Clinton County Unites to End Gerrymandering
LOCK HAVEN – On Thursday, December 7 at 11 a.m. at the Clinton County Courthouse steps, Clinton County officials will join citizens and volunteers from Fair Districts PA to announce all 29 municipalities and the county commissioners have passed resolutions supporting legislation that would end partisan gerrymandering in Pennsylvania.
Gerrymandering is the practice of a governing party gaining unfair political advantage by manipulating electoral district boundaries. Two bills currently before the PA General Assembly, Senate Bill 22 and House Bill 722, call for amending the PA constitution to put the redistricting power in the hands of an independent citizens commission. The bills have bipartisan support of 112 cosponsors.
Clinton County is the first Pennsylvania county to have 100 percent passage of resolutions. “What we are seeing in Clinton County today is government as it should be. By signing these resolutions our leaders demonstrate they are representing us in this effort for redistricting reform,” said Rose Reeder, Clinton County Coordinator for Fair Districts PA.
The Clinton County resolutions document the county leaders’ support and call on every elected official representing the voters to publicly support and work for passage of that legislation. Rep. Mike Hanna (D-Clinton/Centre) is a co-sponsor of HB722. Fair Districts PA said Sen. Joe Scarnati (R-Brockway) has not yet supported SB22. Clinton County Fair Districts PA Group said in a release it intends to send a full packet of the resolutions to all elected officials at both the state and federal level.
“Pennsylvania is one of the most gerrymandered states in the nation,” says Jamie R. Mogil, State Coordinator for Resolutions, Fair Districts PA. “We are asking every governing body to consider a resolution calling on its representatives in Harrisburg to enact fair, independent, nonpartisan redistricting reform this year. This reform is not about Democrats or Republicans. It’s about restoring accountability in government and faith in our democratic processes.”
Reeder said the Clinton County Resolutions may go a long way in convincing the State Committee Chairmen to bring these bills out of the State Government Committee to the floor for a vote. Currently, more than 150 municipalities and 13 counties have passed similar resolutions with close to 200 in progress across the Commonwealth.
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Fair Districts PA is a nonpartisan, statewide coalition of individuals and organizations who believe free and fair elections are the foundation of our democracy. Our mission is to ensure the redistricting process in Pennsylvania is fair, transparent and accountable. We oppose gerrymandering in all its forms and support amending the Pennsylvania Constitution to assign the redistricting power to an independent citizens commission. Fair Districts PA supports SB 22 and HB 722. For more information, visit our website at www.FairDistrictsPA.com.
