Cole County Presiding Commissioner Marc Ellinger was one of four people testifying Tuesday about the need for a better congressional redistricting map than the one lawmakers passed last year, over Gov. Jay Nixon's veto.
Ellinger told Cole County Circuit Judge Dan Green that he'd submitted a suggested redistricting map to lawmakers nearly a year ago, containing a central Missouri district.
"I believe that central Missouri, as a community, has an interest in having congressional representation that will look out for (our) interests," Ellinger testified, "as opposed to the interests of the metropolitan areas, or other parts of the state, that are completely unique and different from central Missouri."