General Assembly overrides Nixon's congressional redistricting veto

The months-long political process of redrawing Missouri's congressional districts is finally over after legislators in the Missouri General Assembly voted to override the governor's veto of the redistricting proposal Wednesday.

In the House, four black Democrats, two from St. Louis and two from Kansas City, joined every Republican in approving the override in a 109-44 vote that then sent the bill to the Senate. House Republicans needed to pick up at least four Democrats to reach the two-thirds majority they needed to override Nixon's veto.

Rep. Michael Brown, D-Kansas City, who voted with the Republicans, said he was concerned with the response from his party but said he voted to override the veto to protect his congressman -- black Democratic U.S. Rep. Emanuel Cleaver.

"From the western side of the state, my congressman was signaling that this might be a map that he could work with and that if it went to the courts he may not get the kind of map that was suitable for him," Brown said.

Democratic Floor Leader Rep. Mike Talboy, D-Jackson County, said the map was designed by Republicans to target Carnahan and blamed the result on a "partisan redistricting process."

"You have folks who got calls because in the end people needed to defend their own districts and make sure those things are taken care of," Talboy said. "The question becomes, and this is why people are upset, are you going to vote as a Democrat to keep Democrats in Congress or are you going to vote to let somebody be eliminated and have less Democrats in the state and have a 6-2 map."

Rep. Tishaura Jones, D-St. Louis City, said she voted against the override to defend Carnahan and keep his seat from getting eliminated.

"I'm one of few African-Americans in this assembly that is represented by Carnahan ... so I'm here to stand up for my congressman who is getting drawn out of this map," Jones said. "I think that Missouri is a state where people should have a fighting chance, and this map does not give my congressman a fighting chance."

Rep. Jamilah Nasheed, D-St. Louis City, said the four Democratic votes, all of which came from black members of the caucus, should come as a sign that black Democrats deserve more recognition from their party. Nasheed's district is represented by the other black Democratic U.S. representative, Lacy Clay.

"For years, African-Americans have been taken for granted within the Democratic party, and at some point African-Americans should understand that their vote counts and they deserve more from the Democratic party," Nasheed said. "At the end of the day we are in lock-step with them, we vote 99.9 percent Democrat, but there is no return on the vote."

Both Brown and Nasheed said that their caucus did not have enough members to afford kicking out any member. Brown also said the Democratic party might have to adjust to more conservative members, just as Republicans had to deal with the emergence of the tea party.

Talboy said the party is going to discuss how the four defecting Democrats voted and the potential consequences of their actions. One of these consequences could result Democratic members being forced out of their caucus.

"If anything is decided one way or the other, if we think it needs to be discussed outside the family, then we will do so at that time, but for now all of those discussions will stay inside of the family because, quite frankly, it is an emotional issue and people have opinions about it," Talboy said. "I can't speak for all my caucus members and what's in their head right now, but we will have a discussion."

Speaker of the House Steve Tilley, R-Perryville, said the Democratic caucus should be embarrassed for discussing the possibility of kicking out members for voting against the party.

"There's no one vote that I would kick any member of our caucus out of our caucus. ... In our caucus, when we disagree, we disagree and we don't ostracize people because we disagree with them," Tilley said. "If they continue to behave like that, the Republican caucus is only going to grow larger."

House Redistricting Committee Chairman John Diehl, R-St. Louis County, said the map was compact and "adequately represents all Missourians," a sentiment that he has stated repeatedly in the past.

In the afternoon, the Senate followed the House's example and, without debate, overrode the veto in a 28-6 vote. One Republican senator, Bill Stouffer, R-Napton, voted with five Democrats against the veto override. Stouffer has been against the redistricting proposals throughout the process because the maps place his and two other rural counties in the Fifth District with a part of urban Kansas City.

The chambers sent Gov. Jay Nixon the finalized conference maps on April 27, and he vetoed the bill on April 30.

Nixon was unavailable for comment, but released a statement on the override. In the statement, Nixon said he still does "not believe this map reflects a fair representation of the interests for all regions of our state." He continued, "Now that the map is finalized, we expect a robust electoral process in these significantly altered districts."

