Senate map needs to better represent Hisp citizens
As an ally of the Hispanic community in Lebanon County, on the one hand I express satisfaction that the LRC’s preliminary Senate district map does not split up our county. On the other hand, this map does split up our neighboring Hispanic community in Allentown and Bethlehem and “cracks” our other neighboring Hispanic community in Philadelphia. The map also gives more representation to many of the lesser populated rural counties and less representation to several higher-growth southeastern communities. And it fails to recognize majority-minority communities, delineating only 5, compared with other maps, one of which achieves 7 majority-minority districts plus 3 additional minority-opportunity districts (See: https://davesredistricting.org/join/070c60e7-79cd-4390-9a3a-c1ee61e81c61). Thus, the LRC’s preliminary Senate map, by not optimally representing Hispanic and coalition citizens in Allentown-Bethlehem, Philadelphia, and the Southeast, indirectly affects the representation of the Hispanic citizens of Lebanon, with whom they share common interests. I urge the Commission to redraw several Senate districts in Lehigh County, Philadelphia and the southeast with these comments in mind.