St. Louis Post-Dispatch: “Messenger: St. Louisans have message for aldermen on new ward maps: There is a better way”

“This fall, a group called Show Me Integrity, turned in enough signatures to force an April 2022 vote on Proposition R, which would take the redistricting process from the Board of Aldermen and place it with an independent commission.

Make no mistake, when residents try to take the power of determining political boundaries away from incumbents, whether Republicans in out-state Missouri or Democrats in the city of St. Louis, the politicians will fight hard to hold on to their power.

Balancing the various constitutional elements of redistricting, from population to diversity, to the compactness of neighborhoods, is no easy task. But there is a better way. Many states and cities have adopted processes that allow experts and nonpartisan appointees to draw maps every 10 years with significantly less political influence than the process that is taking place in the city of St. Louis. Voters next April will have a chance to reform the process that so many citizens are being shut out from this time around.

‘Let an independent commission draw the lines,” [Prop R supporter and resident of the Forest Park Southeast neighborhood Michael] Browning said the other night. “The people of this city deserve it.’”

Read the full story on its original platform here.