Meeting delayed 35 minutes, protesters leave peacefully
By Eric Boehm | PA Independent
This story was updated from an earlier version at 5:10 p.m.
HARRISBURG — Shouting “this is what democracy looks like” and “we are the 99 percent,” several dozen members of Occupy Harrisburg and Occupy Lancaster disrupted and delayed a public hearing of the state legislative redistricting commission.
The crowd chanted and clapped for more than half an hour Friday, as state Capitol police, legislative staffers and the five-member commission looked on.
The hearing began about 35 minutes late, with scheduled testifiers attempting to speak over the shouts of the protesters, who eventually left the room without incident.
Protesters said the redistricting process put political interests above the concerns of the people. In particular, they said Friday’s hearing did not include everyone who wanted to speak.
“Everyone has a voice! Everyone should be heard!” the protesters chanted in unison, reading from a prepared statement.
There were 49 people scheduled to testify at the hearing on the newly announced state Senate and state House district maps. The testifiers represented state and local governments, residents and members of nonprofits.
The state legislative maps are redrawn every 10 years following the national census to reflect shifts in population and keep the number of residents in every legislative district balanced.
The state Legislative Reapportionment Commission consists of Senate Majority Leader Dominic Pileggi, R-Chester; Senate Minority Leader Jay Costa, D-Allegheny; House Majority Leader Mike Turzai, R-Allegheny; House Minority Leader Frank Dermody, D-Allegheny; and former state Superior Court Justice Stephen McEwen, a Delaware County Republican who was appointed by the state Supreme Court to be chairman of the commission.
“How long do you expect this to go on?” asked McEwen as he attempted to call the meeting to order a few moments after the protest began.
It continued for quite some time.
“This process leaves voices unheard,” the protesters said, because the process to testify discriminates against those who are homeless and not involved in politics.
“We, the people, are here to stay! Governments don’t pick us! We pick governments!” they chanted. "Are these new district borders absolutely necessary? Is this in the interest of the people or the politicians?"
Some of those who were scheduled to testify were unhappy with the protest, which jeopardized their chance to express their concerns about the new district maps.
“It’s not fair to the people that came, that are here. We’re on the agenda, and they should be quiet,” said Vickie Solberg, of Adams County. “They had their say.”
Some of the scheduled testifiers came from as far away as Pittsburgh, about a four-hour drive.
The protesters said they also were angry about the City of Harrisburg’s decision to evict them from Riverfront Park, a strip of green along the Susquehanna River about three blocks from the Capitol, where the movement had set up tents and temporary housing a few weeks ago.
“We felt like this was a way to show that we notice how the process works with leaving people out, and that’s all it really was,” said Nelson, who declined to give his last name, a protester from Lancaster who came Friday to Harrisburg to support the protesters here who were threatened with eviction.
“If anyone’s voice isn’t going to be heard today, we’re sorry,” Nelson said.
The city told the protesters that they had until 1 p.m. Friday to leave the park. Police were used to clear the park Friday afternoon, but no violence was reported.
