ST. PAUL, Minn. (AP) — Gov. Mark Dayton has picked an administrative law judge to head the Minnesota Public Utilities Commission, a post left vacant when the Republican-controlled Senate rejected his original choice.

The Democratic governor on Wednesday named Judge Beverly Jones Heydinger to lead the panel that regulates electricity, natural gas and telephone utilities.

The job has been unfilled since January, when the Senate refused to confirm former Sen. Ellen Anderson as the panel’s chairwoman. The party-line vote deepened partisan rancor between the governor and GOP-led Legislature.

Heydinger’s experience includes a stint as a deputy attorney general for the state. She will start work on July 2.

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