The pandemic was not the only reason 2020 was an important year. There were many impactful political events that occurred throughout the year. However, one event was involved in creating the cornerstone of our very democracy yet receives minimal press coverage: The census. Conducted every 10 years, it is used to help redraw the districts for the House of Representatives as well as districts closer to home. 

On April 6, thousands of St. Louisans will go to the polls to vote on a new mayor, alderpersons, board of education, an unopposed Comptroller and several propositions. But this election will be memorable for an important reason, as it is the first election where St. Louisans will be using a nonpartisan approval voting system. While this is a momentous event, there are several other potential conflicts brewing in St. Louis politics, especially one related to redistricting. 

The St. Louis City-County divide is confusing enough, but it gets even more complicated when you dive deeper into the structure of the St. Louis City government. Although there are many offices in the St. Louis City government, I am going to focus on the Board of Alderman. The current structure for the Board of Alderman is 28 alderpersons and one president; but that is changing. In 2012, St. Louisans approved Proposition R, which requires the Board of Alderman to reduce their size by half after the next census. This would mean that there would be 14 alderpersons. While the new districts will go into effect for the 2023 elections, the Board of Aldermen have already started fighting downsizing. 

On January 15, 2021 the St. Louis Board of Alderman voted 15-13 in an effort to squash any chance of the public voting on redistricting.  Even though the public previously approved a measure to decrease the number board members, they refuse to acquiesce. In January of 2021, Mayor Lyda Krewson “vetoed a bill that would have asked residents to vote on the issue again in April”. This veto means that the redistricting should be proceeding according to schedule. But are the alderpersons really done pushing back? Most likely not. But there is some hope. 

One group does not intend to let the alderpersons actions go unnoticed. The Reform St. Louis Coalition, which was organized by the Show Me Integrity group, one of the groups who aided the passage of Proposition D (making mayoral elections in St. Louis City non-partisan approval voting) is countering the alderperson’s attempts with their own proposition.  For further reference, Show Me Integrity defines themselves as “a cross-partisan movement for more effective ethical government of, by, and for the people”. Their mission includes “building a strong coalition all across the state to put power back into the hands of the people.” They “believe in putting Missourians before big donors, lobbyists, and partisan politics by banning dark money, reforming elections, and ending partisan games, to give power back where it belongs-to regular people, like you and me.” Currently, they are working to gather signatures to put a proposition on the November ballot which takes the redistricting power away from the alderpersons and assigns it to an independent commission of citizens. According to the St. Louis Post Dispatch, this proposition would also push back the deadline for redistricting to May of next year. 

The newly suggested proposition also requires that alderpersons with a conflict of interest on legislation refrain from voting instead of simply disclosing a conflict. It also demands that financial disclosure statements be accessible online, changes the name of the city legislative body to the Board of Alderpersons, and prohibits former alderpersons and employees from lobbying the board for a year after their departure from the  board. Currently, the Reform St. Louis Coalition needs 30,000 more signatures by June 11 to get on the proposition on the  November ballot. 

Currently, Lewis Reed, president of the Board of Aldermen, claims that a new map could be done before voting in November, even with delays because of COVID-19.  “If the board passed new ward boundaries before the election and voters then approved turning over the assignment to a commission, it’s unclear what would happen.” 

The United States Census Bureau estimates that the population of St. Louis City was 300, 576 in 2019. Under current standards, it is 10,734 St. Louis City citizens for every alderperson. The new redistricting standards would change this to 21,469 people for every alderperson, still quite a small number. While it may not be the most immediate issue on the new mayor’s mind, it is not something she will be able to ignore.