Reps about gerrymandering
Be vocal to your
I’m afraid you buried the lead in your otherwise great article on Saturday about redistricting and Fair Districts PA (“Move Afoot to Change How Pa. Draws Its Political Boundaries,” March 18). It’s critical to know that if a constitutional amendment doesn’t pass this legislative session, then we’ll have to wait till the 2030 census to have another shot at it. It’s not enough that the Democrats have a majority on the Supreme Court — that just keeps the ball bouncing back and forth.
Gerrymandering doesn’t just affect who gets elected — it affects how they govern while in office. If they know their seat isn’t locked in, they’ll have to vote more in line with what their constituents want. It has not gone unnoticed that the majority of Americans are way out ahead of their legislators on many issues. Why? The legislators are afraid of the small, vocal minority that votes in primaries and are willing to vote against the will of the majority that votes in November.
This could be fixed if an independent, impartial citizens commission did the redistricting, not career politicians.
More and more people I talk to are concerned about this — and many think their legislators feel as they do. The PG article pointed out that this is not always the case. I encourage people to find out where their representatives stand and make their wishes known. JOHN SEIFFER
Squirrel Hill
In this era of uncivil shouting matches and little real compromise, there’s a possible remedy. End gerrymandering. If voting districts are created that favor one political party or the other, those elected can avoid talking to “the other side” and working with them to address real issues.
Because the upcoming census will cause district lines to be redrawn, Pennsylvania should adopt a constitutional change to bring redistricting under the supervision of a party-neutral board. We may actually wind up talking to each other and finding common ground — a huge step in the right direction. CATHERINE HORNSTEIN
Shadyside