URBAN LEGISLATORS GET MORE COMMITTEE POSTS

It probably came as no surprise to legislators in Jefferson City that most of the General Assembly's committees are headed by representatives or senators from urban areas. For the first time, a head count was made last week by the Southeast Missourian's statehouse correspondent, Jack Stapleton, who found the ratio is 2 to 1.

Missouri's urban areas, of course, are where much of the state's population is concentrated. As a result, those areas have more legislative districts per acre than rural areas.

But population estimates, which put the number of Missourians at just over 5.3 million by next year's official census, show an almost even split between rural and urban areas: 51.3 percent urban (St. Louis City, St. Louis County, Jefferson County, St. Charles County, Kansas City and Jackson County, St. Joseph and Buchanan County and Springfield and Greene County), 48.7 percent rural.

By population, the Legislature should be about evenly split between urban and rural legislators. And to draw out the numbers, it would seen an even split in the chairmanships of legislative committees would match both population and legislative districts.

But the fact is that chairmen for legislative committees are picked by House and Senate leaders, who are Democrats. There are more Democratic legislators in urban areas and more Republican legislators in rural areas.

You can probably figure out the rest for yourself.