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County redistricting commission decides failure is the best option

This article first appeared in the St. Louis Beacon, Nov. 23, 2011 - Two days before the deadline, the 14-person bipartisan commission charged with redrawing the boundary lines for St. Louis County's seven council districts spent two hours in civil debate Tuesday night before agreeing to disagree.

As a result, the job is tossed to a federal judge -- as has been the practice in the county for the past 30 years.

The commission's failure was not unexpected, particularly since its leaders had cancelled several recent meetings. But behind-the-scenes talks and map-drawing had been continuing as both sides sought to cut a deal by the Thanksgiving deadline set by the county's charter.

The panel, made up of equal numbers of Democrats and Republicans, needed nine votes to approve a new map reflecting population changes documented during the 2010 census.

At Tuesday night's session, neither the GOP nor the Democratic map could muster more than six votes. (Each side had one commissioner absent for the final meeting.)

The panel also split 6-6 on a vote on whether to hold a last-ditch session on Wednesday, with Republicans favoring the idea and Democrats opposing it. The tie vote meant no more meetings.

Democrat Butch Miller, one of the bipartisan co-chairs, said his side wasn't opposed to another meeting, but didn't want to simply waste time when the outcome was obvious.

Republican Allen Icet, the other co-chair, concurred before the series of votes began that a deal was "very doubtful." But he and other Republicans still sought a final try today, he added.

Icet faulted the commission's failure on Democratic unwillingness to compromise.

Miller blamed "two competing philosophies," saying his side had started from a "neutral position'' while Republicans had started with highly partisan boundary proposals.

Miller contended that the commission's seven Republicans were seeking to make the 2nd and 5th Districts -- now swing political territory -- more GOP-leaning.

Icet asserted that Democrats were trying to avoid the impossible, by keeping some districts currently held by Democrats -- notably the 2nd and the 5th -- from taking in more Republican territory in the western part of the county.

The map proposed by the panel's Democrats made only minor changes to the districts to account for population shifts since the last remap in 2001. The Democrats did not, however, want to do any major overhaul, saying that wasn't warranted.

The initial Republican map proposed more dramatic boundary changes. Icet said a key aim had been to curb the current practice of splitting municipalities among two or more county districts.

Miller said that Republicans were really trying to change boundaries primarily to improve their overall council status: Republicans now hold only the 3rd and 7th district seats.

Councilman Pat Dolan, D-Richmond Heights, represents the 5th District. He was the only councilman present for Tuesday's session, and said he showed up out of concern of some last-minute deal that might give him more Republican territory.

Now, both parties -- and the seven council members -- will have to go along with whatever boundaries are drawn by a judge.

Miller and Icet said they hoped the final versions of the dueling Republican and Democratic maps might offer some guidance. And they shook hands on their way out.

Jo Mannies is a freelance journalist and former political reporter at St. Louis Public Radio.