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After the smoke cleared and redistricting for the Missouri Senate was finished by a nonpartisan commission of judges appointed in late 2011 by Gov. Jay Nixon, State Sen. Dan Brown, R-Rolla, was supposed to represent Phelps, Laclede, Camden and Pulaski counties.
Now, thanks to the Missouri Supreme Court tossing out the commission’s map and mandating that a new group of appellate judges that will be appointed by Gov. Nixon start from scratch, Brown said he has no idea where he may represent if reelected in November.
“It is a big, big mess,” he said. “Right now, no one knows what will happen.”
Brown said the group of people charged with the nonpartisan reapportionment as a result of the 2010 United States Census first put out a redistricting map Nov. 30, but then gave a new, revised map Dec. 9 after concerns were raised that the map split up some counties more than necessary.
The Missouri Supreme Court found that submitting a second map was unconstitutional, and then found the first map to have unnecessarily split up Greene and Jackson counties into too many districts.
The new map for Missouri’s eight congressional districts will also now be under review as a result of the Court’s ruling. The Court based this ruling on the fact that there have been complains that the new districts may not be as compact as possible.
“I was just getting used to the idea of representing Laclede and Camden Counties, and now that all may change,” Brown said.
He said it might be possible that the new commission appointed by Nixon may decide to just go with the second map that was thrown out, or they may completely re-work the districts yet again.
He said he had not yet done a lot of handshaking and traveling in Laclede and Camden counties, but he was going to start later this year and was looking forward to representing his restructured area.
“As of right now, I still represent the old District 16, which includes Montgomery, Maries, Osage, Gasconade, Phelps and Pulaski counties,” he said. “Sen. (Chuck) Purgason (R-Caulfiend), still has Camden and Laclede until the next election. I’ve been speaking with him and with other party leaders in the area, and was planning on meeting with a lot of people.”
Brown said he thinks that, at the end of the day, his district should stay fairly similar to the last map that was submitted Dec. 9, but no one can really predict anything for sure.
After the smoke cleared and redistricting for the Missouri Senate was finished by a nonpartisan commission of judges appointed in late 2011 by Gov. Jay Nixon, State Sen. Dan Brown, R-Rolla, was supposed to represent Phelps, Laclede, Camden and Pulaski counties.
Now, thanks to the Missouri Supreme Court tossing out the commission’s map and mandating that a new group of appellate judges that will be appointed by Gov. Nixon start from scratch, Brown said he has no idea where he may represent if reelected in November.
“It is a big, big mess,” he said. “Right now, no one knows what will happen.”
Brown said the group of people charged with the nonpartisan reapportionment as a result of the 2010 United States Census first put out a redistricting map Nov. 30, but then gave a new, revised map Dec. 9 after concerns were raised that the map split up some counties more than necessary.
The Missouri Supreme Court found that submitting a second map was unconstitutional, and then found the first map to have unnecessarily split up Greene and Jackson counties into too many districts.
The new map for Missouri’s eight congressional districts will also now be under review as a result of the Court’s ruling. The Court based this ruling on the fact that there have been complains that the new districts may not be as compact as possible.
“I was just getting used to the idea of representing Laclede and Camden Counties, and now that all may change,” Brown said.
He said it might be possible that the new commission appointed by Nixon may decide to just go with the second map that was thrown out, or they may completely re-work the districts yet again.
He said he had not yet done a lot of handshaking and traveling in Laclede and Camden counties, but he was going to start later this year and was looking forward to representing his restructured area.
“As of right now, I still represent the old District 16, which includes Montgomery, Maries, Osage, Gasconade, Phelps and Pulaski counties,” he said. “Sen. (Chuck) Purgason (R-Caulfiend), still has Camden and Laclede until the next election. I’ve been speaking with him and with other party leaders in the area, and was planning on meeting with a lot of people.”
Brown said he thinks that, at the end of the day, his district should stay fairly similar to the last map that was submitted Dec. 9, but no one can really predict anything for sure.
“(The commission) won’t have a lot of ways to go,” he said. “If you go too much in either direction, it will throw everything off to the east and west.”
He said at this stage in the redistricting game, he, as a state senator, has virtually no input whatsoever, but he would like for the commission to keep his new district the same.
“I hope they just leave it alone,” he said. “Regardless, a decision will have to be made soon, since filing for the primary election starts in February. If the districts aren’t set by then, we will have another mess on our hands.”
