Last spring a long-time south county Democrat gave me a call, asking if the party could submit my name as a potential commissioner for the redrawing of county council lines. I agreed.
I missed the first cut. I became the Sixth District Democrat commissioner when the county executive’s original choice, Jean Pretto, realized that as an elected Mehlville School Board member she was ineligible to serve.
So, in August during a ceremonial organizational meeting in the county council chamber in Clayton, I took my oath and posed for the group picture.
That picture tells a story: all the Democrats wore face masks, as required by the rules of the county and as posted in the building. None of the Republicans wore a mask. Not that evening, not in any later meetings. They pick which rules they follow. (More on that later.)
We soon learned that two of the seven Republicans held public office, one an alderwoman, another a Special School District board member. Unlike Jean, they choose to not follow the rules and for weeks into months refused to resign. The GOP members claimed that since they were sworn-in they get to serve, eligible or not.
The alderwoman eventually left but the school board member held his ground until a judge (at county prosecutor Wesley Bell’s request) removed him from office.
All that rigmarole stole precious time from the commission. Our official letter from the county executive’s office stated we had to submit a map by early December. One of the first actions by the Republicans in November, when we finally got to meet, was to challenge that date. By their reckoning the commission’s deadline must be November 28, 2021. In the spirit of cooperation, all the Democrats agreed to finish our work by that date.
Now, we Democrats proposed three public meetings at three libraries about the county – Grantwood Village (near Sunset Hills), Florissant, and, Ellisville. Alas, the county staff explained that even though the libraries all had excellent wifi the county lacked the technology to host WebEx sessions from remote locations. (I suggested hiring a couple of 17 year olds to solve the tech issues, but…). The fallback? Public meetings at the county council chamber in Clayton on three Monday evenings in a row.
We had the meetings. We never had more than a dozen people in the audience, including the requisite security folks. In all, including a couple of people who spoke at multiple meetings, we received fewer than 10 comments in the chamber. We did gain a couple over WebEx. And, we accepted written comments, gaining a bit more input.
For example, a woman living in that sliver of Florissant south of I-270 asked that her area – long in a separate county council district from the rest of the town – be included in the same district.
A couple of the other written comments were downright nasty, such as:
The politically motivated gerrymandering, which the Democrats…are attempting, is racism at its ugliest…Hopefully this situation can be rectified but with crooks like John Bowman in charge, I’m not holding my breath.”
Christine Hessel, Republican Committeewoman, Tesson Ferry Township.
By the way, John is a former state legislator, as well as being a union official and local NAACP officer. He is also poised and very respectful even when being attacked and insulted – making him the perfect person to co-chair a politically charged commission. (We had co-chairs because the Republicans refused to accept a traditional chair, just as we wound up with co-secretaries.)
What the Republicans called gerrymandering we called common sense.
You see, council member Tim Fitch, during his term, moved from Fenton to a condo less than 80 yards from the northern limit of his district. As Sarah Palin could see Russia from her window, Tim Fitch could see the neighboring district.
Those of us who follow population trends in the county knew from previous reports, such as the census bureau’s several annual American Community Surveys, that the population of St. Louis County was migrating. People were leaving the northeast corner of the county while the numbers in the west and southwest were increasing. The county tracks this information as well. And, as a council member Fitch ought to have realized that the district lines would need to shift.
From the outset the Democrats on the commission favored keeping communities of interest together. That meant a strong preference for not splitting municipalities into two – or three – council districts. Our preliminary map kept each of the 88 munis in just one district each, including Chesterfield, Florissant, University City and other large towns.
The Republicans wanted the fewest possible changes to the existing map as feasible, maintaining all sorts of splits. For example, their map cut-off Meacham Park from the rest of Kirkwood and sliced up at least as many communities as the prior map.
After seeing our map one of the Republican commissioners (Jennifer Byrd, who at times wore a face mask as a bonnet) damned us for “identity politics.” Again, their mantra was clean lines and minimal change – except for council member Tim Fitch.
A couple of things to remember:
- Our new map would govern district effective January 1, 2023.
- Tim Fitch’s current term ends December 31, 2022.
Three other council members also end their terms the same day as Fitch. It seems Fitch wants to run for reelection in “his” district.
So, by demanding – in person and by WebExed in testimony – that his address be saved, Fitch wanted the bipartisan commission to set a precedent: any council member could dictate district lines merely by saying they planned to run for reelection. So, Fitch could say he plans to be on the council till his 95th Birthday, and, future redistricting commissions would be required to zigzag the lines to accommodate him. Eventually, every council member would get to choose their constituents that way.
He Democratic position is that voters get to choose their council members.
There was a brief moment at the end of the commission’s November 15 meeting when it appeared, after looking at the working maps from the Democrats and the Republicans, that a compromise map could be possible. A working group of “Ds” and “Rs” even met the day before the last scheduled meeting.
Here’s the interesting part. The Republicans claimed at the November 22 meeting that the Democrats had agreed to a compromise map. All three Democrats there told me that there was progress but no agreement due to the Fitch appendage to one district and other unresolved issues with several parts of the map.
Remember in the movie Casablanca where the French police official says he astounded to learn that there is gambling at Ricks – then the croupier hands him his gambling winnings?
Yeah, it was that kind of moment.
In the end, the Democrats gave seven votes to our latest map – which kept 79 of 88 municipalities within one district. The Republicans gave their seven votes to the map they proposed at the first November meeting, squishing African Americans into as few districts as possible, slicing up municipalities like salami and, of course, saving Tim Fitch.
The St. Louis County Council Bipartisan Reapportionment Commission, therefore – as had happened with the prior four commissions – could not gain the required nine votes to enact new district lines. The matter now goes to court.
Oh, I met several new people and enjoyed the camaraderie with my fellow Democratic commissioners. I got to use my brand of people skills a few times in the hearings. So, in all, it was another learning experience.
I hope I don’t have to do it again.
Glenn Koenen
Map Image source: St. Louis County GIS web site.