William H. Milliken, Jr. - Redistricting and The "Green Grab"

Redistricting and The "Green Grab"

In the census of 1960, although Pennsylvania's population rose 7.8%, many states in the rest of the nation were growing much more rapidly. California grew 48.5%; Texas, 24.2%; Arizona, 73.7%; Nevada, 78.2%; and Florida, 78.7%, as well as other southern and western states. The trend of migration away from the aging Rust Belt and Snowbelt states to the Sun Belt had begun in earnest. The shift in people also meant a shift in congressional seats, with Pennsylvania losing 10% of its delegation, dropping from 30 to 27.

Locally, the same trend was evident, with Philadelphia's population dropping for the first time, a slight dip of 69,000 to 2,002,512, while the suburbs increased rapidly. The four suburban counties combined grew a whopping 55%, with Delaware County holding its position as the most populated, with 553,154. With the ideal population for a congressional district in Pennsylvania of 419,235, Delaware County was way under-represented, while Philadelphia, with its six seats, would be over-represented. If no changes were made, each of Philadelphia's congress members would be representing only 333,752 residents.

Soon after the 1960 election, there were reports that the Democrats in Philadelphia would attempt, through their political clout in Harrisburg, to move some Delaware County communities from the Seventh District to the city's Second District, centered in West Philadelphia. State senator-elect Bell stated: "I would resist to the last drop of my blood - political or otherwise - any attempt of Philadelphia to superimpose itself over Delaware County in any way whatsoever." Rumors were rampant that the powerful Democratic party chairman of Philadelphia, Congressman Bill Green, was pushing behind the scenes for such a plan.

In March 1961, Democratic state senator John J. Haluska of Cambria County, introduced a bill to combine Delaware and Chester counties into the 7th District, as well as Bucks and Montgomery counties into the 8th. Bell vigorously opposed the plan, noting that Philadelphia would still be left with six congressmen, representing some 330,000 residents, while the 7th district population would be around 850,000. "Philadelphia and Allegheny Counties are left intact and this bill is an obvious pointing to the type of Democratic state leadership we're getting", Bell rails. "- the Democrats in Philadelphia and Pittsburgh want to have control of the state."

On May 12, 1961, during a panel discussion before the Haverford Township Civic Association and League of Women Voters, a prominent Democrat and a Republican from Upper Darby spoke. Dr. G. Edward Janosik, a political science professor at the University of Pennsylvania, was opposed to the Green plan, as well as Republican plans. He recognized the necessity of crossing county lines in order to equalize the population of each district. Former county district attorney Raymond Start said he opposed Philadelphia receiving more than its fair share of state and federal representatives, adding: "We're going to have our own tea party in the Delaware, and it will be 'Green Tea'".

On July 24, 1961, Eyre called for a mass protest by county citizens, stating: "The latest move on the part of Boss Bill Green to move into Delaware County and kidnap a large number of our voters is one of the most callous and vicious political maneuvers I have ever seen."

As usual, the Democratic leadership looked at the rational side of the issue. County chairman, James J. Connor, challenged the GOP to come up with a plan to alleviate the population imbalance between congressional districts. "The present Congressman from Delaware County represents 134,000 people more than he should in Washington", Connor stated. "How does he (Eyre) propose to give the voters of Delaware County equal representation without a jointure with one or more of the adjoining areas?"

In Washington, Green restated his support of city-suburban district jointure and also was pushing for legislation to increase House membership from 435 to 439. If passed, that bill would mean Pennsylvania would lose only two seats, instead of three. Green's plan became known by its Republican critics in the suburbs by the catchy name, "Green Grab". On July 31, 1961, GOP leaders of Bucks, Chester, Delaware and Montgomery Counties met in King of Prussia and issued a statement urging citizens to "resist the efforts of Democratic Boss Bill Green to grab sections of the suburbs to prevent the loss of a city congressman."

