Rep Josephs taking well deserved hit in the press

This article in today’s Inquirer discusses how she hasn’t passed a number of reform bills.  It includes the redistricting reform of this spring. She defends herself with “if it’s not right it shouldn’t be done” hoping that the public will believe her definition of “right”. She seems to not only have lost respect, which is a shame, but lost two other very critical items:

1. She has lost a chance to make an issue of true reform for this state. And now it looks like with “Bonusgate” the Democrats gamble that they would control the 2010 redistricting may fail. They will deservedly suffer from an even worse redistricting from the Republicans in 2010 if they do lose the House this fall.

2. She lost the chance to make a “defining moment” for herself. A chance to stand up and be counted not just as a Legislator but as a true Representative of the people. She had a chance to fight “the good fight” and to be hero to all of us so desperate to witness a display of integrity in our politicians. Is is sad that she couldn’t see what could have been done. She lacked vision.

Yes, we will wait another ten years. Perhaps then we will find a few representatives that kept their ideals intact when they took their oaths.

Read David Broder on the evils of Gerrymandering

David Broder of the Washington Post writes of the evils of gerrymandering:

Gerrymandering the larger problem

 

How can all the sponsors of HB2420 be silent?

I am amazed that I’ve not seen any Representative writing in to any paper in support of HB2420 after Rep. Josephs pulled the vote. How can over 90 sponsors be so easily cowered by the PA leadership? This inaction just demonstrates more strongly how much power is in the use of gerrymandering. Please let all of the sponsors know how disappointed you are in them.

One Senator’s fight that “failed”: SEN. ROBERT J. MELLOW

Senator Robert Mellow is trying to get fairness in Pennsylvania. Read his June 15th response to complaints he’s not getting it done.

Note that he’s one of the very few supporters of SB346 that has spoken up and he deserves credit.  Now that it was voted out of committee (as he says he was waiting for) let see what he does. The rest of House and Senate seem to have retreated behind the skirt of Rep. Josephs.

The Charge against him The “Gerry” awards by the Poconos Record.

His rebuttal and below, plus many more good articles from the Pocono Record.

Catch up with the Pocono Record, no wonder they are angry

Monroe County is represented by 6 PA State Senators, none of which live in the county. Incredible that we let this happen.  Below is a round up of all the good writing posted in June from the Pocono Record. Keep sending emails and leaving voice messages. I am convinced it does make a difference.

THis link shows the districts

Click here for the story link below

Just found this chart, our representatives abuse our rights.

This is a statement by Dennis Baylor, Made on March 13, 2008.

The charts in this show that over the last 40 years, as the Legislature has learned to guarantee incumbency through gerrymandering, it has now split up 122 muncipalities. Previously it split only 77. This simple fact shows how wrong all the Representatives are on redistricting reform. It is needed and they are abusing the voters.

Letter to the Editor in Inquirer today

Let’s continue the Emails and Voice Mails to Josephs and Evans!

http://www.philly.com/inquirer/opinion/20080624_Letters_to_the_Editor.html

Kill the gerrymander

Chris Satullo’s column “Sliced, diced and gerrymandered” (Inquirer, June 21) is the fourth time in six weeks that he has discussed the political manipulation done by our pseudo-elected state representatives to ensure their jobs. Any citizen who has ever uttered a word of complaint regarding our government should now be fighting for fair redistricting. I’ve made my calls and sent e-mails this weekend. Did you? Please act before we suffer another 10 years of “unrepresentation.” We can kill the gerrymander.

Dick Lolla
Malvern

Inquirer: Redistricting Debates

Redistricting debates in Pa.

 

See the article in the Inquirer:

http://www.philly.com/inquirer/local/20080623_Redistricting_debates_in_Pa_.html

By Angela Couloumbis and Mario F. Cattabiani

Inquirer Harrisburg Bureau

 

HARRISBURG – After nearly losing to a political rookie in 2000, then-House Majority Leader John Perzel found a way to survive in elections to come: he had his Northeast Philadelphia district redrawn.

The result resembled a jigsaw puzzle scattered on the floor, with the pieces containing the maximum number of increasingly scarce city Republicans – people likely to vote for a guy like him. The GOP legislator has not faced a close race since.

Another Chris Satullo Article in the Inquirer on Gerrymandering

This is the fourth article in his series asking for reform however Rep. Josephs and the Pa legislative gang are stalling in hopes to keep their powers of control on the Representatives and Senators. Please continue to email Josephs and leave voice messages using contact info at the end of his article or that located on my various links and pages. Spread the word to friends and family. Time is running out on us.

http://www.philly.com/inquirer/opinion/20080621_Chris_Satullo__Sliced__diced_and_gerrymandered.html

Chris Satullo: Sliced, diced and gerrymandered

By Chris Satullo

Inquirer Columnist

Ride with me as I defy death by merging onto northbound Route 309 at Fort Washington. How ’bout we let that Hummer barrel past? (Nice mileage, pal!) Now, we spot an opening and zoom it.There, we’re on. In the seconds that took, we moved from the 153d State House Legislative District into the 151st. And in the time it took to say that, presto, we’re in the 148th!

Yet we’ve never left Upper Dublin Township, Montgomery County. Three districts in 20 seconds, and we still haven’t fully sampled the gerrymandered cornucopia that is Upper Dublin. Its 26,000 souls are divvied up among four legislative districts and two congressional districts.

The Inquirer goes visual with Redistricting

Today’s Inquirer features an editoral plea for redistricting reform showing our favorite distirct SH 172.

Click here to view

Please keep sending emails to your Representative and Senator and leave voice messages. This effort is picking up momentum.