NEW SENATE MAP WINS SUPPORT

Perry and Madison counties have been added to the 27th Senatorial District of retiring Sen. John Dennis under a Missouri Senate redistricting plan tentatively approved by a panel of six state appeals court judges.

The plan also shifts New Madrid County from the present 27th District to the 25th District of Sen. Jerry Howard, D-Dexter.

Approval of the new map will ignite a flurry of activity among nearly a dozen potential Democratic and Republican candidates contemplating whether to try to succeed Dennis in the Senate.

No candidates have formally announced their intentions, and those interested in the seat have indicated they would make no decisions until final boundary lines were known.

Under the plan, the 27th district would also include the counties of Cape Girardeau, Bollinger, Scott and Mississippi.

The 25th district would gain Wayne County, in addition to New Madrid, and retain the counties of Dunklin, Pemiscot, Butler, and Stoddard.

Howard, who won his seat in a special election last December, said he wasn't surprised by the district given him and that he thought he could run well in the two new counties. Howard was elected state representative from a district that included Wayne County in 1972 and 1974.

Ripley and Carter Counties, now in the 25th district, shift to the 20th district of Sen. Danny Staples, D-Eminence. Staples' district presently includes Madison, Perry and Wayne Counties.

Ralph Ford, chairman of the Cape County and 27th district Republican committees, said he isn't sure of the numbers but expects the new district to be more favorable to Republicans than the present one.

"I think we would have a little better chance because we are adding some more Republican territory and losing some area that is solidly Democratic," he said.

Todd McBride, county and district Democratic chairman said: "We feel good about winning in the new district.

"Naturally we hate to lose New Madrid County because of its Democratic tradition, but Madison often votes Democratic and Perry County is considered heavily Republican, but has a Democratic state representative and sheriff.

"I think the people in those counties are bright, intelligent people and will vote for the best qualified person the one that will represent this area the best."

The task Senate redistricting fell to the judges because a 10-member bi-partisan citizen commission was unable to complete the job.

A plan the deadlocked commission left on the table included the 27th district boundaries that were approved by the judges.

That plan also had Staples and Sen. Mike Lybyer, D-Texas County, in the same district, while the judicial plan leaves Staples in a district of his own.

Lybyer now has a new district that includes Gasconade County, the home of Sen. Jeff Schaeperkoetter. Lybyer's present term won't expire until after the 1994 election, while Schaeperkoetter's term expires in 1992, which means he'll have no district to run in next year unless he moves.

Staples' district also will include the counties of Shannon, Oregon, Reynolds, Iron, St. Francois, Ste. Genevieve, and the southern part of Jefferson County.

Democrats presently hold a 23-11 edge in the Senate, but President Pro Tem James Mathewson, D-Sedalia, charged Wednesday that the judges had drawn a map that eventually will lead to Republican control of the chamber.

The new map puts three pairs of Democrats and one pair of Republicans against each other in the same district, and provides four new districts where there will be no incumbent senators.

Sen. Bob Johnson, R-Lee's Summit, disagreed with Mathewson and said that while the new map is likely to increase GOP seats, "I don't see this as a windfall."

Senators sharing a district will be: Norman Merrell, D-Monticello, and Steve Danner, D-Kirksville; Danner's mother, Pat Danner, D-Smithville, and Ed Quick, D-Kansas City; Franc Flotron, R-St. Louis, and Tom McCarthy, R-Chesterfield; and Lybyer and Schaeperkoetter.

New odd-numbered districts will take effect after the 1992 elections, while new even-numbered districts will take effect after the 1994 elections.