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Tim Pugmire
St. Paul, Minn.

Dayton hires longtime Capitol insider as general counsel

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Governor-Elect Mark Dayton has hired a State Capitol insider to serve as his general counsel.

Dayton's pick for general counsel is Peter Wattson, a longtime Senate counsel and secretary of the Senate. Wattson has worked for the Minnesota Senate for four decades. Wattson is considered an expert on several legislative issues including redistricting, election law, bonding bills and finance.

In a news release, Dayton said he was delighted to have Wattson joining his office. He said Wattson's experience will serve the state well during significant fiscal challenges.

The Wattson appointment comes a week after Dayton announced his chief of staff and other inner circle hires.

The DFL governor-elect has said MnDOT commissioner Tom Sorel will continue in that post, but he has yet to name any new commissioners or agency heads.