Horsham--Two Representatives are Better Than One
Before offering comments on the preliminary map for the House of Representatives, I thank Chair Nordenberg and the other members of the Commission for producing maps that are a vast improvement over the current ones and for doing so through a process that includes and values citizen participation. I am a resident of Horsham Township writing in support of the House District 151 as drawn in the preliminary map. I will first address the splitting of Horsham, the single reason cited by our current Representative in a mailing he recently sent to Horsham residents urging them to object to the preliminary map. I will also note how the district as drawn in the preliminary map, when viewed with adjacent districts, maintains communities of interest and promotes better representation of residents of townships adjacent to Horsham. The idea that Horsham’s influence in the General Assembly will be diluted if two Representatives rather than one each have a significant number of Horsham residents in their districts does not withstand scrutiny. Dividing municipalities will harm those residents in some cases, for example, when the number of residents in the split township is so small, or the interests of those residents are so dissimilar to those of the other members of the district, that their Representative is more inclined to ignore the smaller number and favor other constituents. For example, the case can be made that the current map, which divides Upper Dublin Township into three districts and Lower Gwynedd Township into two districts, has exactly that effect. Under the preliminary map, Horsham residents will comprise a significant part of HD-151, assuring that their Representative will be a strong advocate in the legislature and with the executive branch. Surely, moving some of Horsham’s residents into a second adjacent district will not lessen the Representative’s zeal on the remaining residents’ behalf as it relates to PFAS, the Willow Grove Naval Air Base, transportation or the other issues our current Representative alludes to in his mailing. Rather than “dilute Horsham’s voice and disenfranchise Horsham residents”, the preliminary map will amplify Horsham’s influence as there would be two Representatives whose constituents include a significant number of Horsham residents, representing a significant portion of each district’s population. We have an example of this in the federal efforts to address PFAS. Horsham is fortunate to be represented in Congress by two Representatives, Brian Fitzpatrick (R) and Madeleine Dean (D). As reported https://www.inquirer.com/news/pfoa-pfos-pfas-water-contamination-congress-task-force-bucks-montgomery-20190123.html, https://www.penncapital-star.com/energy-environment/pfas-provisions-struck-from-must-pass-defense-bill-disappointing-pa-s-dean-fitzpatrick/, both have been active in fighting for federal action to address this serious problem. Clearly, Horsham benefits from having two Members of Congress advocating on their behalf, and would see a similar benefit with two Representatives in Harrisburg. Our current Representative’s mailing refers to only one of the four constitutionally mandated requirements for drawing legislative districts when it says that municipalities may be split “only when ‘absolutely necessary’”. As the Commission well knows, Article 2, Section 16 of the Constitution first says that the districts shall be “composed of compact and contiguous territory as nearly equal in population as practicable” and then contains the qualification relating to dividing jurisdictions. Interestingly, our Representative in his mailing does not offer a solution that would avoid splitting Horsham while resulting in a map that also complies with the Constitution and is at least as fair to residents not only of Horsham but of the neighboring communities. Since it is not possible to comply with the constitutional mandates without splitting some municipalities, the Commission has taken the reasonable step of dividing the population of Horsham between the HD-151 and the adjacent HD-152, yielding two relatively compact and contiguous districts nearly equal in population. Under the preliminary map, HD-152 is made much more compact and instead of being split between 2 counties, and splitting 1 township and 1 city, Horsham is the only split municipality. Because of Horsham’s size, Horsham’s residents will be a significant share of both districts. HD-151 is only slightly less compact than under the current map. However, by increasing significantly the number of residents of Upper Dublin, the preliminary map provides a greater voice to those residents who under the current map are divided among three districts representing less than 20% of any district. Similarly, the preliminary map unites Lower Gwynedd into a single district (HD-61), giving a greater voice to those in the current HD-151, where they represent less than 5% of the population. The portion of Horsham placed in HD-152 shares significant communities of interests with other parts of that district. Most significantly, Horsham and Hatboro form the Hatboro-Horsham School District. Unlike other districts that extend over large geographic areas where it is often time consuming to travel throughout the district, both HD-151 and HD-152 as drawn in the preliminary map are relatively small geographically. There are several arterial roads running without interruption between the Horsham part of HD-152 and the rest of the district. Residents frequently travel between the two districts to shop, dine and for other purposes. In summary, the preliminary map reflects the Commission’s adherence to its mandate. The fact that it results in Horsham becoming significant parts of two House districts does not warrant making changes that would undoubtedly render the overall map less fair than the preliminary map. I urge the Commission to reject the calls to radically alter the preliminary map as it relates to HD-151.