The 202nd State House District, currently represented by Mark Cohen, changed dramatically in the 2012 redistricting. The Philadelphia district as set after the 2000 census looks like a chopped up crescent, stretching from Pennypack Park, past Ziehler Playground, and over to Broad Street. In some places it looks like it is only a few blocks wide.
In the 2012 map it is a far more compact district, resembling a slanted map of Indiana. Pull them up and compare. 2000 map and new 2012 map
It is a whole new ballgame in the 202nd. Another factor in the mix is a primary challenger, Jared Solomon. With the changed district Rep. Cohen may not be a known factor to a large percentage of his new constituents. This could be an interesting time to live in the 202nd.
It's not really a whole new ballgame in the 202nd. The district remains a multiracial, multicultural one with large numbers of blue collar voters and union members. Large numbers of my "new" constituents are also former constituents, including, most prominently, the leaders of the 54th and 62nd Wards.
ReplyDeleteI have always served, and engaged with, large numbers of people outside of the ever-shifting boundaries of the legislative district I have represented in the past. Philadelphia neighborhoods are not foreign countries. People want effective delivery of services at all levels of government, and genuine leadership to solve urgent public problems. That is what I have provided year after year, decade after decade.
I have stood up to the Governor's Office, and I have stood up to City Hall. My leadership for branch libraries helped preserve them citywide. My leadership for better police community relations helped end the polarization of the past and helped lead to the generally cooperative police-community attitudes on both sides that generally exists today. I have worked successfully to get funding for needed city programs, and I have helped ensure that city residents have a major say in where the money goes.
The many who know the difference between rhetoric and a record of performance will be voting for me by large and decisive margins in the May 2014 Democratic primary.