CoMoBUZ Insider Briefing, May 22, 2026

Mike's quick, weekly no-nonsense look at civic affairs in Columbia and Boone County, Missouri. This week, Mike explains the dustup between Boone County Clerk Brianna Lennon and Secretary of State Denny Hoskins over Missouri’s newly-drawn congressional maps and the Aug. 4 primary election, Columbia utility advisors expressing concern about the quality of the city of Columbia’s forecasts for upcoming utility rates, previews the three -candidate race for a Boone County associate circuit judge seat, and shares a visit to Cooper’s Landing where Richard King is getting ready to open his new facilities on the iconic site.  

Transcript

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Missouri has a congressional map. It has a Supreme Court ruling. It has an August 4th primary on the calendar. And it has a referendum petition that could still throw the map back into legal uncertainty. Lennon says Boone County should not move voters into the new congressional district until Hoskins decides whether a citizen referendum challenging that map has enough signatures to go before voters. From ComoBuz.com, this is the Como Buzz Insider Briefing, a weekly look at the decisions, documents, and debates shaping Columbia and Boone County. I'm Mike Murphy. This week, why Boone County Clerk Brianna Lennon is caught in the middle of Missouri's congressional map fight. Then on the briefing board, Columbia Utility Advisors warn that the city's financial forecast may be leaving out major future costs, and Cooper's landing is nearing the end of a major rebuild along the Missouri River. Plus, what we're watching next, a Boone County judge race where establishment support, outsider politics, and public safety are all becoming part of the campaign. We'll begin with the map fight. The first thing to understand about Missouri's congressional map fight is that this is not just a fight over lines on paper. It's now a fight over timing. And timing matters because elections do not wait for legal theory to settle down. County clerks have to assign voters to districts. They have to build ballots. They have to test systems. They have to know which congressional race appears in front of which voter. Boone County Clerk Brianna Lennon says she does not plan to revise local voter rolls to match Missouri's new congressional map until Secretary of State Danny Hoskins decides whether a citizen referendum challenging that map has enough signatures to go before voters. He says county clerks should use it for the August 4th primary. Missouri Republicans responded by passing House Bill 1, that is the mid-decade redistricting plan that redraws the Kansas City-based 5th Congressional District, currently held by Democratic Congressman Emmanuel Cleaver. The Missouri Supreme Court upheld the new map last week against constitutional challenges. That was a major win for supporters of the map, but it did not end the dispute. The new map is designed to make Cleaver's district more favorable to Republicans by splitting Kansas City and adding Republican-leaning territory that stretches east towards central Missouri. Under the new map, the 5th district reaches more than 100 miles from Kansas City towards Boone County. Locally, that changes the congressional geography. Boone County had been split through the middle of Columbia between the 3rd and 4th congressional districts. Under the new map, Boone County would be split outside of Columbia and between the 3rd and 5th districts. That means some Boone County voters would be assigned to a different congressional race. And that means Lennon's office would have to make sure each voter received the right ballot. That sounds administrative, but the reason it became political is the referendum petition. A referendum petition is a legal effort to force a statewide vote on a law already passed by the legislature. It does not draw a new map. It asks voters whether the law creating the map should stand. In this case, the group People Not Politicians Missouri says it submitted more than 305,000 signatures asking voters to decide whether House Bill 1 should remain in place. The Secretary of State decides whether the petition is legally sufficient. And that final decision has not been made. That is the heart of the dispute. By waiting, Hoskins can require election preparations to continue under the new Republican-drawn map while the referendum remains unresolved. That is the pressure point. That helps Hoskins. But the court also said that if the petition is ultimately determined to be legal, sufficient, and timely, then House Bill 1 did not take effect. In that case, the new map would not take effect unless voters approved it. That is why Lennon says she will not revise voter rules yet. Her argument is that Boone County should not move voters into new congressional districts under a map that could later be treated as never having taken effect. And that is where the issue can get technical. But Lennon's point is straightforward. She says the state has not given counties a final, actionable answer. Hoskins says the map is in effect unless and until the referendum is certified. Lennon says the Supreme Court's opinion leaves open the possibility that if the referendum is certified, the map would be suspended retroactively to December 9th. That could mean an August primary was conducted under a map that was not actually in effect. Here's how Lennon put it.

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So while I can respect that the Secretary has his own opinion, I have mine, and I think that he has the ability to bring both of those decisions into alignment by making a decision about the referendum.

