BOOTHEEL MIGHT LOSE SEAT

CAPE GIRARDEAU - When Missouri House districts are re-drawn later this year, the Bootheel likely will lose one seat because of population losses.

Nearly all of the current legislative districts in the area have lost population based on 1990 census figures. The population losses appear even greater when compared with the ideally-sized district of 31,393 residents.

The seven present House districts in Southeast Missouri south of Cape Girardeau County are in total about 23,000 people below ideal size, or a little over two-thirds of a district.

A redistricting commission made up of nine Democrats and nine Republicans held an organizational meeting in Jefferson City Monday. Thirteen members of the commission must approve any plan before it takes effect.

There is some slight flexibility in meeting the population target. Districts must be contiguous and compact to make the geographic size as small as possible. The commission cannot divide townships and, whenever possible, it avoids placing two representatives in the same district. Seniority is often a factor in making final boundary decisions.

Representatives will be given an opportunity to submit a suggested plan for their district, but, as Rep. Larry Thomason, D-Kennett, said, those suggestions won't mean a lot when the commission begins looking at the statewide picture.

Said Thomason: "Everybody up here is interested in redistricting, and at this point each individual has their own idea of what is ideal. But there is so much involved in making the final decisions that at some point all these ideas have to meld, and there must be a whole lot of compromise. We're not even to the point of talking compromise yet."

Because of where their present districts are situated and the population losses experienced in their districts and adjoining ones, either Rep. Ollie Amick, D-Scott City, or Rep. Opal Parks, D-Caruthersville, could wind up in a district with another incumbent.

Parks' 162nd District is 5,223 people from the ideal size while Amick's 160th District is 2,648 shy of ideal size.

In between those districts is the 161st, represented by Gene Copeland, D-New Madrid, who is 5,478 short. Copeland, by virtue of his seniority, may have considerable input in how his new district looks. He will have to make up much of his population loss by moving into either Parks' or Amick's districts.

Copeland said he believes seniority will be a factor in redistricting all over the state, regardless of party affiliation.

"Let's face it: I've been here 31 years and there are both Republicans and Democrats on the commission I have known for years," said Copeland. "I would hope they would look at me with a good eye."

Copeland said he doesn't care which direction he moves as long as New Madrid County is kept intact in his district.

"We're more than half a district short in Southeast Missouri so somebody's going to be in trouble," said Copeland.

Amick, serving his second term, has north Scott County and most of Mississippi County while Parks, in her third term, has most of Pemiscot County and a portion of Dunklin.

If Amick were to lose all or part of Mississippi County, he would have problems making up the lost population because the rest of Scott County is represented by Dennis Ziegenhorn, D-Sikeston, whose 157th District is 3,207 residents short.

Ziegenhorn, serving his sixth term, also represents Advance and Bell City in Stoddard County, which may be moved to the 156th District of Rep. Marilyn Williams, D-Dexter, which is 1,401 voters short of ideal. Since Ziegenhorn could not easily be moved south into New Madrid County his district would probably shift north to include more of Scott County.

Amick cannot go north because Cape County, with 61,633 residents, probably will be large enough to maintain its two legislative districts.

Parks can't take much more of Dunklin County because Thomason needs to make up 3,931 people in his 163rd District. Thomason can't go south because of the state line.

In the 155th District, Rep. Mark Richardson, R-Poplar Bluff, needs 1,502 more people to make the district ideal size. He likely will get a larger share of the 38,765 Butler County residents. Doing that would probably force Thomason to give up the part of his district in Butler County, thus putting an even greater squeeze on the Bootheel.

Rep. Joe Driskill, D-Doniphan, serving his fifth term from the 154th District, also has a small part of Butler County as well as Ripley, Wayne and a small part of Oregon. His district now is 417 over the ideal size.

To the north, the 153rd District held by freshman Republican Jim Graham of Fredericktown has grown to 2,452 above the ideal size. But Rep. Herb Fallert, D-Ste. Genevieve, serving his fifth term, has lost 1,337 people from his 152nd District and will have to make that up somewhere. Fallert's district includes Perry County and most of Ste. Genevieve.

In Cape County, Rep. Mary Kasten, R-Cape Girardeau, serving her fifth term, is 2,075 under what the 159th District should be; Rep. David Schwab, R-Jackson, is 922 people over the desired size in his 158th District.

Kasten represents most of the city of Cape Girardeau except for the area south of Bloomfield Road and Morgan Oak. Under the new plan she would likely expand into the southern end of Cape Girardeau.

Both Amick and Parks, who sit together on the House floor, admitted one of them could be left out by the redistricting process.

"I know there's got to be some movement," said Amick. "Hopefully there will be enough area somewhere so we can keep our same number of districts."

Parks said: "I would be less than truthful if I said I was not concerned. He's (Amick's) concerned, I'm concerned, but so are all the other legislators."

She said all legislators are trying to protect their areas this year but the final word rests with the commission. Parks said she is confident the commission "will be committed to fairness and honesty" in drawing up its plan.

"They've got to do a job," said Amick. "If they eliminate me I'll understand. I won't be mad ... but I won't like it."