Objection to 160th redistricting

Dear Committee, I would like to file my object with Upper Chichester being moved out of the 160th District to be moved to the 159th District. My main concern is that Upper Chichester is not in the same communities of interest with the rest of the 159th communities and it would adversely affect our representation. While it is true that we share a school district with a few towns in the 160th, we share a lot of other similar characteristics with the surrounding communities in the 160th District and 161st District. First and foremost, we are much more of a rural town than the other areas in the 159th District. They are very industrial by nature while we are not. I fear that we would lose the representation to the issues that our community has which are very different in nature than more urban, industrial areas. Secondly, our religious communities are much more aligned with surrounding areas of Bethel, Concord, and Aston. We share very little, if any, religious communities/places of worship with towns in the 159th. Mount Hope Church has a pre-school program that many children from Upper Chichester, Aston and Bethel attend. It has been a constant beacon that brings our communities and our children together. Next, many of our youth sports programs are tied together. Chichester Baseball League, Brandywine Youth Center, and Aston Valley sports programs all have interchangeable kids from Upper Chichester, Aston (Part of which is in the Chichester School District), Bethel, and Concord. Many of our travel sports programs are also made of children from these towns. Finally, the mind set of the residents should be considered. People from Upper Chichester, Aston, and Bethel/Concord all freely move between the towns. My two siblings moved to Aston from Upper Chichester. My spouse’s two siblings moved to Aston and Upper Chichester from Bethel. People rarely, if ever move from a rural area to a heavily industrial area. Upper Chichester has a long and rich history of being the 160th District. Our state representative’s office was in the Upper Chichester for years. Please do not break up our community of interest by moving us to the 159th for political reasons. In the absence of being able to stay in the 160th District, going to the 161st District which would be a better fit for Upper Chichester than going to the 159th District. Thank you for your time and I hope that you will give this letter true consideration. David J. Bartholf, Esquire Upper Chichester Resident