Borough Council Passes Resolution Against Gerrymandering

Council voted on Wednesday night to pass a resolution to ask the state legislature to reconsider its plans to split the borough into two separate legislative districts.

Currently, the whole borough resides in legislative district 156.  The new plan would split the borough between 156 and 160, and it would even split West Chester University where some dorm buildings would be in 156 and others would be in 160.

In the resolution the borough asks Harrisburg to reconsider because West Chester is only 1.8 square miles and is an urban community that does not share the same characteristics with the surrounding suburban communities.

The new district line would also put half of the borough into the same district that mostly represents Delaware County even though West Chester shares no boarders with communities in Delaware County.

The resolution also argues that the new districts violate the Pennsylvania State Constitution because under the constitution a municipality may not be divided without just cause. 

Representatives for the borough will speak at a public hearing in Harrisburg on Friday to make the case that the borough should not be divided.