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Missouri’s population isn’t keeping pace with the rest of the country, and as a result, the state lost one of its congressional seats.
“The population didn’t grow as planned,” District 40 State Rep. John Rizzo told Northeast News.
Both the Senate and House Redistricting Commissioners are continuing to discuss possible redistricting boundaries, but haven’t agreed on a map yet, Rizzo said.
Every 10 years, states are required to redraw their legislative and congressional district lines according to population and demographics.
The latest proposed map moves the Pendleton Heights neighborhood into the 41st District and draws the 40th District lines into North Kansas City, stopping at Independence Avenue, and moving across the Missouri River through North Kansas City and back down into Historic Northeast, Rizzo said.
“The office I currently hold has been the voice of Northeast for decades and it’s important we don’t start cutting it up like a puzzle because at that point the voice of the people of Northeast falls on deaf ears, I think,” Rizzo said. “As long as we get Pendleton Heights back into the (40th District) map, which I believe we will, it should be a pretty similar district to what we’ve known for quite a while.
“It’s going to take in more people in the southeast part of the district and will extend a little further southeast, but the primary Northeast area between the Avenue and the river will stay together.”
One advantage for Northeast is its natural boundaries, which include the Missouri River, I-435 and the Kansas border, Rizzo said. Natural boundaries help to ensure a district will stay together and not be divided, he said.
If the Senate and House Redistricting Commissioners don’t reach a consensus soon, proposed maps will be sent to the Chief Justice of the Missouri Supreme Court, who will appoint a six-member board from among the state appellate court judges to choose a final plan.
Rizzo said the state should have final maps by the second week in September.
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