Draft of new legislative districts for PA house
Upon reading an editorial in my local newspaper, The Bucks County Courier Times, on January 13 (“How the PA House redistricting plan hurts Bucks County”) I became alarmed at the impact your proposed redistricting map would have for my county. If you have not seen the editorial I strongly urge you to obtain a copy and review it. The Courier Times is a decidedly left wing newspaper (USA Today news feed) and I generally disagree with most of their editorials, but on this subject it appears to me that they are spot on. The thrust of their arguments is that Bucks County is essentially a politically “purple” area and that your proposals for changing districts would destroy this complexion and lead to a greater possibility of one party rule and eliminate the heretofore substantially evenly divided political competition that produces the best ideas and best candidates. I understand that alternative district maps have been produced, and presumably submitted to you, and that one such map has been forthcoming from office holders who are Bucks County Republicans. This map purports to account for population changes yet still retains the competitive aspects of the county mentioned above. I urge you to seriously consider the advantages of that map and make appropriate changes before finalizing the map you have proposed. Thank you for your attention to the foregoing and for your public service in this matter.