Several residents urged the state House redistricting commission Thursday to draw a new political map that will give Boone County more clout in the state legislature.
The growing population of Columbia and surrounding Boone County, they testified at a public hearing, argues for doing away with existing state House districts that take in a portion of Boone but lie largely in outlying counties.
“This separation within districts breeds disconnect, a lack of understanding of local issues and the loss of our voice in Jefferson City,” said Lyra Noce, chair of the Boone County Democratic Committee. Noce lives in House District 50, which includes parts of Boone, Cooper, Moniteau and Cole counties.
Two bipartisan commissions, one for the House and one for the Senate, are charged with redrawing state legislative lines to reflect population changes following the 2020 Census. In addition, voter-approved changes to the Missouri Constitution last year dictate that political map makers should avoid splitting counties when they draw state House and Senate districts. That could spell big changes in Boone County’s political map.
Boone County’s population in 2020 was 183,610 people, which will give it 4.9 seats in the Missouri House of Representatives. At least four of them would be entirely within county lines, and one seat could include a portion of a neighboring county. Currently, only two House districts are completely contained in Boone County. The rest take in large swaths of neighboring counties.
Currently, three Republicans and two Democrats represent Boone County in the state House. Consolidating House districts within the borders of Boone, where Democrats routinely win countywide, could tilt the balance more toward Democrats.
Mike Campbell testified that the county’s metropolitan hub — including the University of Missouri and Columbia’s health care options — sets it apart from other counties. He said that the surrounding towns and communities in Boone County are similar enough to Columbia that they shouldn’t share representatives with more rural counties.
“The state representatives that we have in Boone County should reflect those interests,” said Campbell, a lawyer who lives in House District 47, which encompasses parts of Boone, Howard and Randolph counties. “I think the things that people in Moniteau County are concerned with would be different than what people in the booming city of Ashland would be.”
The discussion came during Thursday’s House Independent Bipartisan Citizens Commission meeting, part of a series of hearings being held across the state to gather public testimony. Campbell is hopeful that his comments will have an impact on the redistricting process.
“That’s what democracy is all about, especially with this important process,” he said, expressing appreciation for the committee’s interest and engagement.
Commission member Rick Shang said public testimony helps to inform the process, and he acknowledged the several citizens who advocated for Boone County’s state House seats to be kept inside county lines.
“I really feel that we are coming from a clean slate and are trying to take people’s input before we come to draw the maps,” Shang said. “We heard a lot of input today talking about why Boone County is growing, and it might have enough seats for five totally inside the county boundary.”
While Shang said the commission has not made any decisions yet, he said public hearings exist to provide community input that will affect the process.
The final two opportunities to give public testimony to the House Independent Bipartisan Citizens Commission are Monday in Cape Girardeau and Wednesday in Kirksville.
