PCN broadcast the redistricting committee's meeting today. I watched part of it. Should you ever want to drain the civic energy or political optimism out of someone, show them the tape of that meeting. The bulk of what I watched consisted of two men arguing over the proposed map (which viewers did not get to see -- its supposed to be up on the redistricting site within 24 hours). They referred to Republican districts and Democratic districts. It sounded to me like districts were targeted for deletion based on whether or not the person representing that district was going to be running again, or on the relative seniority of the person representing the district now. (It's a first in last out situation apparently).
During the time I watched there was no real mention of how all this might affect the people living in the district. It's all based on protecting party and incumbency. There is talk of ONE public meeting, to be held in Harrisburg during the work day, to discuss the proposed new districts. So I guess the only people whose opinions matter are lobbyists and political employees. People who have to be at work, at a job that is not politically motivated, would have to take a vacation day, and that can be tricky on short notice.
It is so discouraging, not to mention an embarrassment.
(update: politicspa has the maps: http://www.politicspa.com/redistricting-watch-preliminary-pa-legislative-maps/29065/ )
Monday, October 31, 2011
Watching the Redistricting Debacle
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1 comment:
You nailed how redistricting goes. If a seat needs to be eliminated, it is based on who isn't running again. Case in point, Dennis O'Briend 169th district. They expect him to be in City Council next year, so they relocated the district westward and divided it up amongst the rest of the NE Philly districts.
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