The 169th District moves to York County. The Northeast will be represented in the state Senate by the 2nd and 5th districts.
The Pennsylvania Supreme Court last week voted unanimously to approve new state legislative maps that reconfigure many state Senate and House districts.
Under the new plan, the Northeast will be represented in the Senate by the 2nd and 5th districts.
The 3rd Senatorial District, represented by Democrat Shirley Kitchen, loses all of its divisions in the Northeast. The current district includes Summerdale, Lawndale, Fox Chase and Bustleton.
The 5th Senatorial District, represented by Democrat Mike Stack, who is expected to run for governor next year, will generally include the riverfront, the Far Northeast, Castor Gardens, Rhawnhurst, Bustleton and Somerton.
The 2nd Senatorial District, represented by Democrat Tina Tartaglione, will largely consist of Kensington, Juniata, Frankford, Northwood, Summerdale, Oxford Circle, Wissinoming, Lawndale, Burholme, West Mayfair, Fox Chase and Holmesburg.
Tartaglione is expected to face a very difficult primary challenge in 2014.
In the House of Representatives, there will be nine districts based in part or whole in the Northeast.
The Supreme Court’s decision came 11 months after the Legislative Reapportionment Commission passed a plan for state Senate and House of Representatives districts.
Every 10 years, following the release of census data, a commission draws maps for all 50 Senate and 203 House districts. The commission tries to make each district have an equal number of people. Due to population shifts, some districts are moved to other parts of the state.
The drama started in late 2011, when the commission released preliminary and final plans. In late January 2012, the Supreme Court rejected the final plan on constitutional grounds, ruling that it unfairly split cities, townships and boroughs.
The commission unveiled new maps in April 2012 and then considered suggestions from the public. Changes were made to that map, and commission members voted 4–1 in favor of the plan.
Those voting in favor were chairman Stephen J. McEwen Jr., former president judge of Superior Court; Senate Majority Leader Dominic Pileggi, a Republican; House Majority Leader Mike Turzai, a Republican; and House Minority Leader Frank Dermody, a Democrat.
Only Senate Minority Leader Jay Costa, a Democrat, voted against it.
Legal challenges were made, but the Supreme Court ruled last week that the plan was constitutional.
In the House, the 152nd district, represented by Republican Tom Murt, will include seven divisions in the Bustleton portion of the 63rd Ward.
The 154th district, represented by freshman Democrat Steve McCarter, will no longer have one division in Burholme.
The 169th district, represented by Democrat Ed Neilson, will be moved to a fast-growing area of York County.
Neilson’s home is now located in the 174th district, and he could square off with fellow Democratic Rep. John Sabatina Jr. in a primary next spring.
The 170th district, represented by Democrat Brendan Boyle, will consist of the Far Northeast neighborhoods in the 58th and 66th wards. Boyle will be running for Congress next year. Assuming he does not simultaneously run for re-election, Republicans might have a shot at winning the seat.
The 172nd district, represented by Democrat Kevin Boyle, will move out to Rockledge and also include new areas of Castor Gardens, Burholme, Rhawnhurst and Bustleton.
The 173rd district, represented by Democrat Mike McGeehan and based in Tacony and Holmesburg, moves north to include 15 divisions in the Far Northeast-based 66th Ward.
The 174th district, represented by Democrat John Sabatina Jr., loses the entire Castor Gardens-based 54th Ward and gains areas of Pennypack Woods, Academy Gardens, Torresdale and the Far Northeast.
The 177th district, represented by Republican John Taylor, moves north. It loses Juniata Park and gains GOP-friendly territory in West Mayfair, Holmesburg and Lexington Park.
The 179th district, represented by Democrat James Clay, moves north to include Summerdale and more of Wissinoming and Oxford Circle.
The 202nd district, represented since 1974 by Democrat Mark Cohen, loses its areas of Olney, Logan and West Oak Lane. It is now more compact, consisting largely of areas west of Roosevelt Boulevard and south of Cottman Avenue, but also taking in a dozen divisions in the 62nd Ward in Wissinoming, Lower Mayfair and Frankford.
The 203rd district, represented by Democrat Dwight Evans, will include areas of Crescentville, Lawndale and Oxford Circle. ••
