How many Congressmen does it take...
Montgomery County is represented by six congressfolk -- six! -- though, by size, it merits only two.
How many Congressfolk does it take to represent Montgomery County? Two? Three? Four?
No, my friends, it takes six, an astronomical feat of creative cartography and gerrymandering, as I wrote in my column today, that is unlikely to change wihen the districts are redrawn and Pennsylvania's U.S. House delegation shrinks from 19 to 18.
Only one of the six representatives, Allyson Schwartz, lives in Montco, yet she doesn't represent the county seat of Norristown.
The electoral rolls are 45 percent Democratic, 40 percent Republican, and 15 percent independent, and went heavily blue in the last few presidential election, yet four out of the six representatives are Republicans.
Is Montgomery County truly served by having the congressional carved up county carved up in so many pieces? As I wrote, "the county's legislative map is so gerrymandered, it looks as if it was attacked by paramecia. Philadelphia, with almost twice the population, has a mere four representatives."
--Karen Heller