JEFFERSON CITY 鈥 Much of downtown 狐狸视频 will be without a state representative for nearly two years if Gov. Mike Parson doesn鈥檛 schedule a special election to fill the post.
Tuesday鈥檚 municipal election saw state Rep. Rasheen Aldridge, D-狐狸视频, win the 14th Ward seat on the 狐狸视频 Board of Aldermen, meaning he will soon be giving up his seat representing the 78th House District in the state Capitol.
Unless Parson, a Republican, chooses to schedule a special election, the House seat in the heavily Democratic district will remain vacant until after the November 2024 regular election, leaving Democrats with just 51 seats, compared to 111 for Republicans.
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A spokeswoman for the governor said Friday that a decision has not been made.
鈥淚t has yet to be determined,鈥 Kelli Jones told the Post-Dispatch.
Aldridge, who was elected state representative in 2019, beat realtor Ebony Washington a 51.6% to 47.2% in a battle for the 14th Ward seat. He becomes part of a progressive majority on the board that is looking to put more money into infrastructure on the city鈥檚 north side.
The 78th district covers a swath of downtown 狐狸视频, including major tourist draws like Busch Stadium, the Enterprise Center and the America鈥檚 Center convention facility.
It also reaches north to the 狐狸视频 Place neighborhood and south to areas like Fox Park and Lafayette Square.
House Minority Leader Crystal Quade, D-Springfield, said Parson is required under state law to schedule an election 鈥渨ithout delay鈥 once Aldridge formally resigns, which could come within the next two weeks.
鈥淭here is no legitimate reason for him not to hold a special in November and have a representative in by January with this seat,鈥 Quade said Friday, adding that the residents of the House district shouldn鈥檛 have to wait until January 2025 for representation in the Capitol.
Parson, however, has a spotty record when it comes to scheduling special elections for vacant seats in the Legislature.
In 2019, for example, he called for a special election to fill two vacancies in the House following the resignation of Jean Evans, R-Manchester, who left to become executive director of the Missouri Republican Party, and the appointment of then-Rep. Scott Fitzpatrick, R-Shell Knob, as the state treasurer.
At the time, Parson said, 鈥淚t鈥檚 important that we work quickly to fill vacancies in the people鈥檚 house to ensure that Missourians have representation here in Jefferson City.鈥
Aldridge himself won the 78th district seat in a special election after former Rep. Bruce Franks resigned.
But last year, Parson did not set special elections for six open House seats, despite a rare request from Secretary of State Jay Ashcroft to schedule them.
Among the reasons cited by the governor was the absence of district lines because the once-per-decade redistricting process was still underway.
In 2014, Democrat Gov. Jay Nixon was sued for not calling special elections to fill four vacant legislative seats. He later scheduled those elections to take place.