By BRENT MARTIN
St. Joseph Post
An area state senator is in the center of controversy over an attempt to change portions of the Clean Missouri initiative approved by voters in 2018.
Senator Dan Hegeman of Cosby wants to reduce “competitiveness” from among the priorities which must be taken into account in redrawing legislative districts. Hegeman argues that that requirement would lead to irregular districts which would no longer reflect local political leanings.
“And that really bothered me and the fact that it would diminish our voice in rural Missouri and some of my urban colleagues in urban Missouri also shared that concern as well,” Hegeman tells St. Joseph Post.
Hegeman defends his proposal against criticism by the supporters of Clean Missouri that he is trying to overturn the will of the people. Hegeman says he simply wants Missouri voters to reconsider the redistricting portion of the initiative.
“I don’t see that as overturning the will of the people,” Hegeman says. “It’s letting people have a chance to once again revisit this and see if that particular provision is something they would like to change or they would like to keep the Clean Missouri effort in place that would come with these, what I would consider very gerrymandered and very unwieldy districts.”
Hegeman’s measure tightens some ethics provisions in the Clean Missouri initiative approved by voters. It would prohibit a state senate candidate from receiving any campaign contributions exceeding $2,400 from an individual. It would repeal a provision tying contributions to the rate of inflation. The measure also would ban all gifts from lobbyists.
It is the proposed changes in the Clean Missouri redistricting proposal that has drawn the most attention and the most criticism, though.
Hegeman hopes for its passage in November.
“Well, I certainly hope it will,” Hegeman says. “I think that people, once they get a chance to see that they will keep the ethics reforms that many of them wanted, but had to accept the redistricting proposal in the process and, as a matter of fact, this even strengthens the ethics reforms that many people wanted, but also gives them a chance to go back and look at the way we redistrict in the state of Missouri. Hopefully, they will see the logic of keeping counties, cities together so that we have a unified voice.”
Click here to see more about Senate Joint Resolution 38.