.
Troupis didn't return a phone call Friday seeking comment on why he jettisoned Bail from the case - or why he so quickly agreed to return to the Ada County Courthouse to contest matters.
That's something Ysursa demanded, on grounds the shift to federal court was a desperate gambit simply to buy time for Education Voters of Idaho to continue to hide donor identities until after voters cast their Nov. 6 ballots.
It was "an eleventh-hour attempt to prevent application of State law to require disclosure of their campaign contributors before the conclusion of the general election, now only eleven days away," wrote Ysursa's lawyer, deputy Idaho attorney general Michael Gilmore.
Luna's education changes limit union bargaining power, promote teacher merit pay, and require online classes and student laptop computers - if they survive the polls in less than two weeks.
In challenging Education Voters of Idaho's secrecy, Ysursa is taking on a cadre of powerful Idaho political players.
The group's leaders include Phil Reberger, chief of staff to former Gov. Dirk Kempthorne, and Debbie Field, Gov. C.L. "Butch" Otter's campaign manager. Reberger hasn't returned phone calls seeking comment; Field has declined to comment, citing the lawsuit.