More thoughts on district 194
I previously submitted testimony about my little precinct (21-24), which is currently part of 194 although it lies across the Wissahickon Valley from the rest of 194, arguing that this precinct can logically be connected to Roxborough, Mt Airy, OR Germantown. However, I want to clarify that this does NOT mean that I think the currently proposed LRC 194 makes sense in the way it links Roxborough with Mt Airy/Chestnut Hill. What a surprising and puzzling district the currently proposed 194 is! The Wissahickon Valley has posed a significant barrier between the different parts of this proposed district for generations! There are only two narrow, winding roads linking these different sections, both with bridges crossing the creek and deep valley, and one of the two roads was built around 1910, well after the roots of these very different communities were established. They are culturally, politically, and historically about as different as they could be, while still lying within the same city. The Roxborough area is much newer, more youthful, and has drawn a variety of immigrants for several generations. There is a white working-class base to this community (Catholic, Polish, and Irish), with lots of young singles and families among the newer residents. Roxborough is connected strongly to the other communities up and down the riverfront, from East Falls to Andorra. This is truly a cohesive and coherent region. On the other hand, Mt. Airy's population is older, more settled, with a long-established mix of Black and white residents (many Jewish), typically highly educated and politically progressive, and with a VERY strong community identity. West Mt Airy and East Mt Airy make up a cohesive community, with strong connections to Germantown and also some connection to Chestnut Hill, but with really no community connection to Roxborough at all. I don't think 194 as proposed would be a coherent community for anyone to represent, and there are so many more natural connections for each of the two very different parts of this proposed district! I live in the single neighborhood linking these two areas, and I can promise you that this district makes sense to exactly NO ONE.