09 December 2011

Naming Missouri's New Districts

So now the 130th is the 160th, the 20th is now the 49th, and the 8th's split between the 5th, 6th, and 7th. A subdivision in Liberty that was once wholly in the 34th has part of a cul-de-sac in the 17th and the rest in the 38th. But at least the asynchronous 62nd is now in line with its neighboring districts as the 156th.

Anyone else think these numbers are way out there and confusing? Sure brandishing our area codes are even seeping their way beyond their 'hood origins (660 Represent, Y'all?), but who walks around bragging "I'm from the 39th, don't be messing with me?" (And apologies to the newly elected Judy Morgan from the 39th District, who now gets drawn into the same district as a fellow Democrat, Minority Leader Mike Talboy.)

It's simpler to just use numbers, as it's less time consuming to write down names, but what good is a number to describe your area if it's just going to change every ten years? And even if it's going to change every ten years, what difference does conveying "68" make whether it's along Skinker Boulevard or a stretch of the Butterfield Stagecoach Road?

So let's start naming these districts. Be they after counties, county seats, or neighborhoods, names can be tweaked as need be, and the evolution of the districts can be easier to trace than throwing numbers around and watching a number dart from Rock Port to Athens to the Bootheel over the span of 30 years. So here's what I suggest for names of house districts.

General guidelines:
  • Limit of three proper nouns (similar to Canadian Ridings)
  • Should be ordered by most population to least
  • Emphasis on counties for rural districts, cities or neighborhoods if suburban or urban
  • Cardinal direction should only be used if base location is used more than once
  • Geographical feature or area if possible and patently unique
And now, the obnoxiously sized lists:

