Proposed Changes to Adams County Should NOT Happen
The proposed redistricting option DRA 2020 for 193rd and 91st House districts is pointless and damaging. As President of the Council of Governments for Adams County Pennsylvania, I have had the opportunity of presiding over that organization for the past two years. I am also the Mayor of the Borough of Arendtsville (starting my 5th year) in the 193rd House District (Torren Ecker) Our county has come to work together very well with the state house representatives, the county officials, County Planning, the Economic Alliance, Destination Gettysburg (our tourism arm), the state police, and many others. The school districts hold equal standing with the municipalities in our Council of Governments. At times of redistricting, some old relationships must be broken, and new relationships formed out of the clear requirement of shifting populations (either increasing or decreasing) in various area of the state. This is understood. However, it is pointless and vain to swap a few municipalities between two house districts merely to be able to say "a change was made" when school districts, established relationships, commonality of purpose, related business interests, and primary focuses of a district are damaged needlessly. The proposed redistricting option referred to as DRA 2020, provides no significant change to either district in voting party or population and does not serve to adjust the “balance” in the redistricting process in any significant way. In this proposal, the 193rd District (Torren Ecker) would receive municipalities (Hamiltonban, Fairfield, Franklin, Straban) from the 91st District (Dan Moul). Also in this proposal, the 193rd District (Torren Ecker) would lose municipalities (Oxford, New Oxford, Berwick, Abbottstown) to the 91st District (Dan Moul). First, the way the map of the 193rd and the 91st is currently configured in Adams County, only one school district is divided between House Representatives. Upper Adams and Bermudian Springs School Districts are in the 193rd house district (Torren Ecker). Fairfield Area, Gettysburg Area and Littlestown Area School Districts are in the 91st house district (Dan Moul). Only the Conewago Valley School district is broken between both the 193rd and 91st. The proposed map WILL BREAK TWO(2) MORE school districts between the two house districts. It seems clear this is in opposition to the Article II, Section 16 where "Unless absolutely necessary no county, city, incorporated town, borough, township or ward shall be divided in forming either a senatorial or representative district". We consider our school districts of equal importance in the "shall not be divided" idea of the house Legislative districts. In general, the Northern part of the county, the 193rd House District (Torren Ecker), has a focus on agriculture and agritourism, a rural population and its legislative needs, emergency services, transportation and broadband connectivity to widely distributed population, and how to best accomplish this among the dispersed population. The southern part of the county, the 91st House District (Dan Moul), has a greater mix of town/suburban with rural population and their legislative needs. Those include: the Route 30 corridor, the county seat, increased need for development to meet the needs of an increasing population, especially incoming retirees, commuter services to benefit both businesses and tourism, shelters and the greater needs of the underprivileged. Their broadband needs of greater speed and density to accommodate business expansion compatible with the needs of those municipalities is also important. The proposed changes will cause other existing relationships with municipalities and school districts to have to be redone, and they have the great potential to cause issues with municipal agreements originally developed within house districts to have to be reimagined. All work that is unnecessary just to switch equally weighted municipalities. There is no reason to further exacerbate the necessary redistricting changes with changes that add no value and solve no issue. Making this change will break the balance of the county, solely for the appearance of “doing something”. The proposed redistricting option DRA 2020 for 193rd and 91st House districts should not be performed.