Open Letter: Say No to Reassignment of Regent Square to District 9

Dear City Resident of Regent Square:

The Regent Square Civic Association is undertaking a citizens’ campaign to stop the shift of the City’s portion of the Square (voting district 14-19) from its current District 5 (Corey O’Connor) to District 9 (Ricky Burgess). We feel that we have an excellent working relationship with, and are tied to District 5 in many ways and are best served by continuing to be represented by it – see the attached letter for details.

In hopes that the Reapportionment Advisory Committee’s preliminary plan is revised to that effect, we are asking for your participation in a letter writing campaign.  Please read the attached letter, then sign and return it to the volunteer distributing it.  Alternately, you can drop it off at the Wilkins School Community Center mailbox (7604 Charleston Ave.) no later than Sunday, July 22nd.  Feel free to add a comment at the bottom of the letter, or send us your own letter instead. Make sure to make and turn in copies for every adult in your household over 18 years of age.  Our goal is to have one letter for every voting age person in Regent Square.

We will bundle all the letters into one package and present them to the Reapportionment Committee and to Pittsburgh City Council on July 24th at the last public hearings on this issue.

Visit http://www.pittsburghpa.gov/council/redistricting/ for more information on this matter.  Contact the RSCA (contact@regentsquare-RSCA.org or 412-371-2010) if you have any questions about this initiative.

Thank you for your help with this important matter.

The Board of the Regent Square Civic Association (2012)
Kitty Brunkhorst, Treasurer
Nancy Drew
Alina Keebler, President
Ken Kuligowski, Secretary
Judy Kuperstein
Kathie Meyer
Thomas Montgomery, Vice-President
Arch Pelley
Jon Perret
Josie Ulrich

P.S.  Please disregard the letter below if your home is not within the City of Pittsburgh and please see attached file for a word format of the letter and correct hyperlinks.

Letter:

Regent Square Neighborhood
Pittsburgh, PA
July 24, 2012


Dear Members of Pittsburgh City Council and its Reapportionment Advisory Committee,

As a resident of the City of Pittsburgh’s Regent Square neighborhood, I hereby request that the Reapportionment Advisory Committee revise its currently proposed preliminary reapportionment plan so that our neighborhood (Ward 14th’s Voting District 19) remains in its current City Council District 5.  I oppose its reassignment to District 9 for the following reasons:

1. Shared Efforts: We have a long-standing and effective relationship with District 5, its elected officials and its staff.  We have worked on many successful initiatives together for many years.

2. Shared Park:  Frick Park, which defines and attracts residents to our neighborhood, will remain in District 5.  We need to have our opinion count on any of the upcoming park improvements.

3. Shared Transportation:  Our neighborhood is greatly impacted by the Parkway East and the Squirrel Hill Tunnels, as are Squirrel Hill and Greenfield, both of which will remain in District 5.  We need to maintain good communications on common transportation initiatives.

4. Shared Public Safety, Public Works, and Public Schools:  Our Police Zone, Public Works Division and School Board Districts are all, for the greatest part, in District 5.  We need to continue to efficiently coordinate efforts in these areas.

5. Shared Geography:  We share the vast part of our neighborhood boundaries with Squirrel Hill.  In contrast if reassigned, we will share ONE block (or 6/100s of a mile) with District 9.

I strongly feel that in order to preserve the viability of our neighborhood, Regent Square should remain part of Council District 5.

The Committee has been charged with creating Council Districts that are as “contiguous and compact” and “as equal in population as practicable”.  These goals can be better achieved by leaving Regent Square in District 5.  Instead, we suggest that the Committee consider assigning to District 9 certain districts immediately south of Penn Avenue.  Not only will their relocation create a more contiguous and compact District 9 but will also facilitate efforts to continue to improve the Penn Avenue Corridor.

Thank you for your time and consideration on this important matter.

Sincerely,



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