Centre County State House Districts

I appreciate the opportunity to provide public comment to the Committee on the important issue of redistricting. Thank you for creating an open and accessible way to provide feedback. During the past decade as a Centre County Commissioner, I've heard from countless residents about the gerrymandering that has occurred in Centre County over the past several redistricting cycles. My comments reflect a distillation of my conversations during the past several years and a reflection of a potential way forward. First, Centre County should be represented by three legislators not four. Also, no municipality should be divided three times as was done with Ferguson Township. Lastly, each district should be a blend of the full swath of views and perspectives that our diverse county has to offer. As someone who don't just complain but also appreciates the need for solutions, I offer the following suggestions for districts. From numerous conversations with community members I feel the following districts outlined below would represent our proud "purple" county that each blend urban and rural parts of Centre County: -A District that extends from Philipsburg Borough to the western portion of State College Borough with the Townships of Ferguson, Halfmoon, Huston, Patton, Rush, Taylor, and Worth and the Borough of Port Matilda. -A District that extends from Burnside Township to Penn Township including the Townships of Benner, College, Gregg, Harris, Penn Potter, Snow Shoe, Union and the Boroughs of Centre Hall, Millheim, Snow Shoe, and Unionville and also the eastern portion of State College Borough (including the Penn State campus). -A District that covers the rest of eastern Centre County from Curtin Township to Haines Township with the Townships of Boggs, Curtin, Howard, Liberty, Marion, Miles, Spring, Walker and the Boroughs of Bellefonte, Howard, and Milesburg. This district would then need to add portions of Clinton, Mifflin, and/or Union counties to meet the approximate 64,000 population threshold. Thank you once again for the opportunity to provide feedback to the Committee. I know the task ahead of you comes with a considerable amount of weight and I wish you the best in your discussions, deliberations, and determinations. *My comments reflect my own perspective and not that of the Centre County Board of Commissioners.