Legislators released a fourth draft of the city’s proposed ward map Tuesday, which included just a few changes from last week’s map.
“I would like to thank everyone who has weighed in thus far on this map and ask everyone to continue to share their feedback and stay engaged in this process.” —Aldermanic President Lewis Reed
The redistricting process occurs every 10 years following the release of new census data. In this year’s process, the legislators must cut the number of wards in half from 28 to 14 because St. Louis voters passed a ward reduction plan in 2012.
Aldermanic President Lewis Reed emphasized the changes made to create this fourth draft were “directly from requests of the public.” Local activists recently criticized the committee for lack of transparency and public involvement.
“We are nearing a final map,” he said in a prepared statement. “ … I would like to thank everyone who has weighed in thus far on this map and ask everyone to continue to share their feedback and stay engaged in this process.”
In the fourth draft, the committee drew Ward H to encompass the entirety of the Tower Grove East neighborhood, rather than splitting the neighborhood up between wards H and I like it had been previously.
Because of that shift, the Compton Heights neighborhood was drawn into Ward I to keep ward populations within appropriate deviations, within 5% of 21,541 people per ward. This version of the map also moves Wilmore Park from Ward K to Ward M.
All drafts released by legislators have included seven Black-majority wards and seven white-majority wards.
The Legislation Committee expects to vote a final map out of committee Thursday and move it to the full Board of Aldermen for two additional full-board votes before final passage.
reed said the goal is to have the map fully passed by Dec. 3. Legally, the board has until Dec. 31 to finalize and pass a new ward map.
However, city voters will vote April 5 on Proposition R, which, if passed, may shift this year’s redistricting task from the Board of Aldermen to an independent citizen redistricting commission.
It remains unclear what would happen if Proposition R passes. Supporters of the measure argue the redistricting committee would draw this new ward map regardless of what the Board of Aldermen passes in December, stretching the process into 2022. Detractors, including Reed, say this proposition would take effect in the next redistricting process in 2030.
Proposition R also includes a host of other reforms, such as decreasing the influence of big money by stopping aldermanic conflicts of interest; preventing the Board of Aldermen from overriding the will of voters; and ensuring the public knows if an alderman has a personal conflict of interest in something they are voting on.
The public can access additional information and an interactive map of the current ward draft at stlouis-mo.gov/aldermen/redistricting.
