Time to tame the beast of redistricting

Pat Meehan is a busy guy. His 7th District Congressional seat has always covered the bulk of Delaware County.

But these days he has to “represent” a few more constituents. That’s because “Delaware County’s congressman” is now wearing a few more hats.

He’s also, in part, Chester County’s congressman.

And Berks County’s congressman.

And Montgomery County’s congressman.

And Lancaster County’s congressman.

That’s right, the 7th District now zigs and zags its way through parts of five different suburban Philadelphia counties.

That is due to something called gerrymandering. A little bit like making sausage, it’s something best not viewed up close.

Every 10 years, congressional districts are reshaped to take into account the differences in the latest census. The next change will reflect the 2020 Census changes.

What this is really all about is political power. Those in control of our ruling bodies bend and shape the districts to benefit themselves and their candidates.

A few years back, the 7th District was considered a toss-up. That’s when upstart Democrat Joe Sestak ended Curt Weldon’s 20-year reign in Washington. But Sestak had bigger fish to fry and gave up the seat in order to challenge – first his own party – then the GOP in a failed bid for the U.S. Senate.

He beat Republican-turnedDemocrat incumbent Sen. Arlen Specter in the Democratic Primary in a move that infuriated his own party leaders, only to fall to conservative Republican Pat Toomey in the general election.

Meehan stepped into the vacuum and put the 7th District back in Republican hands. Then redistricting kicked in and made it much more likely that it will remain a solid red district. Since then Meehan has cruised to three straight general election wins, routinely gathering 60 percent of the vote.

Don’t blame Meehan; this is an equal opportunity political power play. Democrats have not been shy about bending political boundaries to fit their needs when they are in power as well.

It’s pure politics, and it needs to change.

Thankfully, there is a movement to do just that.

A group called Fair Districts PA has been making the rounds across the state stating the evils of gerrymandering and urging changes in the way the state handles redistricting.

“Pennsylvania is one of the most gerrymandered states in the nation, because lawmakers draw the borders of their own voting districts,” says Carol Kuniholm, Fair Districts PA chair. “Politicians are picking their voters, not the other way around.”

The folks who coined the term “gerrymandering,” so named for Massachusetts Gov. Elbridge Gerry, who back in 1812 signed a bill that benefitted his Democratic-Republican Party by redistricting a portion of the city in the shape of a mythological salamander, would no doubt snicker at the bizarre shape of today’s 7th District.

It is the poster boy for redistricting ills.

Fair District PA wants that to change. So do we.

And they’re not alone. There is a push in Harrisburg, sparked in large part by the outcry over the last redistricting fiasco, to get this power out of the hands of politicians.

The state Constitution says each legislative district “shall be composed of compact and contiguous territory as nearly equal in population as practicable . ... Unless absolutely necessary no county, city, incorporated town, borough, township or ward shall be divided in forming either a senatorial or representative district.”

We would propose the 7th District as Exhibit A of flying in the face of that mandate.

Politicians have been doing this for years, yes, going back to the those days in Massachusetts in the early 1800s. That doesn’t make it right. It’s heartening to see the turnout at these meetings held by Fair District PA.

There seems to be a realization of what is at stake. Maybe, just maybe, voters are starting to come around as well.

Gerrymandering cheats those citizens out of their most precious constitutional right – a vote that counts.

Here’s a vote for changing this blatant political tool and putting the power back where it is supposed to be – in the hands of the voters.