Senatorial Districts in Delco and Montgomery Co.
As a resident of Radnor Township, Delaware County, I have a sense of the many challenges you face in drawing senatorial districts. I am pleased that Radnor is contained intact in the 17th Senatorial District. However, in reviewing the LRC map for the 17th District, I have numerous concerns. First, it snakes from Haverford, in Delaware County, into Montgomery County bordering Philadelphia, up to Conshohocken, around King of Prussia, over toward Valley Forge Park and then juts up near North Wales. The communities within this proposed area are remarkably different in more ways than just their geography. Communities within sections of the “Main Line” are quite distinctive from those in Bridgeport and West Conshohocken. For an elected official to represent such diversity can be problematic since what may be helpful to one area of the district could be detrimental to another. Issues such as school funding is a prime exemplar. Second, it appears that Montgomery County is cut up unnecessarily given its population. There would seem no authentic reason to have it split into five (5) different senatorial districts – one into a portion of Delaware County, one with Chester County and two into portions of Philadelphia. Only one is completely within the County borders. Third, adjacent Delaware County is split into four (4) senatorial districts with only one entirely within the county. One is split with Philadelphia, one with Chester County, and one with Montgomery County. It appears that environmental justice areas along the Delaware River in Delaware County are divided into three different senatorial districts. It is unclear to me how such lines could be drawn unless overwhelming consideration is given to retaining incumbents. Maintaining elected officials within drawn districts to promote their personal, political interests rather than those of the citizens seems to be contrary to my basic understanding of good government. Fairly drawn maps should be responsive to the people. Please review the senatorial districts in Delaware and Montgomery Counties in an effort to provide improved compactness and limit divisions – particularly across municipal and county lines. I fear the inability of some elected officials to serve constituents appropriately in some of these weirdly-shaped and seemingly disjointed counties will promote further marginalization and disenfranchisement of voters. I appreciate your consideration.