In a recent interview on WPSU's Take Note, I talk about the principles in the Pennsylvania Redistricting Process, about the need to reform the redistricting process, and about the political battles going on around redistricting in Pennsylvania. (You can listen to the podcast from the link above or read the transcript here
In an interview with the Philadelphia Inquirer, I talk about the Governor's Redistricting Advisory Council. (Caution: this story contains quotes taken out of context).
In the Fall of 2021, I served on Governor Tom Wolf's Redistricting Advisory Council. I appeared on Fox 8 to discuss the Council's plans for redrawing electoral districts in the state of Pennsylvania.
"Work continues on developing new boundary lines for congressional districts in Pennsylvania. One area in our region is telling those in charge we shouldn’t be split between two districts. The governor’s Advisory Council on Redistricting held a public hearing at Penn State Monday. Lee Ann Banaszak of the university’s Political Science Department is one of the council members. 'The demographics of Pennsylvania have changed dramatically recently and that’s certainly the case here in Centre County,” said Banaszak. A state Supreme Court ruling in 2018 split Centre County between the 12th and 15th districts. Many of those who testified Monday, such as Ron Williams, feel the county should be included in one district. 'State College and Bellefonte have many shared resources and interests,' Williams said. Another speaker, Debbie Trudeau, said the State College area, and the surrounding Centre region, shouldn’t be a site for a boundary line as it currently is. 'State law doesn’t allow town to incorporate itself,' said Trudeau, 'So, State College looks like just a spot on a map, but it isn’t, it’s a growing region.' Because of last year’s census, the goal is for each congressional district in the state to include 765,000 residents. Due to the population decline in Pennsylvania, the state will be losing one seat in the House of Representatives."