Last week, members of both chambers formed the conference map, which eliminates the St. Louis district held by Democratic U.S. Rep. Russ Carnahan, following a contentious debate over the proposed district lines that split the Republican party and stalled the legislation for weeks.

Carnahan's office released a statement about the override of the redistricting plan that eliminates his congressional seat.

"This is a bad day for the people of Missouri," the statement said. "Families and businesses across this state are facing the prospect of weaker representation and divided communities, all in the name of a partisan power-grab."

The General Assembly's override of Nixon's veto was the first since 2003 and only its 23rd override in the legislature's 191-year history.

The original plans proposed by both chambers split Jackson and St. Charles counties between two different districts, while dividing Jefferson County among three. The final conference map plan puts a larger chunk of St. Charles County in one congressional district. The map also splits Jefferson County into three different congressional districts. Although splits among Senate Republicans stemmed from the rural versus urban issue, opposition between the House and Senate came from a dispute over the St. Charles and Jefferson County area.

The General Assembly was required to lower the state's congressional districts from nine to eight after 2010 census results revealed the state's population did not grow as quickly when compared to other states. The new congressional districts will be implemented starting with the 2012 elections.

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Education reform supporters look to expand charter schools

Chris Howard is 18-years-old and homeless. His stepfather has shot and stabbed him, in addition to other abuses in the past. Howard lives at Youth In Need, a homeless shelter in St. Charles. He became a student at Shearwater High School in March, and said he now realizes how important his new charter school is for better education. Charter schools are schools that receive public money, are sponsored by an outside organization and are attended by choice. They're operated by outside organizations rather than the state, so the schools can set some of their own rules and regulations. Shearwater High School is a charter school that helps homeless children get back into school. Its president, Stephanie Krauss, said homeless children that move from shelter to shelter have a hard time joining a school because of their ever-changing addresses.

Rep. Tishaura Jones, D-St. Louis, sponsored a bill that would allow charter schools to be started anywhere in the state and expand who is eligible to sponsor a charter school. "Parents need options," Jones said. "When we go to a restaurant and we don't like the food, we use the choice of our dollar to go somewhere else. Why should we have to accept the education system as it is?" Rep. Joe Keaveny, D-St. Louis, also sponsored a bill that would allow charter schools to adjust graduation requirements for their specific schools. Western Michigan University education professor Gary Miron has been studying school choice programs in Europe and the United States for more than two decades. He said he's an opponent to charter schools with negative results. Through his research, he's found that most cases throughout the country have led to some schools not integrating students, which can lead to charter schools with only low-income or only high-income students. Rep. Joe Aull, D-Marshall, said he's also opposed to expanding charter schools outside the state's major cities because many of the charter schools in Kansas City and St. Louis are not performing at an acceptable level. "I just can't see expanding them in a statewide movement until there's strong evidence that charter schools are out-performing," Aull said. The charter school bills are expected to be debated throughout the legislative session.

Stricter abortion regulations pass in Missouri House

Women no longer would be able to get an abortion after 20 weeks of pregnancy unless a second doctor approves the procedure, according to a bill passed by the Missouri House Thursday [March 17]. Additionally, doctors may be fined if they perform the late-term procedure without a second opinion. Majority Floor Leader and bill sponsor Tim Jones, R-St. Louis County, said a fetus is viable at 20 weeks of pregnancy. "And it is a child, it's not a fetus; it's not a section of cells, it's a life," he said. "If we're going to start talking about the health and the welfare of the mother and all that, let's talk about the health and the welfare of the other life." Rep. John McCaherty, R-High Ridge, said it is important to remember the restrictions of the bill apply only to women who are more than 20 weeks pregnant. "At five months, my goodness, if you can't make a decision in five months, then there's more of a problem there than just the will to have an abortion," McCaherty said. Some opponents of the bill argued it may be difficult for women of rural areas to access a second doctor, especially in the event of a medical emergency. Others, like Tishuara Jones, D-St. Louis, spoke in opposition of any government control over a woman's decision. "Get your hands out of my belly," she said. "Get them out, because this bill criminalizes the doctor-patient relationship, and it tells women what to do with their bodies and their children." Because the bill and its substitute passed with majority votes, the measure now will go to Senate committees for debate.