![Senator Jeff Hayden, DFL-Minneapolis, member of the State and Local Government committee, defended new Met Council Chair Adam Duininck. ] GLEN STUBBE * gstubbe@startribune.com Monday, April 27, 2015 Cost overruns that put the Southwest metro light-rail line at nearly $2 billion are threatening the project and putting new Met Council Chair Adam Duininck in the hot seat. Duininck's confirmation hearing, coincidentally set for today](https://arc.stimg.co/startribunemedia/O5WILU5RA3Q2A7MI6F47QC77OI.jpg?&w=1080)
A fundraiser held early this year is expected to help pay for the legal expenses of embattled state Sen. Jeff Hayden as the Minneapolis DFLer faces ethics complaints in the Minnesota Senate.
The fundraiser, hosted by Senate Majority Leader Tom Bakk, DFL-Cook, was in January, a spokeswoman for Bakk confirmed Tuesday.
"I don't know that [the fundraiser] was explicitly for a singular purpose," said spokeswoman Alyssa Siems Roberson, adding that "it was no secret that Jeff [Hayden] would have had legal bills, since there was an ethics charge."
Hayden has drawn political and legal scrutiny for his board member duties for the now-shuttered nonprofit, Community Action of Minneapolis. The organization's leaders allegedly misspent hundreds of thousands of taxpayer dollars.
In September, a federal grand jury indicted Community Action's former director, Bill Davis, who has been accused of theft and fraud for allegedly misusing $250,000 in taxpayer money.
A court-appointed receiver is also determining just how much money is owed by Community Action, which was largely funded through state taxpayer grants. In a court document, the court-appointed receiver identified roughly $3,400 in "improper" travel expenses paid to Hayden and his wife.
Hayden declined to say how much his legal fees have been since Senate Republicans last year lodged an ethics complaint against him. Senate Minority Leader David Hann, R-Eden Prairie, in October asked a Senate ethics committee to revisit the charges, after they were tabled while state investigations continued.
Roberson said the hosting of fundraisers for senators' campaigns is the responsibility of the Senate majority leader and not unusual. Before January, Bakk's last fundraiser for Hayden was in January 2012.
