EDITORIAL: Proposed state Senate map seems reasonable

Mar. 16—At first glance, the proposed map of Missouri's redrawn state Senate districts makes some reasonable compromises.

This map was put together by the Judicial Redistricting Commission and was formally submitted to the secretary of state's office Tuesday.

It succeeds in keeping Jasper and Newton counties — the Joplin metro area — together. Right now, that senate district, No. 32, is represented by Bill White, and also includes Dade County. White, by the way, has filed for the seat again.

Under the new map, Dade County would shift to another district that would include Barton County, rural parts of Greene County and Webster County.

That also seems like a good bit because right now, Barton County and even the far northern edge of Jasper County are part of District 31, which includes Vernon, Bates and Cass counties.

Barton and Dade counties are likely to be dominated by Greene County; that area is now represented in the Missouri Senate by Eric Burlison, who is running for Congress, seeking Billy's Long's seat in the U.S. House.

One other change for the region is in the 29th Senate District, represented by state Sen. Mike Moon. It now consists of Lawrence, McDonald, Barry, Stone and Taney counties. It would lose Stone and Taney counties but would pick up Christian County. Moon, by the way, has announced plans to run for Congress, also chasing Long's 7th District seat.

We're not sure how well McDonald County, which is tied to and heavily invested in fast-growing Northwest Arkansas, fits with Christian County, which includes Nixa and Ozark, and which is tied to Springfield.

"The Judicial Redistricting Commission's work has been thorough and labor intensive, and was purposefully undertaken with the goal to file a constitutionally compliant plan and map well in advance of the commission's constitutional deadline to avoid disenfranchising voters given the candidate filing deadline and the deadline for preparing ballots," Western District Appeals Court Judge Cynthia L. Martin, who chaired the commission, said, according to the Missouri Independent.

Candidates have until March 29 to file.

A couple of truths about redistricting: There is no way to keep politics out of the process, and there is no solution that will satisfy everyone. Some will be happy, others won't.

On the whole, this looks like a map Southwest Missouri can live with.