Missouri House (Click for maps)
  1. Nodaway & Holt
  2. Upper Grand River
  3. Kirksville & the Green Hills
  4. Canton-Memphis-Edina
  5. Hannibal North & Shelby
  6. Macon & Randolph North
  7. Lower Grand River
  8. Caldwell & Clinton
  9. Savannah & Buchanan East
  10. St. Joseph Center
  11. St. Joseph South-Buchanan West-Platte North
  12. Platte City-Smithville-Kearney
  13. Platte South
  14. Platte Southeast
  15. Gladstone
  16. Shoal Creek Valley
  17. Liberty South & Claycomo
  18. North Kansas City & Vivion Road
  19. Kansas City Northeast
  20. Independence North & Fort Osage
  21. Independence East
  22. [Kansas City] Blue Ridge
  23. Kansas City East
  24. Kansas City Downtown
  25. [Kansas City] Brookside
  26. Kansas City Troost
  27. [Kansas City] Swope Park
  28. Raytown
  29. Independence South & Kansas City Southeast
  30. Independence Southeast & Woods Chapel
  31. Blue Springs South & Tapawingo
  32. Blue Springs North & Jackson East
  33. Harrisonville-Pleasant Hill-Lone Jack
  34. Lee's Summit East & Greenwood
  35. Lee's Summit West & Longview
  36. Kansas City Red Bridge
  37. Grandview & Jackson Southwest
  38. Liberty North & Excelsior Springs
  39. Ray-Carroll-Chariton North
  40. Hannibal South-Paris-Bowling Green
  41. Lincoln & Troy
  42. Warren-Montgomery-St. Charles Southwest
  43. Audrain & Callaway East
  44. Columbia East & Centralia
  45. Columbia Columns
  46. Columbia Southwest
  47. Boone West-Randolph South-Howard East
  48. Boonville-Fayette-Chariton South
  49. Callaway South
  50. Boone South & Moniteau North
  51. Warrensburg East-Marshall-Pettis North
  52. Sedalia & Whiteman
  53. Lafayette
  54. Warrensburg West & Pettis South
  55. Raymore-Peculiar-Cass Central
  56. Belton & Cass West
  57. Cass South-Henry-Benton North
  58. Moniteau South & Morgan
  59. Cole South & Miller North
  60. Jefferson City
  61. Lower Gasconade & Osage
  62. Upper Gasconade & Osage
  63. Wentzville & Wright City
  64. St. Paul & Lincoln Southeast
  65. St. Charles East
  66. Bellefontaine Neighbors & St. Louis Chain Of Rocks
  67. Old Halls Ferry
  68. Florissant Central
  69. Florissant West
  70. Maryland Heights West & Chesterfield North
  71. Maryland Heights-Overland South
  72. Maryland Heights-Overland North
  73. Hazelwood-Lambert-Ferguson West
  74. Ferguson East & Jennings
  75. Dellwood & Castle Point
  76. St. Louis Kingsway
  77. St. Louis University & Fairgrounds
  78. St. Louis Gateway
  79. St. Louis Hyde Park & Lafayette Square
  80. St. Louis Tower Grove
  81. St. Louis Holly Hills
  82. St. Louis Southampton & Lindenwood
  83. Maplewood-Brentwood-Rock Hill
  84. St. Louis Forest Park
  85. Overland East, Bel-Ridge & Northwoods
  86. University City
  87. Clayton & Ladue South
  88. Creve Coeur & Ladue North
  89. Town & Country
  90. Kirkwood
  91. Webster Groves-Shrewsbury-Crestwood
  92. Affton & Concord
  93. Lemay
  94. Mehlville
  95. Oakville
  96. Fenton & Sunset Hills
  97. Arnold West & Murphy
  98. Ballwin Meramec
  99. Manchester & Valley Park
  100. Ballwin North & Chesterfield South
  101. Chesterfield West & Wildwood North
  102. Dardenne Prairie
  103. Cottleville
  104. St. Peters West
  105. St. Peters East
  106. St. Charles West
  107. O'Fallon
  108. Lake St. Louis
  109. Franklin North
  110. Pacific-Eureka-Wildwood South
  111. Jefferson West
  112. Jefferson North
  113. Arnold East & Barnhart West
  114. Festus & Barnhart East
  115. Jefferson South & St. François North
  116. Ste. Genevieve-Farmington East-Perry North
  117. Farmington West & Park Hills
  118. Jefferson Southwest & Washington North
  119. Franklin South & Washington Northwest
  120. Steelville & St. James
  121. Rolla-Dixon-Richland
  122. Waynesville
  123. Laclede East & Camden South
  124. Miller South & Camden North
  125. St. Clair-Hickory-Benton South
  126. Bates & Vernon
  127. Barton-Dade-Jasper Outer
  128. Bolivar & Stockton
  129. Laclede West & Dallas
  130. Greene West
  131. Springfield North
  132. Springfield Center
  133. Springfield Southwest
  134. Springfield South
  135. Springfield East
  136. Springfield Southeast
  137. Greene East & Webster West
  138. Stone & Christian Northwest
  139. Christian West
  140. Christian East
  141. Webster East & Wright
  142. Houston-Big Piney-Edgar Springs
  143. Dent-Shannon-Oregon
  144. Washington South & the Arcadia Valley
  145. Madison-Bollinger-Perry South
  146. Cape Girardeau Outer
  147. Cape Girardeau Inner
  148. Scott East & Mississippi North
  149. New Madrid-Pemiscot North-Mississippi South
  150. Dunklin & Pemiscot South
  151. Stoddard & Scott West
  152. Butler South
  153. Butler North-Ripley-Carter
  154. West Plains & Caulfield
  155. Douglas-Ozark-Taney East
  156. Taney West
  157. Lawrence
  158. Barry
  159. McDonald & Newton South
  160. Newton North
  161. Joplin Hope
  162. Joplin North & Jasper Southwest
  163. Carthage & Oronogo

Missouri Senate (Click for maps)
  1. St. Louis South
  2. St. Charles West
  3. Cape Girardeau-St. Genevieve-St. François
  4. St. Louis Forest Hills
  5. St. Louis Riverfront
  6. Lower Osage
  7. Lower North East
  8. Lee's Summit & Blue Springs
  9. Kansas City East
  10. Kansas City West
  11. Independence & Raytown
  12. The North West
  13. St. Louis North
  14. Ferguson-University City-Clayton
  15. St. Louis Southwest
  16. Upper Gasconade
  17. Kansas City North
  18. Upper North East
  19. Boone & Howard
  20. Western Ozarks
  21. The Central West
  22. Lead Belt
  23. St. Charles North
  24. St. Louis West
  25. The South East
  26. Lower Gasconade
  27. St. Louis Southwest
  28. Lower South West
  29. Upper South West
  30. Springfield
  31. Upper Osage
  32. Jasper & Newton
  33. Eastern Ozarks
  34. Platte & Buchanan

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