Historic Changes to the City of St. Louis Board of Aldermen: Number of Wards Reduced in Half
December 28, 2021For background, in 2012, City residents voted in favor of a charter amendment that would cut the Board to 14 seats from 28 and the wards redrawn accordingly. In addition, the city charter requires the Board, by the end of the year, to adopt new ward boundaries to reflect populations shifts reflected in the 2020 census. The Legislation committee of the Board led by Alderman Vollmer and President Reed began working on the redistribution of wards in late September. Also in late September, the Mayor stated that the committee should engage the general public in the process of drafting the new ward map by holding both virtual and in-person meetings to engage the public. The Board received numerous comments from the public throughout the drafting process according to Alderman Vollmer and President Reed.
In addition, the Board requested the City Counselor, Sheena Hamilton (“City Counselor”), to analyze the new map in order to determine whether the map would survive a challenge under the Equal Protection Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution related to the “one person, one vote” requirement or Section 2 of the Voting Rights Act of 1965, as amended. The City Counselor determined that the new map satisfies the “one person, one vote” requirement and Section 2 of the Voting Rights Act of 1965, as amended. In the City Counselor’s opinion, the City Counselor said the 9.84% population variance in the committee’s plan from the smallest to largest ward is within the 10% threshold set by the US Supreme Court. The City Counselor also stated that the City has been able to produce strong evidence “that voters in a number of districts form effective voting blocks roughly proportional to the proportions of minority voters in the voting age population” and “provides equal opportunities for minority voters.” A copy of the City Counselor’s opinion can be found here.
The proposed map has 14 wards with roughly 21,500 residents in each. According to President Reed, the map has seven minority preference wards and seven white preference wards. Furthermore, President Reed stated that the map successfully keeps most neighborhoods intact (85% of the city’s neighborhoods are located in just one ward).
Of note, the first election for the newly drawn wards will be held in 2023 for all wards and the aldermanic president. The odd-numbered wards will start with two-year terms to stay in line with the election schedule (of odd and even numbered wards alternating elections). The even-numbered wards and the aldermanic president will run in the initial election for a full four-year term. In addition, residents in April are expected to consider a ballot initiative, known as Proposition R, which would take redistricting power away from the Board and place it into the hands of an independent commission. Reform St. Louis, the group petitioning for Proposition R, said if the proposition passes, it wants the proposed new city redistricting process to kick in after the 2030 U.S. census rather than immediately.
A copy of the new ward map is available here. Please see below for a summary of each new ward, which includes the ward number, number of residents, racial makeup, neighborhoods, significant landmarks and the current alderpersons representing the ward.
Lewis Rice’s Government Solutions & Administrative Law attorneys work with a wide range of elected and appointed decision-makers as they navigate major policy issues. We regularly represent clients’ interests before executive departments, legislative committees, administrative agencies and local government bodies. If you have questions about the new ward redistricting or other concerns, please contact one of the authors -- David Sweeney or Michael Crawford.
Ward Summary
Ward 1 Number of Residents: 22,692 Racial Makeup:
Neighborhoods:
Significant Landmarks:
Current Alderpersons:
Initial Term: 2 years |
Ward 2 Number of Residents: 22,653 Racial Makeup:
Neighborhoods:
Significant Landmarks:
Current Alderpersons:
Initial Term: 4 years |
Ward 3 Number of Residents: 21,753 Racial Makeup:
Neighborhoods:
Significant Landmarks:
Current Alderperson:
Initial Term: 2 years |
Ward 4 Number of Residents: 21,627 Racial Makeup:
Neighborhoods:
Significant Landmarks:
Current Alderpersons:
Initial Term: 4 years |
Ward 5 Number of Residents: 22,521 Racial Makeup:
Neighborhoods:
Significant Landmarks:
Current Alderperson:
Initial Term: 2 years |
Ward 6 Number of Residents: 22,692 Racial Makeup:
Neighborhoods:
Significant Landmarks:
Current Alderpersons:
Initial Term: 4 years |
Ward 7 Number of Residents: 21,361 Racial Makeup:
Neighborhoods:
Significant Landmarks:
Current Alderperson:
Initial Term: 2 years |
Ward 8 Number of Residents: 21,751 Racial Makeup:
Neighborhoods:
Significant Landmarks:
Current Alderpersons:
Initial Term: 4 years |
Ward 9 Number of Residents: 20,571 Racial Makeup:
Neighborhoods:
Significant Landmarks:
Current Alderperson:
Initial Term: 2 years |
Ward 10 Number of Residents: 20,922 Racial Makeup:
Neighborhoods:
Significant Landmarks:
Current Alderpersons:
Initial Term: 2 years |
Ward 11 Number of Residents: 20,651 Racial Makeup:
Neighborhoods:
Significant Landmarks:
Current Alderpersons:
Initial Term: 4 years |
Ward 12 Number of Residents: 21,153 Racial Makeup:
Neighborhoods:
Significant Landmarks:
Current Alderpersons:
Initial Term: 2 years |
Ward 13 Number of Residents: 20,584 Racial Makeup:
Neighborhoods:
Significant Landmarks:
Current Alderpersons:
Initial Term: 2 years |
Ward 14 Number of Residents: 20,647 Racial Makeup:
Neighborhoods:
Significant Landmarks:
Current Alderpersons:
Initial Term: 4 years |
