Events
Reclaiming Our Democracy: The PA Conference to End Gerrymandering
Event Description
Join volunteers, supporters, academics, press and legislators for a one-day redistricting conference in Harrisburg. Featured speakers will include
- David Daley, author of “Ratf**cked: Why Your Vote Doesn’t Count” and upcoming sequel, “Unrigged: How Americans Are Battling Back to Save Democracy.”
- Walter Olson, senior fellow at the Cato Institute’s Robert A. Levy Center for Constitutional Studies & co-chair of the Maryland Redistricting Reform Commission.
Expect breakout sessions on redistricting reform, mapping technology, advocacy best practices and coalition building, with time to network, collect new material and prepare for the continued fight ahead.
Cost
$40 regular price / $20 for retirees, students, and unemployed
(Lunch and coffee breaks are included in the registration fee)
Register now.
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Schedule
8:00 am Registration and coffee
Spend time at our “messaging wall”—vote for your favorite messages
9:00 am Welcome and Introduction
Carol Kuniholm, Chair, Fair Districts PA
9:10 am Gerrymandering: The larger story
Losing the Center: Gerrymandering, Gridlock and Inaction
Jason Altmire
The Maryland Story and the Libertarian Case for Reform
Walter Olson
The California Story: Reclaiming Trust and Transparency
Gil Ontai, Jean Raya, Andre Prevenu
Across the States: The LWVUS #FairMaps Initiative
Jessica Jones Chapparell
10:15 am Break
10:30 am Getting it right: Weighing the options for reform
What Voters Said: Pennsylvania Redistricting Reform Commission Report
David Thornburg
The House Bill 22/23 story: A Continuing Conversation
Carol Kuniholm
What We’ve Learned and Are Still Learning: Creating an Independent Commission
Panel conversation with David Thornburgh, Walter Olson, Jason Altmire, Pat Beaty, Jessica Jones Capparell, Gil Ontai, Jeanne Raya, Andre Parvenu, moderated by Carol Kuniholm
11:45 Lunch
Tables grouped by regions or topics
1:15-3:00 Breakout Sessions:
Round One
Ballroom A: The Problem of Prison Gerrymandering and What We Can Do
How counting incarcerated persons shifts power and harms communities.
Rory Kramer, Darrell Bell, Sara Stroman
Ballroom B: Effective Lobbying: The Advocacy Team Approach
A non-confrontational, respectful approach to effecive legislative visits.
Tony Crocamo, Mark Pavlovich
Ballroom C: Connect the Dots/Reform the Rules
Procedural rules in our state Legislature and the tight knot of dysfunction held in place by our redistricting process
Rachel Sorokin Goff, Pat and Ed Krebs, Michael Pollack, Carol Kuniholm
Round Two
Ballroom A: Census 2020: Broadening our coalition to ensure a complete count in our under-counted, under-resourced, under-represented communities.
Alicia Dorsey, Norman Bristol Colon
Ballroom B: California Commissioners: YES, Citizens Can Draw the Maps. Lessons learned from three members of California’s first independent citizens commission.
Gil Ontai, Jeanne Raya, Andre Parvenu
Ballroom C: Lean In, Learn More, Dig Deeper: Connecting the dots between gerrymandering, dysfunction, corruption and control. Interactive strategy session for research and data visualization.
Carol Kuniholm, Rachel Sorokin Goff, Stefanie Ostfeld
3:00 pm Coffee break and social networking
3:30 pm Reclaiming Our Democracy
Connecting the Dots: Corporate Undue Influence over the PA Legislature
Stefanie Ostfeld
Yes, We Can Win! How Citizens Are Battling Back to Save Democracy
David Daley
Finding a Way Out by Engaging the Other: Reflections from an Activist Rabbi
Michael Pollack
Conference Closing What we’ve learned, how we’ll win this. Closing thoughts for the road head. Carol Kuniholm