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That is the cleanest version of Lenin's argument. She's not saying Boone County will never use the new map, and she's not saying she dislikes the map and therefore will ignore it. She's saying the Secretary of State can end the uncertainty by deciding whether the referendum petition is sufficient. Until then, she says, Boone County is being asked to move voters based on a legal status that could change after ballots are cast. Attorney General Catherine Hanaway is also weighed in with a legal opinion saying failure to use the new map in the August 4th primary would violate the law. That strengthens Hoskins' argument and raises the stakes for clerks who do not comply. Hoskins also has another argument. He has questioned whether a congressional redistricting law can be subjected to a referendum at all. That is a broader constitutional issue. It is not simply about whether enough valid signatures were collected. It asks whether voters may use the referendum process to suspend or reject a congressional map enacted by the legislature. So the dispute now has several layers. There is the map itself, there's the referendum petition, there's the timing of the certification, there's the question of what clerks must do before certification, and there's the broader question of whether this type of redistricting law can even be challenged by referendum. The political pressure is obvious. Republicans are portraying Lenin as a Democratic clerk refusing to follow the law. Democrats and referendum supporters are portraying Hoskins as a Republican Secretary of State using timing and state authority to protect a partisan map. Both officials are partisan elected officials. That does matter. Lennon is a Democrat in Boone County. Hoskins is a Republican statewide officer. Neither one is operating outside of politics. But the administrative problem is also real. Missouri has to run in August primary. Counties need stable instructions. Candidates need to know where they're running. Voters need to know which races is on their ballot. And the referendum process remains unresolved. The local politics make this even sharper. Taylor Burks, the former Boone County Clerk, Lennon defeated in 2018, is now running as a Republican candidate in the newly configured 5th district. That means when Burks calls for Lennon to resign, he's not commenting only as a former clerk. He's a candidate in the district affected by the map. State Senator Rick Bratton, another Republican candidate in the new 5th district, has also been one of Lennon's sharpest critics. Bratton has said election officials have had the map for months and should be able to implement it. So some of the loudest critics of Lennon are also candidates in the district whose primary election depends on the new map being used. That doesn't make their criticism necessarily invalid, but it is important context. Their political interest is aligned with immediate use of the new map. Lenin's position is also not occurring in a vacuum. Other election officials have expressed concern about the uncertainty. Some of those concerns have come from Republican clerks and election authorities. That broadens the story. Second, it ruled that filing referendum petitions did not automatically suspend the law. Third, it left the referendum certification question unresolved. The court did not say the petition failed. It did not say the petition succeeded. It did not order Hoskins to decide immediately. And it did not settle what happens if the petition is certified after election preparations are already underway. That is the hole Lenin is pointing to. There are only a few ways to get this resolved before August 4th. Hoskins can certify or reject the referendum. That would give clerks a clear legal answer, although either decision could trigger more litigation. A court could intervene, a judge could order Hoskins to act, order clerks to comply, or decide which map must be used, or the standoff could continue until election deadlines force emergency action. The most unstable option is the one Missouri appears to be moving toward now. That is a primary election conducted under one map, while the referendum process that could affect the map remains undecided. If the referendum is later certified, opponents of the map would almost certainly argue that the August primary was conducted under a map that should have been suspended. That will create legal challenges, voter confusion, and attacks on the legitimacy of the results. For Boone County voters, the practical question is simple: which congressional race will be on the ballot? For Lennon, the question is whether she should redraw thousands of voter records under a map that may later be suspended. For Hoskins, the question is whether he's administering the referendum process neutrally or using the calendar to preserve the Republican map. And for Missouri, the question is whether the state can run an August primary under a congressional map that has survived one court challenge but remains tied to an unresolved referendum process. The Supreme Court kept the map alive. It did not end the fight. The next decisive move belongs to Hoskins, unless a court steps in first. You're listening to the Como Buzz Insider Briefing from Como Buzz.com. Now two other developments from the week on the briefing board. First, Columbia Utility Advisors are warning that the financial forecast being shown the City Council may leave out major future costs. The issue came up as the Water and Light Advisory Board reviewed planned increases for water and electric rates. Those included a proposed 10% water increase and a possible 6% electric increase for the next fiscal year. But board members said the deeper issue is not just the size of the rate hikes. It's whether the city is giving council members and the public a full picture of what Columbia's utility systems are likely to cost over the next several years. Board member