Berks County Spring Twp 6
Berks County Spring 6 Members of the LRC: I have voted for 55 years. Redistricting has always been a back-room deal. Thank you for bringing it out in the open. The ability to see the discussions and participate in the process is a breath of fresh air. Thank you for making this happen in my life time. As an engaged citizen, I did my due diligence and reviewed the LRC proposed legislative maps for Berks County. The proposed maps are definitely an improvement over past maps. Thank you. However, in the House map, my precinct of Spring 6 stands out as weird. It is the finger waving in the southwest end of the 129th from the 99th. My precinct is suburban. My neighbors and I shop, attend concerts and events, and send our children to school in the 129th. Our community of interest is to the east. Spring 6 has open space (Gring’s Hill), but it is too steep for agriculture. Being in the largely rural and agricultural 99th makes no sense. Moreover, the population in the 99th is +2,398; the population in the 129th is -2,957. The population of Spring 6 is 2,348. Transferring Spring 6 from the 99th to the 129th would lessen the population deviances of the two districts. The proposed 99th House district would have ample votes in the neighboring county that my area – on the edge of the district and not agricultural - could be easily ignored. The 129th, on the other hand, is a compact district and, even though Spring 6 is at its edge, the chance of our being ignored is minimal. Please consider moving Spring 6 to the 129th.