G. Robert Watkins
Encyclopedia
George Robert Watkins also known as G. Robert Watkins, was a Republican
member of the U.S. House of Representatives, representing the 7th
district of Pennsylvania
. He operated a farm in Delaware County and was a breeder of thoroughbred horses.
. He attended public schools there and learned the trade of shipfitter
, before moving to Chester County, Pennsylvania
in 1920. There he organized the Chester Stevedoring Company, which he sold in 1931. With a partner, he then organized the Blue Line Transfer Company, operating a truck fleet in the eastern states. Watkins was elected Sheriff
of Delaware County, Pennsylvania
in 1945 and served one term, through 1948, before his election to the Pennsylvania State Senate
, where he served from 1949 to 1960. He then also served one term as county commissioner for Delaware County, from 1960 to 1964. A longtime member of the Delaware County Board of Republican Supervisors (War Board), he was refused a second county commissioner term in 1963, but was endorsed the following year to represent Pennsylvania's 7th congressional district
in Congress, where he served three terms.
by a few votes. Thirty-nine-year-old Democrat Dr. Leonard Bachman won his primary by a similar margin and was ready to wage a tough campaign for the fall election. As in the presidential elections of 1944 and 1960, the Democrats had a very strong top of the ticket this time. Also, they were helped by a narrowing of the Republican registration lead in the county, a trend that began in the previous decade. Since 1960, the Democrats had gained about 7,700 voters, while the GOP lost about 1,200. By the November election, the new totals were: 227,825 Republicans to 67,247 Democrats.
In early July, rumors that the War Board was maintaining a neutral stance regarding the Republican presidential contest between moderate Pennsylvania Governor William Scranton
and conservative Arizona
Senator Barry Goldwater
, were denied. Mae Kernaghan, the executive secretary of the county party, said that on February 24, the War Board had endorsed the governor, notifying him by letter of their decision. JRP Surveys of Drexel Hill interviewed 200 voters in Upper Darby on June 30, asking their preferences in the presidential primaries and general election, with the worst showing for the GOP being: Goldwater, 21%; Johnson, 66%; Neither/No Opin, 13%.
The widespread view that Senator Goldwater was an extremist was not shared by Watkins. On July 23, Watkins told the News of Delaware County: "He doesn't have extremist views. That's just part of the newspaper campaign waged against him ever since he began his bid for nomination." Even though Goldwater voted against the Civil Rights Act of 1964
, Watkins added: "Goldwater is a real friend of the Negro." Watkins, the "gentleman farmer" from Birmingham Township, derided his opponent as one who "reads the newspapers and talks a lot - I don't pay any attention to him. I understand he's a good doctor. He should talk into his own stethoscope."
Bachman had strong criticism for the Republicans, stating that Goldwater's support of extremism as a virtue "gives aid and comfort to extremists on both sides." Regarding the looming civil rights issue, he declared: "I came out against the civil rights demonstrations in Chester this spring because I don't think the answer to the Negroes' problem lies in the streets. Goldwater, in his nominating speech, seemed to condone such demonstrations. County residents are, I believe, upset by the increasing rate of civil rights activity, but not enough to lose their common sense for one issue." Denying the possibility of a national backlash from whites, county Democratic chairman Ernani C. Falcone said: "The issue is being promoted by Goldwater forces to manufacture controversy." In August, Bachman announced he had taken a three month leave of absence from his duties as a medical doctor at Children's Hospital in Philadelphia
to go "directly to the people".
As the heated campaign drew to a close, both candidates issued statements attempting to persuade the voters in their direction. At a meeting of the Haverford
Township Lions Club, Bachman leveled an attack on the War Board-backed candidacy of Watkins:
Watkins returned fire in a release from the Republican headquarters in Media:
In Pennsylvania, President Johnson received 3.130 million votes to 1.672 million for Goldwater. In hester, Pennsylvania, it was a complete collapse of the top of the ticket, with Goldwater taking only 31% of the vote and a Democrat being elected as state representative, even though it was widely known he was a "McClure Democrat". Watkins narrowly escaped being a political casualty, with his 129,572 to 123,750 win over Bachman, a close margin of only 5,822. While Goldwater only carried 14 towns, Watkins carried 25, including all of the largest, except the City of Chester and Ridley Township. This was the last election in which all of Delaware County would be contained in the same congressional district. There also was enough ticket-splitting to give state Senator Clarence Bell a comfortable lead for his second term, 137,495 to 115,747. In the Second legislative district
, which consisted of the northern and eastern tiers of the county, all four Republican incumbents were re-elected handily by about an average of 11,000 votes, while in the Third District
, consisting of the Chester Pike and riverfront towns, the results were closer, but all four GOP candidates came through by about 6,000 votes. This would also be the last election where multiple members would be elected from the same district.
When Watkins was sworn into office in January, 1965, he sat with only 139 other Republicans, while 295 Democrats sat as the majority. In the Senate, Hugh Scott had only 31 other colleagues of his party, while the Democrats had 68. Not since the New Deal
in 1937, did so many Democrats occupy seats in Congress. But, their peak of power and popularity would be relatively short-lived, as the Vietnam War
entered a major escalation phase only months after Johnson's inauguration, in spite of his campaign promises to the contrary.