In addition to the county commissioners and the City Council of Chester, the townships of Aston, Upper Darby, Springfield and Tinicum adopted resolutions condemning Green's plan in no uncertain terms. The Anti-Annexation Committee of Southeastern Pennsylvania, consisting of the Republican chairmen of the four suburban counties, as well as Lancaster and Lehigh counties, was formed. The committee held strategy meetings with Bell, Milliken, county state representatives, county commissioners and War Board members. County Democrats, meanwhile, accused the Republican leadership of having no proposals of its own for redistricting. County chairman Connor posed a question to his GOP counterpart, Mayor Eyre: "How do you propose to give the voters of Delaware County equal representation without a jointure with one or more of the adjoining areas? I for one do not want Congressional redistricting to be handled in the same disproportionate manner that the Republican Party handled the redistricting of Delaware County for the State Legislature a short time ago."

In August 1961, state House Majority Leader, Stephen McCann, a Democrat, outlined the Green proposal to move Haverford, Marple, Newtown and Radnor townships to the 2nd District, represented by Kathryn E. Granahan, a Democrat and Bensalem Township in Bucks County to be shifted to Democrat Herman Toll's Fifth District. With the addition of 104,708 Delaware County and 23,478 Bucks County residents, each of the city's congressmen would represent 355,116 residents, while the 7th District would contain 448,446 residents and the 9th would contain 488,967. Opposition was immediate and vehement, with even county Democratic leaders in opposition. "I think Bill's overstepping his bounds", Leo Steinmeyer, chairman of the Newtown Democratic party stated. Governor Lawrence, a Democrat, held a meeting with the two state party chairmen, party secretaries and state legislative leaders. Three congressmen from each party were scheduled to attend, but did not. George Bloom, state GOP chairman blamed the failure of the meeting on the lack of attendance by the congressman. "We are at an impasse where negotiations would get us nowhere", Bloom declared, "unless Philadelphia surrenders one of its six congressmen." Suburban GOP leaders charged that a "conspiracy" existed between Lawrence and Green regarding reapportionment. The Pennsylvania House minority leader, Albert W. Johnson, stated: "I am convinced that the governor would have given in and rejected Green's plan, except that Green is running the show."

Eyre and Green verbally sparred, when the latter protested use of the word "annexation" regarding his proposed reapportionment plan. "Use of the word is an absolute fraud, well calculated to mislead people both in the suburbs and in the city", the Democrat said. Eyre forcefully responded: "Bill Green...either should go back to school or open a copy of a good dictionary. Webster defines the word annex as a verb meaning 'to attach, join or add, especially something larger'...Annexation it will continue to be as far as hundreds of thousands of residents of suburban Philadelphia counties who object to the Green grab..."Bell presented his own plan, calling for: Philadelphia to give up one seat, preferably Green's; the GOP to yield a seat in the western part of the state and two districts with evenly balanced voter registration be merged into one. To make matters worse for the G.O.P, a Democratic state senator, Harry E. Seyler presented plans to merge all of Delaware County with Philadelphia for the purpose of congressional redistricting.

By the end of August, the legislature had adjourned without any agreement between both parties on reapportionment. Lawrence declared that he would call a special session of the legislature after the November elections for redistricting. On October 31, Milliken issued a challenge to county Democrats: "I, for one, have grown weary of waiting for any major Democratic candidate in this election to make his or her position known on Bill Green's plan to cut up Delaware County for congressional elections. The only safeguard against annexation, political or otherwise, is an overwhelming Republican victory at the polls Tuesday." Republican candidate for county prothonotary, Howard Reed, called the Green plan the first step to eventual total annexation of the county by Philadelphia. He warned the City is casting "covetous eyes on the suburban tax dollar as one way out of the financial shambles in which the Democrat party has placed it."

