Advocates for changes to reapportionment and the statute of limitations vow to fight on

Jun. 28—State lawmakers left Harrisburg for the summer last week, but the advocates who clamored unsuccessfully for legislative changes say they aren't giving up.

Two of the most vocal groups — the organizations that promoted legislation on congressional and legislative reapportionment and those who pushed for the adoption of a window of opportunity law giving adult survivors of child sexual abuse the right to sue their abusers outside the statute of limitations — say they will continue their battle.

But they are pursuing different strategies.

Kathryn Robb, executive director of Child USAdvocacy, a group that successfully promoted similar changes in laws in states across the nation, vowed to stand with advocates promoting in-your-face tactics targeting Senate Majority Leader Kim Ward. Ward, a Hempfield Republican, refused to bring a window of opportunity bill that passed the state House to a vote in the Senate this spring. Instead, she opted to sign onto a resolution for a constitutional amendment that could not be passed by voter referendum until 2023.

Those promoting changes in the redistricting and reapportionment process also came away disappointed when the Senate failed to act on a bill that had 25 sponsors. But they pivoted away from failed legislation for now and are recruiting and training volunteers to participate in a series of public hearings the Legislative Reapportionment Commission is planning to schedule, both live and via internet, in July and August.

Fair Districts PA, the statewide organization that sought to transfer mapping duties from a panel of lawmakers to the kind of nonpartisan citizens' commissions already operating in multiple states, knew changing the law to prohibit gerrymandering was a long shot. Gerrymandering, the process by which law makers adjust legislative and congressional maps to account for new census figures in a fashion that favors incumbents and the party in power, has a long history in Pennsylvania.

Advocates say such practices dilute citizen voices and can concentrate power in a few hands.

"I think we're more determined than ever," said Karen Calhoun, regional coordinator for Fair Districts in Westmoreland and Somerset counties. "Pennsylvania still very badly needs a solution to codify how these things are done. But there are things we can do to make the process better this time around."

The organization is holding a contest complete with ten $1,000 first prizes to be awarded for the best citizen drawn district maps for Pennsylvania's state House and Senate districts. Mapping tools and information are available on its website.

Those working for changes to the state's statute of limitations for child sexual abuse survivors haven't scheduled anything for the near future, but they are adamant that they, too, are in for the long haul.

Shaun Dougherty, a Johnstown man who detailed how he was abused by a Catholic priest as a child, is among the more vocal members of the coalition pushing for immediate change to allow survivors to sue their abusers beyond the statute of limitations.

"I'll die first. I will literally go mad or drop dead before I go away," Dougherty said. He said he spent 27 nights in Harrisburg between mid-March and June 25, haunting the halls of the Capitol and will be there again this fall.

State Rep. Jim Gregory, R-Blair County, a child sexual abuse survivor who has pushed for immediate action on the issue, said he feels the same way. Twice now, he and others watched proposed changes die — first when then Senate President Pro Tempore Joe Scarnati refused to hold a vote in late 2018 and, then, earlier this year when a constitutional amendment that was to have been a referendum on the May 18 primary ballot, died when an oversight in Gov. Tom Wolf's administration resulted in the amendment not being advertised as required by law.

Gregory later attempted to cobble together a coalition to hold up funding for state related universities pending passage of a law to create an immediate window of opportunity.

"These folks have waited 17 years now and that is longer than they should have had to wait," Gregory said of the ongoing efforts to change the law.

Robb, a lawyer specializing in children's issues who has been active in multiple states, echoed his sentiments and vowed to make sure lawmakers and the Wolf administration are held to account.

"We are staying out until the survivors in Pennsylvania get the justice they deserve. Twenty-five jurisdictions have passed revival legislation this year alone — Arkansas, Kentucky, Nevada, Louisiana and Maine are standing with survivors and justice," she said. "Where is Pennsylvania? Still standing with sexual predators and cover-up, thinly veiled in a misplaced constitutional argument."

Deb Erdley is a Tribune-Review staff writer. You can contact Deb at 724-850-1209, derdley@triblive.com or via Twitter .