Keep Shenandoah in the 123rd
As a lifelong resident of Shenandoah and second-generation owner of a Shenandoah-based business, my family and I have been committed to this community and the people who call it home. There are major concerns with removing Shenandoah from the 123rd District and including it within a Luzerne County District. Our current representation understands the community’s unique dynamics and needs. It is important to have that strong, unified voice to make the largest, positive impact in Shenandoah and the actual communities that surround it. Shenandoah shares more in common with its neighboring Schuylkill County communities, than it does with cities like Hazleton. Disconnecting Shenandoah from other Schuylkill County communities will negatively affect longstanding traditions of shared services, economic and social partnerships, values, school districts, and more. One example is our current representative’s invested passion in blight remediation in Schuylkill County and the progress made that will ultimately benefit Shenandoah. The current 123rd District represents almost 70 percent of the employees of my Shenandoah-based business. By ripping Shenandoah out of the 123rd District and including it in the 116th, that number drops down to 34 percent. This is an example of how the proposed redistricting does not best represent our collective communities, Shenandoah in particular. I urge you to reconsider what is best for these Schuylkill County communities.