Jennifer Coleman pressed the issue as Utilities Director Aaron Keyes walked through five-year electric projections. Those projections showed the electric fund improving after a rate increase, but they did not include expenses tied to Columbia's looming electric capacity problem. Coleman said that may not be enough when the city already knows more costs are coming. Even with the increase, the board does not build a large cushion. The board also discussed future costs tied to advanced metering infrastructure, a system-wide meter project expected to cost between $41 and $45 million across water and electric utilities. The message was direct. Columbia is not facing a one-year utility problem. It's facing a multi-year reset in the cost of water and electricity. The question now is whether the forecast shown to council will reflect that reality before residents are asked to absorb another round of rate increases. Second, Cooper's Landing is nearing the end of a major rebuild along the Missouri River. Owner Richard King said the project will give the riverfront outpost more space, better amenities, and a stronger foundation for campers, trail users, and music crowds. Work on the new two-story building began in October after the old structure was torn down. King said the original plan was modest, add bathrooms and showers for people camping along the Katy Trail and using the river. But after discussions with architect Stephen Berge, the project grew into something larger. The new building uses concrete, steel, and glass. It is now nearing move-in as electricians, plumbers, and HVAC crews finish their work. The first floor will include men's and women's bathrooms, showers for campers, a service area, and a small seating area. The second floor may be the biggest surprise. King says it includes a large room and a wraparound deck with outdoor seating and views of the Missouri River and sunsets. King is best known in Columbia as the longtime owner of the Blue Note and the person who built the Roots and Blues Festival into a national attraction. He bought Cooper's Landing in 2019. Since then he's been trying to improve the campground, marina, and music venue without losing the informal riverfront character that made it popular in the first place. That balance matters. Cooper's Landing sits on the Katy Trail and on a bend of the Missouri River north of Easley. It draws campers, cyclists, boaters, music fans, and people who simply want to sit by the river. But building there also means dealing with flooding. King learned that almost immediately after buying the property. Three days after taking over, he watched flood water rise several feet inside the old store. The new building had to comply with FEMA rules. King also researched flood prevention systems that can be installed over the first floor openings when the Army Corps of Engineers warns that the river is rising. The project is not just the building. The grounds are also being reworked to create a more usable space between the Katy Trail and the building. Additional seating is planned. The stage may remain near the boat ramp or may move permanently to its current construction era location along the river. Parking also is expected to improve. King said Cooper's Landing expects 60 to 100 parking spots along Easley River Road, and Boone County plans to pave Smith Hatchery Road this summer all the way to the site. The point is not to turn Cooper's Landing into something polished beyond recognition. The point is to make it easier to use while preserving its Missouri River character. For a local landmark built around music, trail traffic, camping, and sunsets, that's a careful line to walk. Coming up, we'll be watching the race for Boone County Associate Circuit Judge in Division IX. That race is beginning to sharpen. Bill Ellis and Spencer Smith will meet in the August 4th Democratic primary. James Egan is unopposed in the Republican primary and will face the Democratic nominee in November. The winner replaces Judge Tracy Gonzales, who is retiring. Ellis is running with a long list of endorsements from local Democratic elected officials and community figures. He is emphasizing his juvenile court experience, work with abused and neglected children, and deep Boone County roots. Smith is trying to turn that same endorsement list into a contrast. He's pitching himself as an outsider in the Democratic race, a former Boone County assistant prosecutor, current public defender, and Navy veteran who says he's running against the local political machine. Egan is waiting for the general election with a message built around experience, public safety, and court backlogs. Judicial races are usually cautious. This one is already becoming a clear contest over experience, temperament, and local political identity. We'll keep tracking it. The map fight is the kind of story that can sound procedural until it lands on a ballot, but that is exactly why this matters. A congressional map is not just a political document. It tells voters which race they are in. It tells candidates where they're running. It tells clerks how to build an election. And right now, Missouri is trying to move toward an August primary while a referendum challenge to that map remains unresolved. That's the tension. The Supreme Court upheld the map, but it did not end the uncertainty. Hoskins says clerks should proceed. Lennon says the state needs to decide the referendum question before county moves voters into new districts. At some point, somebody has to make the call. Either the Secretary of State acts, or a court does, or Missouri risks conducting a primary under a map that is still vulnerable to another legal fight. We'll follow that closely at Como Buzz.com. You can find our full reporting there, along with updates on city utilities, Boone County courts, local government, and the stories shaping Columbia and Boone County. For Como Buzz.com, I'm Mike Murphy. Thanks for listening. I'll see you next week.