FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
State Rep. Greg Vitali D-Delaware www.pahouse.com/Vitali

Pileggi bill decimates Delco congressional seat

HARRISBURG, Dec. 15 -- A bill prime-sponsored by state Sen. Dominic Pileggi which would radically alter the 7^th Congressional District of Pennsylvania was voted out of the Pennsylvania state Senate late Wednesday night and approved by the House State Government Committee this morning. 

State Rep Greg Vitali, D-Delaware, a member of the House State Government Committee, voted against the bill and called upon Pileggi to use his influence to redraw the proposed lines of the 7^th Congressional District.

"The 7^th District should remain a suburban Philadelphia district," Vitali said. "It should not stretch into Amish country and up into Berks County."

Senate Bill 1249 would establish new boundaries for all 18 Pennsylvania congressional districts. The bill would extend the 7^th District, which currently contains most of Delaware County and smaller parts of Chester and Montgomery counties deep into Lancaster and Berks counties.

Vitali said the proposed new 7^th District was crafted to cherry pick Republican-leaning municipalities in the five-county area to make it a safe Republican district. Vitali called on U.S. Rep. Patrick Meehan, who currently represents the 7^th District, to speak out against the plan.

"This plan makes Pennsylvania districts less competitive," Vitali said. "In less competitive districts, congressmen play to the extreme elements of their political base and are less willing to compromise. This leads to the gridlock we see in Washington today."

Vitali said congressional districts should be compact, keep communities of interest intact and minimize municipal splits. Vitali said the proposed 7^th District has none of these qualities.

"It's difficult to see how we in Delaware County are in the same community of interest as the Amish farmer in Paradise Township, Lancaster County," Vitali said.

State Rep. Steve Samuelson, D-Lehigh/Northampton, another member of the State Government Committee who voted against the bill, described the shape of the proposed new 7^th District as resembling a "piece of spin art.”

Vitali also noted that this bill would increase the number of counties in the 7^th Congressional District from three to five and greatly increase both its length and width.

"A district with this size, number of municipalities and diversity of population makes it more difficult for a congressman to know and understand the problems of the people he represents," said Vitali. “It also makes it more difficult for citizens to know and connect with their congressman.”

The plan is expected to be considered by the full House of Representatives next week.

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