West Pottsgrove Board Votes for Fair Districts

Photo by Evan Brandt

Chuck and Ruth Yeiser made a presentation to the West Pottsgrove Commissioners Wednesday night on behalf of Fair Districts PAon the need for a Constitutional amendment to take the drawing of Congressional and state House and Senate district lines out of the hands of the politicians who benefit from their gerrymandering and put it into the hands of a non-partisan citizens commission. 

When the founders wrote the U.S. Constitution, they envisioned voters picking their elected representatives, not the other way around.

But as the recent lawsuit over the drawing of Congressional district lines in Pennsylvania, and the subsequent re-drawing of the map by the Pennsylvania State Supreme Court have show, it's a problem.

And while that court decision, and its political ramifications, have grabbed headlines for the past two

months, it does not solve the problem, said Chuck Yeiser, who spokle to the West Pottsgrove Township Commissioners Wednesday on behalf of the organization Fair Districts PA.

When the 2020 Census rolls around, the process will remain the same, except instead of the Republicans controlling the process and drawing districts that help keep Republicans in office, it will be the Democrats turn, thanks to the new majority on the Supreme Court, Yeiser said.

What would be better, he said, noting that former President Ronald Reagan agrees with him, would be a system by which the districts are drawn by those who do not have a stake in the outcome -- a non-partisan citizens commission that is representative of the state, rather than the five middle-aged white guys who did it last time.

This map shows how Democrat-leaning areas of West Pottsgrove and

Pottstown have been divided among three separate state House
districts, 

thus "diluting your voices with more rural areas."

Yeiser explained to the commissioners that West Pottsgrove and the neighboring Pottstown
community had been "cracked" by gerrymandering in order to split and diminish their influence.

(Historical trivia: "Gerrymandering" comes from the 1800s when Massachusetts Gov. Elbridge Gerry, a signatory to the Constitution, allowed a district to his benefit that many said looked like a salamander -- thus Gerry-mander. And now back to our regularly scheduled program.)

As if our elected ethically-challenged leaders in Harrisburg were not already tempted enough to design districts that best fit their needs -- now easier than ever with hair-splitting computer efficiency -- there is a lot of big money involved, Yeiser explained.

Both Republicans and Democrats have formed political action committees raising obscene amounts of cash to try to get control of the process in Pennsylvania for two reasons; one, to try to get (or keep) control of Congress and two, because its so damn easy in Pennsylvania.

Yeiser said the Center for Public Integrity gives Pennsylvania an F when it comes to campaign finance law. "If you want to spend money to influence an election, Pennsylvania is the place to do it," Yeiser said.

This is how gerrymandering districts can produce winners for one party, even when they are in the minority.

"Many of the things we care about cannot be accomplished without a functioning democracy," said Yeiser. "Until we fix a gridlocked system, we cannot make progress on things that matter."

To make matters more difficult, it takes bills passed in two consecutive sessions of the Legislature, and a state-wide vote, to change the state Constitution. And while a bill that would do what Fair Districts has proposed, and has a majority of co-sponsors in the House has sat in the State Government Committee without a hearing for months, it was recently acted upon -- badly.

That's when the chairman, Darryl Metcalfe, a Republican from the western part of the state, not only moved it, but gutted it, giving the legislature even more power to draw district lines because, you know, that worked out so well the last time.

Yeiser said State Rep. Marcy Toepel, R-147th Dist., who represents West Pottsgrove, had wanted hearings on the bill and although she has not said she opposes it, she has also not co-sponsored it.

They were scheduled to meet with Toepel and state Sen. Robert Mensch, R-24th Dist., who also represents West Pottsgrove, today to discuss the problem. Yeiser said it would be helpful to attend that meeting with a resolution from West Pottsgrove, supporting the citizens commission amendment to show both officials their constituents support this bill.

They got what they asked for. With Commissioner Mark Green absent, the board voted 3-1 to adopt the resolution, joining more than 200 others across the state.

Commissioners Chairman Steve Miller cast the dissenting vote, "based just on your presentation," but said he might support it later.

Here are the Tweets from the meeting: