A Change Is Gonna Come

I sat alone in my tiny office in the East Wing of the State Capitol, focused intently on the 13-inch television tuned to PCN. I have watched or participated in dozens, if not hundreds of hearings in Harrisburg since taking office in 2007, but none quite like this. Most hearings provide useful but not critical information, and there is rarely a sense of urgency. After all, there’s nothing the government does better than hold meetings, right? But this hearing was different. The outcome would fundamentally change my life and the lives of many others, potentially for the next decade. This hearing was the final vote on the Legislative Redistricting Commission.  

For those unfamiliar with the process, every ten years we count everyone in the country through the Census. The following year, each state redefines the boundaries of their state legislative and Congressionaldistricts to reflect the shifts in population. In Pennsylvania, it’s not that simple. The process is unbelievably political, and anyone who says otherwise should be secured in a straightjacket and locked up in an asylum.  

Federal Congressional boundaries are voted on by the Legislature; since the Republican Party controls both chambers and the Governor’s mansion, the resulting map is drawn in a way to help Republicans win elections (not trying to be partisan, just stating a well-known fact). State legislative districts are somewhat different. As per the Pennsylvania constitution, a five-member panel handles the whole process. The panel is composed of the Democrat and Republican leaders from the State House and Senate, plus a Chairman appointed by the State Supreme Court who is supposed to be impartial. 

When the preliminary plan came out last month, it was as though a tsunami had swept through the main rotunda of the Capitol. The plan many of my colleagues and myself were led to believe was agreed to was tossed aside thirty minutes before the vote and replaced with a “stealth map” drawn totally by the Republicans with no input whatsoever from Democrats. The plan was quickly approved on a 3-2 party line vote with the court-appointed Chairman, a Republican judge from Delaware County, casting the swing vote. 

In this Preliminary Plan, the lines of my 46^th District shifted from primarily Washington County with parts of Allegheny and Beaver Counties to a district composed of a smaller part of Washington County, lots of new territory in Allegheny County and none in Beaver County. Areas I had come to know well and really care about like Avella and Hanover and Burgettstown were gone in the blink of an eye, shifting to the 15^th District based out of Beaver County. Even worse, the 45^th District had been moved to the other side of the state, leaving the current representative in my district. This potentially sets up a primary challenge between two incumbent legislators in the spring of 2012, something that hasn’t happened in decades. 

The worst part about this entire process was the almost total lack of input I had from the very beginning. From the time the preliminary plan was released until the final plan was voted on earlier this week, I tried like a madman to get some of my current territory back. A good example is Burgettstown Borough and some of the surrounding areas; I have a district office there and really did not want to leave under any circumstances, so I sat down and found a way to potentially minimize the changes. My request was flatly refused and no explanation was given. 

Our staff intimated to me that the area’s “new” representative from Beaver County, who is a Republican and therefore had a much greater say in the matter, wasn’t interested in my request. As a result, I will likely be forced to close the doors to my Burgettstown district office in the very near future, and the real victims in this process will be the constituents who are losing a local legislator for the sake of politically-motivated mathematics.

Even as I watched the final vote unfold on PCN, I was genuinely terrified my district would end up in a suburban county around Philadelphia, or somewhere in Allentown. Nothing short of moving me to Delaware would have surprised me. When the meeting was over, we received word that our new lists and maps were ready in the Democratic Leader’s office. Hoping for the best but fearing the very worst, I briskly walked up the four flights of steps to find out my fate. My jaw was clenched tighter than I thought possible, and I was more than a little nauseous, but I held it together under the assumption that throwing up on the Leader’s secretary probably wouldn’t help my cause. 

Stumbling past my colleagues, I was finally handed a simple manila folder. The contents were not ideal as I had hoped for, nor were they as catastrophic as I had feared. I managed to hang on to some of my Washington County area, but Burgettstown, Avella, Mt. Pleasant, Hanover, Canton, Chartiers and other familiar names were gone, replaced by places like Bridgeville, South Fayette, Carnegie, Crafton, Heidelberg, Scott and Ingram. I am still likely going to have to face off against the incumbent from the old 45^th District, who now lives in my new territory. In an instant, I thought about all the wonderful friends and unfinished business being replaced by new people to meet and new challenges to attack. It was a mix of uncertainty and excitement I hadn’t felt since I was first elected in 2006. Rest assured, I will still be involved in my familiar areas, and I’ll never turn my back on people in need just because of some lines on a map. 

Of the many aspects of government I can’t control, this may be one of the most frustrating. It was politics at its very worst, but there’s nothing I can do about it now. I’m approaching 2012 with a renewed focus and commitment to work harder than ever for the people of the 46^th District… wherever it may ultimately be.