In the general elections, Republicans did well in Delaware County, giving Henry X. O'Brien about 60% of the vote for a seat on the state Supreme Court. The GOP also carried local elections in 47 of 49 towns, leaving the party in a much better position than the previous year. The Democrats losing local offices in ten communities. In the city, the Democratic slate only carried the district attorney and controller slate by about 54%. O'Brien won statewide and Republicans were confident they could retake the governorship and U.S. senate seat up for grabs in 1962. After the election, Eyre commented: "Philadelphia has long tried to move into Delaware County through the wage tax. The reapportionment question was just another form of potential annexation. But, why he (Green) brought it up again is a mystery; it certainly wasn't smart politically." In December, 1961, with no action having been taken by the time the legislature adjourned, a group of local Democrats, led by Upper Providence Justice of the Peace Donald Kahn, proposed its own redistricting plan. The Democrats' map kept Philadelphia separate from the suburbs and moved eleven northern and western Delaware County communities, as well as five Montgomery County towns, to the Ninth Congressional District in Chester County, which would be separated from Lancaster County. The Seventh District would have consisted of the southern and eastern tier of the county and would have had a population of 422,000.

In effect, the suburbs would receive an additional seat to reflect their rapid population growth. Democratic state chairman, Otis B. Morse met with political leaders and congressmen of his party, including Green. "I'm not married to any plan", commented Green, who seemed to back away from his earlier scheme. "I've never said you have to drop a seat anyplace. I've never said you have to add a seat here or there. That's been George Bloom."

With the filing deadline for candidates looming, Lawrence said in January that "we have adopted this other formula - a makeshift redistricting - and that's what it will be - to hurtle this present situation of avoiding having an election of all 27 member of Congress at large. Subsequent legislatures, I hope, will be in a position to redistrict the state properly, and have an equitable division somewhere close to the 419,000 mean". The governor called a special session of the legislature to convene on January 22, for the purpose of drawing up congressional districts. Chester's Democratic state representative, John E. Gremminger (aka "Reds Gremminger"), attacked Bell's plan to combine Delaware and Chester counties into one district, with two congressmen elected at-large, calling it "unworkable and un-American". After an inconclusive meeting with Lawrence and Morse, Bloom declared: "If this matter had been left to the legislature to decide early last year, without outside interference, we would have had a solution now and there would have been no reason for a special session. As Republican state chairman I shall assist and advise in every way that I can, but the final decision on what districts will be eliminated is a matter for the legislature and its committees to decide." Morse, in turn, retorted: "It would appear that responsibility for the delay is going to be placed exactly where it belongs - with the Republicans."

County Democrats announced their plan to partition the county from east to west, with twelve towns in the northern tier to be placed in the Chester County district. The remaining Delaware County based district would have a population of 417,113, while the Chester-Delaware County district would have 346,649 residents. Connor reiterated his earlier support for such a plan: "The concept of crossing county lines is not unknown. Southeastern Pennsylvania is unique in that congressional districts have been in recent years restricted to county lines and hence the people are underrepresented." Finally, on the fifteenth of January, a committee consisting of the two parties leaders and a 14 member bipartisan legislative group, agreed to eliminate one Philadelphia district, a Republican district in the central part of the state and merge the districts of Republican Ivor Fenton and Democrat George Rhodes. Green and the other five members of the city delegation met and agreed to eliminate Mrs. Granahan's Second District, which had lost over 32,000 residents. The City Democratic Committee approved the plan, forwarding it to the state chairman for incorporation in upcoming legislation. "It's agreeable to the county (Republican) organization", commented Eyre. "Just as long as Delaware County isn't changed in any way", Connor charged, "nce again, it creates a district that is too large, which means these people are being denied proper representation."

With no debate and minor dissension, the legislature finally passed a bill reducing Philadelphia's six member congressional delegation by one and leaving the suburban representation unaffected, as follows:

1st-5th Dist Phila. (Average) 400,502 7th District Delaware 553,154 8th District Bucks/Lehigh 536,103 9th District Chester/Lancaster 488,967 13th District Montgomery 516,682 Ideal Average Pennsylvania 419,235

As mentioned above, the new alignment left the suburbs substantially under-represented, while leaving the city over-represented in Congress, but no county lines had been breached. But, this would be the last time that there would be such a massive population imbalance between congressional districts. In less than two years, the federal and state courts would rule that the large population imbalances were unconstitutional.