Judges vow unbiased redistricting plan

COLUMBIA, Mo. -- The judges who will decide the configuration of state legislative districts that will be used for the next 10 years vowed on Thursday to do so in an impartial and politically unbiased manner.

The six-member panel consisting of members of the Missouri Court of Appeals met for the first of four public hearings to gather input on drawing new boundaries for Missouri's 34 Senate seats and 163 districts in the House of Representatives. The judges, appointed by the state Supreme Court, take over for two bipartisan redistricting commissions that were unable to overcome political squabbling and reach consensus.

"The paramount consideration is fairness," said Judge Robert Ulrich of the Court of Appeals Western District in Kansas City. Ulrich is chairman of the panel.

Since redistricting can influence which political party controls the General Assembly, it tends to be a politically charged process.

Ulrich said the judges, three of whom were appointed to the bench by Republican governors and three by Democrats, aren't feeling any political pressure.

"The only pressure is the deadline to get it done," Ulrich said. "We left party connections behind a long time ago when we assumed the bench."

The judges are constitutionally required to submit new district maps to the secretary of state on or before Dec. 27. Ulrich said the judges' decisions will be final and cannot be appealed.

Legislative districts must be redrawn following every U.S. Census to reestablish districts with nearly equal populations.

The hearings are open to the public and anyone may submit written proposals to the judges. The two major political parties are expected to file legal briefs outlining their positions, but the panel declined requests that the parties be allowed to orally defend any such briefs.

After the public hearings are concluded, the judges will conduct the remainder of the process in private.

The work, including previously rejected maps, of the bipartisan commissions, will also be re-examined.

Robert Heggie, an attorney for the Missouri Democratic Party, urged the judges to begin with a clean slate.

"We believe sole reliance on the failed efforts of those commissions would be misplaced," Heggie said. "You should undertake this process with a fresh start."

State Sen. David Klindt, R-Bethany, submitted the only new proposal offered Thursday. Klindt was chairman of the Senate committee that handled the Legislature's successful congressional redistricting effort last spring.

'Minimum change' plan

Klindt's proposal, dubbed the "minimum change" plan, aimed to keep Senate districts as close as possible to their current configurations. The plan was endorsed by all 18-members of the Senate Republican Caucus.

"This map is not the most partisan map we could have dreamed up," Klindt said.

Klindt didn't have a political analysis showing the past political performance of the proposed district.

Southeast Missouri's three Senate districts would change little under the proposal.

The 27th District served by Senate President Pro Tem Peter Kinder, R-Cape Girardeau, wouldn't change at all. It would still consist of Bollinger, Cape Girardeau, Madison, Mississippi, Perry and Scott counties.

The 25th District of state Sen. Bill Foster, R-Poplar Bluff, would keep all of its current territory -- Butler, Dunklin, New Madrid, Stoddard and Wayne counties. It would add Ripley County, currently served by state Sen. Danny Staples, D-Eminence.

Staples' 20th District would also lose Oregon County to an Ozarks-based district while adding Washington County to the north. Carter, Iron, Ripley, Shannon, Ste. Genevieve and St. Francois counties plus southern Jefferson County would remain in the district.

No new proposals were offered for the House.

The remaining public hearings will be held Oct. 25 in St. Louis, Nov. 1 in Kansas City and Nov. 8 in Springfield. Just as when the bipartisan commissions held hearings, there will be none in Southeast Missouri. Ulrich said the judges wanted to focus on the state's most populous cities to give more people the opportunity to attend.

mpowers@semissourian.com

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