strong support fo preliminary House map overall
Many thanks to the LRC for strong work. This is the first cycle in 20 years that the LRC did not heavily gerrymander the House map in favor of a political party. You undid the gerrymander of 2011, not an easy task. Many Pennsylvanians have worked tirelessly for fair maps, despite intense Harrisburg resistance. Legislators, of both parties, want to pick their voters and draw districts that protect their seats. Thank you for an independent map. The map recognizes the population growth in southeastern PA( where I live) and also that many rural communities population's have shrunk or stagnated. In the past, gerrymanders have left Phila and SE PA underrepresented in Harrisburg and the region's needs were ignored. Even now complaints about this preliminary map often state it merges and changes rural districts, with no recognition that districts reflect people not land and require equal human population. I am pleased the map gives more opporunties for minority communities, especially Hispanics, as PA population growth is fueled by the Hispanic and minority communities. I also strongly support the LRC decision to count prisoners in their home districts. I am sure there are some tweaks in areas across the state where the map can be improved. Others will identify them. I greatly appreciate the many hearings the LRC has held, the testimony it gathered and the clear and open way it has porceeded. I know Chair Nordenberg has driven this as it is not a typical or common governmental process in PA. Thank you