Letters: Benninghoff’s hypocritical opposition; House map result of fair process

Benninghoff’s hypocritical opposition

Kerry Benninghoff’s op-ed regarding the Pennsylvania Legislative Reapportionment Commission’s vote to approve a fairer state House map is breathtakingly hypocritical. In past redistricting cycles, the PA GOP unabashedly gerrymandered maps, and Rep. Benninghoff enjoyed a hand-crafted safe district that also suppressed Democratic representation. While Rep. Benninghoff complains that the proposed map divides State College, he should remember that, in our current map, the PA GOP cracked Ferguson Township into three state House districts, while carving Centre County into four districts, three of which extended far into neighboring counties.

The LRC’s proposed map reduces the number of Centre County state House districts to three, which comports with our population size. Further, it creates a compact, competitive district that leans slightly Democratic, reflecting the county’s electoral trends. Despite his bluster, Rep. Benninghoff finds himself comfortably situated outside of that competitive district, safe from the serious challenge posed by Democratic state House hopeful Paul Takac, the College Township councilperson who has been vigorously campaigning for months.

Rep. Benninghoff also alleges that the proposed maps are gerrymandered statewide to favor Democrats because Republican incumbents are pitted against one another more often. This is merely the result of correcting decades of gerrymandering and a reflection of the huge population losses in heavily Republican areas of the state. Moreover, PlanScore’s analysis shared by Fair Districts PA shows that the proposed map still slightly favors Republicans.

When manipulated maps win you seats and secure majorities, fairness must feel like oppression. Poor Kerry.

House map result of fair process

PA Republican leader Kerry Benninghoff neglected to tell us something important in his “woe is me” piece in the December 22 CDT complaining about the redistricting proposals: he “forgot” to mention that he was actually on the Election Commission that produced the new PA State House map.

Benninghoff was one of two Republicans on the commission along with two Democrats, and with Mark Nordenberg, the retired chancellor of University of Pittsburgh, serving as chair providing a neutral vote. The final vote for the map we are now seeing, and the one Kerry is crying about, was 3-2. Kerry lost.

That used to be how democracy worked. If you couldn’t come to a consensus agreement on something, you took a vote. Sometimes you win, sometimes you lose. If you lose you show some class by supporting the winning side and move on. But apparently Kerry can’t understand that in a fair election sometimes things don’t always go your way.

Unfortunately, there’s a lot of this going on all around the country. It’s a Republican thing.

Casino questions need answers

Young adults are approximately 6 times more likely to become addicted to gambling than the general adult population. This raises important questions that should be answered before the Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board (PGCB) decides whether or not to approve the license for the new Nittany Mall Casino that will be located just a 10-minute drive from the Penn State campus:

1. How much excess gambling addiction does the PGCB estimate will occur in Pennsylvania if a new casino is constructed at the Nittany Mall instead of somewhere else not located close to a large college campus?

2. How much tax revenue must the new casino generate for each additional Pennsylvania citizen that experiences gambling addiction for the commonwealth to fully compensate for the negative immediate and long-term effects of that gambling addiction? How much tax revenue must the casino generate per addicted citizen for the PGCB to approve and/or renew its license?

3. Does the PGCB follow any guidelines regarding how close a casino can be located to a college campus or to any other population center that is especially susceptible to gambling addiction? Why or why not?

If you would like the PGCB to address these or any other questions, or if you would like them to deny the license for the proposed casino at the Nittany Mall, please e-mail your feedback to boardclerk@pa.gov. Be sure to include “Nittany Mall Casino” in the title of your message to ensure that it is associated with the appropriate licensing decision.