Montgomery County is too split
Dear Chairman Nordenberg and the LRC, My name is Cheryl Turetsky, and I’ve lived in Montgomery County, Pa for the past 35 years, 1st in Upper Dublin Township, and now in Cheltenham Township (Elkins Park). I’ve attended and received degrees from schools in Pa; i.e.,Temple University School of Law in Phila.; Drexel-Hahnemann University Graduate School in Philadelphia, and Arcadia Graduate School, in Glenside, Montgomery County, Pa My daughter attended Penn State University. I am currently on the Board of Nami, Montgomery County, Pa (National Association-for Mental Health), and have been on the Montgomery County peer Creative Visionary Council of Creating Increased Connections in Bridgeport, PA (which is part of the Montgomery County Resources for Human Development). I have also worked as an attorney for the Third Circuit Court of Appeals for 10 years, and as a teacher, both in the Philadelphia and Montgomery County School Districts for 14 years. I am interested in the redistricting process, and deeply care about fair and racially equitable maps in PA, so that every Pennsylvanian has access to the vote and fair representation. We are members of the Pennsylvania Religious Action Center of Reform Judaism. We are 40 synagogues comprising about 40,000 souls, and Jewish communities across the commonwealth uniting to advocate for fair and racially equitable legislative maps. Jewish sacred legal text teaches “a ruler is not to be appointed unless the community is first consulted.” Our faith calls us to advocate for maps that will provide all Pennsylvanians, especially marginalized groups and racial minorities, with adequate representation. As part of the group I would like to express gratitude to the LRC for your hard work and your efforts to improve the redistricting process. Thank you for holding hearings and making the process more transparent than in years past. We are especially grateful for your consideration and attention to racial equity. It is heartening to see maps that reflect the growth in communities of color and give minority voters more representation than in years past. We are paying close attention to the final map release and trust that you will follow through with your commitment to creating minority opportunity districts and to taking community comments into account. We urge you not to give in to partisan pressure to backslide on the improvements to ending partisan gerrymandering and creating opportunity districts in the House and to make necessary changes to Senate and certain House districts. As I have attended school, worked (including volunteer work), am a member of a Congregation, and have lived, in Montgomery County for many years, I am directing my comments to the most recent State Senate map drawn by the LRC for this County. In the latest LRC rendering, Montgomery County is split into 6 districts, and two of the districts go across county lines. This is too many districts, and decreases the voting power of the representatives in each. I refer to Ruth Y map (cite below), which instead divides Montgomery County into four.districts, and the districts do not not cross into other counties. The Ruth Y map with respect to Montgomery County is more proportional with respect to population, which makes for more viable representation, and better complies with the requirements of compactness, split score, and population deviation. Ruth Y’s map re Montgomery County, and her supporting testimony, that I have referred to, and am incorporating into my testimony, is at this site: https://www.redistricting.state.pa.us/comment/submission/1927 With respect to minority representation in the State, I also concur with the thoughts and map renderings submitted by Ruth Y in her map at the above site. Thank you for reviewing the above written testimony, which expresses my concerns regarding the latest map of the Senate districts in Montgomery County, and issues of minority representation in the State. Sincerely, Cheryl Turetsky Dear Chairman Nordenberg and the LRC, My name is Cheryl Turetsky, and I’ve lived in Montgomery County, Pa for the past 35 years, 1st in Upper Dublin Township, and now in Cheltenham Township (Elkins Park). I’ve attended and received degrees from schools in Pa; i.e.,Temple University School of Law in Phila.; Drexel-Hahnemann University Graduate School in Philadelphia, and Arcadia Graduate School, in Glenside, Montgomery County, Pa My daughter attended Penn State University. I am currently on the Board of Nami, Montgomery County, Pa (National Association-for Mental Health), and have been on the Montgomery County peer Creative Visionary Council of Creating Increased Connections in Bridgeport, PA (which is part of the Montgomery County Resources for Human Development). I have also worked as an attorney for the Third Circuit Court of Appeals for 10 years, and as a teacher, both in the Philadelphia and Montgomery County School Districts for 14 years. I am interested in the redistricting process, and deeply care about fair and racially equitable maps in PA, so that every Pennsylvanian has access to the vote and fair representation. We are members of the Pennsylvania Religious Action Center of Reform Judaism. We are 40 synagogues comprising about 40,000 souls, and Jewish communities across the commonwealth uniting to advocate for fair and racially equitable legislative maps. Jewish sacred legal text teaches “a ruler is not to be appointed unless the community is first consulted.” Our faith calls us to advocate for maps that will provide all Pennsylvanians, especially marginalized groups and racial minorities, with adequate representation. As part of the group I would like to express gratitude to the LRC for your hard work and your efforts to improve the redistricting process. Thank you for holding hearings and making the process more transparent than in years past. We are especially grateful for your consideration and attention to racial equity. It is heartening to see maps that reflect the growth in communities of color and give minority voters more representation than in years past. We are paying close attention to the final map release and trust that you will follow through with your commitment to creating minority opportunity districts and to taking community comments into account. We urge you not to give in to partisan pressure to backslide on the improvements to ending partisan gerrymandering and creating opportunity districts in the House and to make necessary changes to Senate and certain House districts. As I have attended school, worked (including volunteer work), am a member of a Congregation, and have lived, in Montgomery County for many years, I am directing my comments to the most recent State Senate map drawn by the LRC for this County. In the latest LRC rendering, Montgomery County is split into 6 districts, and two of the districts go across county lines. This is too many districts, and decreases the voting power of the representatives in each. I refer to Ruth Y map (cite below), which instead divides Montgomery County into four.districts, and the districts do not not cross into other counties. The Ruth Y map with respect to Montgomery County is more proportional with respect to population, which makes for more viable representation, and better complies with the requirements of compactness, split score, and population deviation. Ruth Y’s map re Montgomery County, and her supporting testimony, that I have referred to, and am incorporating into my testimony, is at this site: https://www.redistricting.state.pa.us/comment/submission/1927 With respect to minority representation in the State, I also concur with the thoughts and map renderings submitted by Ruth Y in her map at the above site. Thank you for reviewing the above written testimony, which expresses my concerns regarding the latest map of the Senate districts in Montgomery County, and issues of minority representation in the State. Sincerely, Cheryl Turetsky