Senate Map Must Better Reflect Communities
Hello, my name is Deborah Rose Hinchey. I am the Executive Director of BetterPA. I want to start by thanking the Commissioners and the staff of this body for what has become tireless and tedious work to give Pennsylvania a set of fair and equitable maps. You are in the final leg of a long and arduous process and are still taking the time to listen to as much feedback, and sometimes critique, that you are able to fit in. Thank you for making this process transparent and accessible in the ways that you could in the midst of a global pandemic. Between an easily navigable website, with a comment section that is clearly read and considered by the commissioners, and many hearings for public testimony with an option for virtual participation, it is obvious to all that have been paying attention that this commission took seriously its promise to provide citizens with the redistricting process they deserve. Chairman Nordenburg, thank you for approaching this work with thoughtful consideration and a commitment to create fair and balanced maps for our state. It shines through. As you weather an onslaught of critique given in bad faith, know that the majority of Pennsylvanians see the way you have approached this work and are deeply grateful for it. Leader McClinton, you have done everything in your power to give Pennsylvania a set of maps that reflect the state we actually live in, and most importantly, the people who reside within it. You have also withstood many bad faith attacks and malicious actions in this process and have responded with brilliance and grace every time. You showed up in this work and did absolutely everything you said you would in your opening statement at the first commission meeting. Thank you, Leader. I would like to start by talking about the preliminary house map, which as many before me have said, is by far the better of the two proposed maps. It begins to correct decades of Republican gerrymandering. It was clearly designed to reflect the communities of Pennsylvania as they actually are. It does the hard work of keeping communities together through less splits in counties and municipalities. It gives candidates of color better opportunities to represent their own communities by creating more majority/minority districts. It does all of this while still keeping most incumbents in their home districts. In short, this map reflects the Pennsylvania we actually live in today – not the makeup of a state that once was. Leader Benninghoff and other Republicans have attacked this map by calling it an attempt at Democratic gerrymandering. On its face, this critique is ridiculous because as Chairman Nordenburg and other non-partisan experts have stated clearly, this map still favors Republicans. There have been attempts to show specific districts as proof of that gerrymander, even when the districts shown are heavily Republican. State Republicans are not interested in fair maps; they are interested in maintaining their power at all costs. It doesn’t matter that this map still favors their party; that’s not enough for them. They are now going so far as to attempt to dissolve this Commission in favor of one that they would control. That is a fact. Their desperation for power, regardless of the diverse needs of Pennsylvania’s communities, is so transparent it borders on the absurd. I urge this commission to continue to operate with the fearlessness and attention to detail that it has consistently shown throughout this process and to not underestimate what the Republicans in both chambers are willing to do to hold onto their power. In regards to the Senate map, it clearly makes an attempt to address some of the issues that are harming community representation, but it does not make even close to the same attempt to rectify those issues as the House map does. There are key places where the effort to accurately reflect communities is seen, one of which is Harrisburg and its suburbs where the new districts are clearly drawn with the communities who live there in mind. However there are some key places where that is not the case. There are areas that were clearly drawn to protect the incumbents who currently hold the seats. The people who will suffer because of that are the residents of those districts. There is no reason to cut Allentown down the middle, except to protect the incumbents. There is no reason to divide up the communities of interest in Lancaster and its suburbs, except to protect incumbents. This aspect of the map needs to be rectified. And lastly, as a kid from Delaware County, the attempt in the Senate map to dilute the voting power of the collar counties and Philadelphia is obvious. This is the fastest growing and the most highly populated region of the state, and the preliminary Senate map makes a clear attempt to curb that influence. How is that done? Nearly all the districts in Allegheny County and southwestern PA are far below the ideal population for a Senate district, therefore requiring more districts to represent them. Nearly all the districts in Philadelphia and Delaware, Montgomery, Chester, and Bucks Counties are far above the ideal population for a Senate district, therefore requiring less districts to represent them. The outcome of this is to make up for losses in population in Southwestern PA at the expense of these five highly populated, incredibly diverse counties. Once again, this is done to protect incumbents. This needs to be corrected. The changes needed to the Senate map are not small, but they are able to be done in time and are very much necessary so that it accurately reflects the communities of Pennsylvania in the same way the proposed House map does.The residents of our state deserve the full undiluted power of their vote, and they deserve to be heard both in the voting booth and by those who represent them. I hope this commission hears my testimony and all the similar feedback with the good faith in which it is intended and makes these crucial adjustments. I once again want to thank the Commission for the time it takes to hear from so many Pennsylvanians and the effort that has clearly gone into creating a set of maps that reflect the state in which we live. These new maps will change the Pennsylvania voting landscape for years to come and, should these proposed changes be made, the impact will be positive and immense. This is undoubtedly important and tedious work, necessary though it is, but it should not be thankless, nor should the effort and care put forth go unnoticed. Please stay diligent in your efforts and true to the values you have already shown us. Thank you. I am happy to take any questions.