Fair Districts in Centre County
Fair Districts in Centre County Chair Nordenberg and the Legislative Reapportionment Commission, My name is Amy Bader, and I have been a school director for more than six years for the State College Area School District . I am writing today in support of maintaining the preliminary PA House district lines for Centre County and the Commonwealth, shared with the public on Thursday, December 16, 2021. Having lived in Centre County for more than a dozen years, I am grateful the proposed district finally provides an opportunity for fair representation of me and my neighbors. The creation of a new, more competitive district (HD-82) better represents the region as a whole and better recognizes the demographics of our residents, who are currently represented by Rep. Scott Conklin (HD-77) and House Majority Leader Kerry Benninghoff (HD-171). The proposed lines address the severe gerrymandering of Centre County since I’ve lived here. The new districts achieve the requirement for compact and contiguous districts and refrain from overly fracturing our community. While Centre County has certainly skewed purple in past years, it now leans more Democratic. However, Centre County is currently split into four different House districts, three of which are tied in with other counties which lean Republican. Our voices are not accurately represented across the Commonwealth. Keeping the population centers more compact and contiguous, and with three districts as opposed to four, makes it fairer, while also keeping it competitive. I want to thank you for the difficult work you have done, adhering to a transparent and thoughtful process. Please know I fully support the proposed PA House district lines for Centre County. Sincerely, Amy Bader, VMD Vice President Board of Directors State College Area School District