SWPA likely loser in redistricting
From Tom Barnes:
HARRISBURG -- Due to population shifts over the last 10 years, it’s likely that one or two state House or Senate seats could be moved from southwest Pennsylvania to southcentral or eastern Pennsylvania when the map of the new General Assembly districts is drawn this year, two election experts said today.
Eric Kratz, political director of the Pennsylvania Business Council, and political consultant Christopher Nicholas presented a map of all the counties in Pennsylvania that lost or gained population in the just-concluded 10-year census.
In the southcentral area, Franklin, Adams, York and Chester counties gained the most population by percentage, along with four eastern counties centered around Lehigh. Only two southwestern counties, Washington and Butler, showed population growth, while every other southwestern county lost population, up to 5 percent.
Mr. Kratz said it’s just speculation at this point but said there could be a repeat this year of what happened in 1992, when former state Sen. Frank Pecora’s seat was shifted from Allegheny County to Chester County, due to population changes after the 1990 census.
Mr. Kratz said one seat that could be relocated to southcentral Pennsylvania is the 45th Senate district, once represented by Democrat Sean Logan but now by Democrat Jim Brewster. Such a shift would help Senate Republicans, because the Lancaster and Chester county areas are heavily Republican.
In 2002 three southwestern House seats moved to the southeast, to counties like York, Lancastser and Chester, including two House seats from Allegheny County and another seat from Washington County.
Mr. Nicholas said that even though some political power in the state has shifted to the southwest, at least for now -- with new Gov. Tom Corbett from Shaler and House Majority Leader Mike Turzai from Bradford Woods -- there are likely to be fewer General Assembly seats from the Pittsburgh area when the new map is drawn later this year. That map will be in effect for the 2012 legislative elections.
Currently, state legislative leaders are looking for a chairman of the five-member Redistricting Committee. Each of the four legislative caucuses will have a member and the fifth member will be an outsider and will chair the group. A preliminary map is expected to be drawn by late June, but with 203 House seats to be redrawn and 50 Senate seats, the chances for a court challenge to the final map are huge.
HARRISBURG -- Due to population shifts over the last 10 years, it’s likely that one or two state House or Senate seats could be moved from southwest Pennsylvania to southcentral or eastern Pennsylvania when the map of the new General Assembly districts is drawn this year, two election experts said today.
Eric Kratz, political director of the Pennsylvania Business Council, and political consultant Christopher Nicholas presented a map of all the counties in Pennsylvania that lost or gained population in the just-concluded 10-year census.
In the southcentral area, Franklin, Adams, York and Chester counties gained the most population by percentage, along with four eastern counties centered around Lehigh. Only two southwestern counties, Washington and Butler, showed population growth, while every other southwestern county lost population, up to 5 percent.
Mr. Kratz said it’s just speculation at this point but said there could be a repeat this year of what happened in 1992, when former state Sen. Frank Pecora’s seat was shifted from Allegheny County to Chester County, due to population changes after the 1990 census.
Mr. Kratz said one seat that could be relocated to southcentral Pennsylvania is the 45th Senate district, once represented by Democrat Sean Logan but now by Democrat Jim Brewster. Such a shift would help Senate Republicans, because the Lancaster and Chester county areas are heavily Republican.
In 2002 three southwestern House seats moved to the southeast, to counties like York, Lancastser and Chester, including two House seats from Allegheny County and another seat from Washington County.
Mr. Nicholas said that even though some political power in the state has shifted to the southwest, at least for now -- with new Gov. Tom Corbett from Shaler and House Majority Leader Mike Turzai from Bradford Woods -- there are likely to be fewer General Assembly seats from the Pittsburgh area when the new map is drawn later this year. That map will be in effect for the 2012 legislative elections.
Currently, state legislative leaders are looking for a chairman of the five-member Redistricting Committee. Each of the four legislative caucuses will have a member and the fifth member will be an outsider and will chair the group. A preliminary map is expected to be drawn by late June, but with 203 House seats to be redrawn and 50 Senate seats, the chances for a court challenge to the final map are huge.