Please keep East Falls in the 194th District
Please keep East Falls in the 194th District. I am writing to you to urge you and your colleagues on the redistricting commission to adjust your preliminary plan so that the entirety of the East Falls community (part of the 38th ward) in Philadelphia is included in Representative DiLissio's district. Our relationship with Representative DiLissio has been both positive and productive. We believe that it will be detrimental and disruptive to lose this relationship. The Lower Northwest area of Philadelphia is a community of interest, and it would be appropriate for a new map to keep the entire entity of the Lower Northwest in one legislative district. The map presented by Fair Districts PA to the Legislative Reapportionment Commission includes all of the Lower Northwest in one legislative district and reflects an ideal district for the citizens of East Falls. Also, the small number of homes on the west side of School House Lane (Timber Ln. Apalogen Rd., are part of East Falls, even though they currently are in the same district as Roxborough) could provide an opportunity to include them in the same legislative district as the rest of their neighbors in East Falls. On the contrary it does not make sense to combine East Falls with our West Philadelphia neighbors. Physically, we are at a distance from West Philadelphia and our community's needs, goals, and visions are different from the West Philadelphia community.