(UPDATED) SLP's Legislative Lines Largely Unchanged

St. Louis Park voters will see the numbers change for their state legislative districts under the redistricting plan released Tuesday, but district boundaries will remain similar—especially in the southern portion of the senate district.

The plan places St. Louis Park in House Districts 46A to the north and 46B to the south, and in Senate District 46. It was in House Districts 44A and B, and Senate District 44.

Rep. Steve Simon, who currently represents District 44A, which consists of Hopkins residents and St. Louis Park residents living south of Minnetonka Boulevard, said his new district—46B—seems nearly identical

"I'm really happy about that," Simon said.

House District 46A and Senate District 46 see the biggest changes. Being added is Medicine Lake and a portion of Plymouth to the north—where the existing district lines stopped at Golden Valley.

(See attached PDFs for maps of the current District 44 and the new District 46)

Rep. Ryan Winkler, who currently represents parts of Golden Valley and St. Louis Park north of Minnetonka, said while there are some new people for him to meet in 46A, he doesn't see things changing too much.

"It's not different from what you'd do in any other campaign," Winkler said.

The representative added that the district will still generally be the same—and he feels good about his chances to win reelection.

"By and large, voters will kind of be disposed to Democratic candidates, and I plan on running as a Democrat," Winkler said.

Sen. Ron Latz shared Winkler's sentiments.

“For my own purposes, I’m optimistic I can win re-election in this district,” he said. “I will have to introduce myself to new residents in Plymouth.”

This is Latz’s first redistricting process, but he was a beneficiary of the 2002 redistricting—which created a new House district where he resides. Two-thirds of that House district was new for the incumbent state representative who came before him.

Latz, on the other hand, served on the St. Louis Park City Council, graduated from Hopkins High School and grew up in Golden Valley. The incumbent wound up retiring instead of running for re-election, and Latz won election to the House that same year—followed by election to the Senate in 2006.

While Latz may have benefitted from that redistricting, he noted that the process creates tough choices for other senators. With this redistricting, for example, fellow Minneapolis DFL senators Kenneth Kelash and Scott Dibble are now in the same district. The same is true for Sens. John Marty and Mary Jo McGuire—from Roseville and Falcon Heights, respectively.

Unlike a general election, a contest between such candidates is between people who are ideologically similar and often friends.

“I do know I’m saddened that some of my own colleagues are going to have to face off against one another or have to make some hard decisions about their political futures,” said Latz. “Political careers and passions are on the line now. … It’s a sad, but natural, part of the process.”

States must redraw legislative and congressional district boundaries after every Census. When the Legislature couldn’t reach agreement on a map, the State Supreme Court was tasked with the job. It released its decision at 1 p.m. Tuesday.