Strengthen A Good Proposal
I have had a chance to familiarize myself with the redistricting proposal coming out of your Commission. In a country where some states are hell-bent on moving away from democratic process, with ever-more-gerrymandered maps, it is a breath of fresh air to see Pennsylvania moving in the opposite direction. There are, however, two areas where the current maps need to be improved, both involving the Philadelphia County map. The Philadelphia map undercounts the city's weight statewide, and this needs to be corrected. I well understand the animosity that has characterized the split between urban and rural in this state, although I personally wonder if our interests are truly that far apart. Democracy, however, is about everyone having an equal voice. Philadelphia County should count electorally in proportion to its population, and the same holds true for the suburban and rural parts of the state. Under the present plan, however, the state's urban areas, and Philadelphia County in particular, will have significantly less weight than our more rural neighbors in Central and Southeastern PA., and this is unfair and undemocratic and must be corrected. This issue gains even greater importance when one considers that Philadelphia County has the largest concentrations of peoples of color in the state, and here is my second concern: to under-represent the County is to leave oneself open to the accusation of under-representing, deliberately or no, these populations - especially when one considers that the Commission considered, but rejected, a proposal to create a majority-Latino district in Philadelphia city. We have all come through a year of unprecedented organizing around the issue of institutional racism, and now this Commission puts forth a new map which, once again, under-represents the state's African American and Latino populations. I personally am not a person of color. I am white and workingclass and our household has gotten through the last two years in large part thanks to the Federal Relief bills passed by Democrats and Republicans alike. I can see no good coming from a redistricting that does not address the issue of racism. My neighbors are honest, hard-working people who deserve as much representation as I do. I plead with you, and demand, that you take a second look at your Philadelphia map and: 1. create a majority Latino district in Philadelphia city. 2. correct the Philadelphia County maps - yes, the balance statewide will have to be corrected - so that the city's residents may have the same weight in Senate elections as our rural and suburban cousins. Thank You. Mychal Simonian 225 W Apsley St Philadelphia, PA, 19144