On March 28, John J. McClure, 78, died twelve days after being admitted to University Hospital
in Philadelphia for multiple fractures of the hip and pelvis. Flags at all Chester city municipal buildings were flown at half-staff the rest of the week. Frank Snear, chairman of the county commissioners, succeeded McClure as chairman of the War Board.
. At his death, he was succeeded on the committee on Sept. 23, 1970 by Republican John G. Schmitz
of California
.
that "as nearly as practicable, one man's vote in a congressional election it to be worth as much as another's." The effect of this ruling meant that the redistricting in Pennsylvania and many other states based on the 1960 census
was nullified and would need to be redone.
In regards to his opposition to reapportionment and possible shift his hometown of Birmingham
and the rest of western Delaware County with Chester County
Watkins commented, "It just doesn't seem right to me that a portion of Delaware County
should be tacked onto some other county just to reach someone's idea of a magical figure." In January 1966, he testified to that effect before the state Senate reapportionment Committee and said that by 1970, Delaware County would have enough population to support two congressmen. In February, Watkins again attacked the pending redistricting plans:
Meanwhile, it seemed that politicians of both parties were trying to avoid repeating the donnybrook of 1961. Philadelphia party leaders agreed to leave the alignment of the five city districts the same. The state's congressional delegation had reached a consensus on the remaining 22 districts. The plan would move Haverford, Marple and Radnor townships into Montgomery County's 13th district, while shifting Abington, Cheltenham, Lower Moreland and Upper Dublin townships into the Eighth District with Bucks County. However, later that month, the agreement seemed to unravel, as Scranton objected to leaving Philadelphia's districts unchanged. He cited that due to the city's districts not being contiguous and compact, the reapportionment plan will be subject to court challenges. "I agree," said William Meehan, GOP leader in the city. "Republicans upstate worked it out in 1962 and made the deal with Green and shoved it down my throat."
Events took a sudden turn, when Paul Dague, the 9th District incumbent, who Watkins would be forced to run against under the pending proposal, announced his retirement. Dague then endorsed Watkins and offered to campaign for him in the primary. County Democrats charged that the Philadelphia Democratic leadership cut a deal with the War Board, to allow the city to keep its five congressmen in exchange for dividing Delaware County between the 7th and 9th districts. The plan would also include Lower Merion and Narberth in the 7th District, which would comprise the eastern tier of the county. John J. Logue, of Swarthmore, the Democratic candidate for Congress, charged Snear with "gerrymandering". "It seems inevitable that one congressional district will cross county lines, but there is no reason for both of them to do so," the candidate said.
In March, the state Senate passed an amended bill, which removed the Montgomery County communities and restored Radnor to the 7th District. With the extended filing deadline for candidates looming, the House quickly passed the redistricting bill and candidates scrambled to file nominating petitions. County Democrats still voiced their dissatisfaction and believed that the splitting of Delaware County was designed to prevent the Democrats from winning in either district. The reapportionment plan signed by the Governor placed 22 southern and western Delaware County communities into the Ninth District, with all of Chester County, which was separated from Lancaster County. The remaining 27 towns in the populous eastern half of Delaware County became the Seventh District. The Eighth District became all of Bucks, with several municipalities from Lehigh and Montgomery Counties, while the Thirteenth District retained the remainder of Montgomery County. While correcting some of the population imbalance, the new alignment still had problems. The Eighth District had a population of only 356,821, compared to the Thirteenth District, which contained almost 125,000 more. The legislature and political establishment finally had allowed the crossing of county lines in the suburban counties of Philadelphia for the first time. However, it would take another Supreme Court ruling to further correct the disproportionate representation in Congress and the state legislature.
With the shift of Watkins' hometown of Birmingham to the new Ninth District, the Seventh District became an open seat, which would be filled that year by Springfield GOP leader Lawrence G. Williams. In the meantime, Watkins now represented a district where 56% of the residents resided in Chester County. In spite of the desire of some leaders that the district be represented by a Chester County resident, an accommodation was reached between the War Board and the leadership of the former, allowing Watkins to continue. He was easily re-elected in November, 1966, beating Democrat Louis F. Waldman, 81,516 to 48,656.
Although the War Board was officially neutral in the heated contest for the Republican presidential nomination between Nixon and Rockefeller in 1968, Watkins said he "was all the way" for Nixon. "With his training as vice president and his understanding of foreign and domestic affairs, there is no one with a name that can equal him," the congressman declared. In the general election, Watkins easily beat his Democratic challenger, Philip L. Harding, 100,399 to 56,532. In his last election in 1970, he beat a nominal challenger in the Republican primary, Anthony Z. Giampietro, 31,058 to 13,419.
from a heart attack while attending a meeting of the Penn Oakes Club (in Chester County). On August 27, 34 delegates from Delaware County met with 56 delegates from Chester County at the Penn Oakes Club to determine the candidate to replace Watkins on the GOP ballot. The chairman of the Delaware County Republican executive committee, Ed Hineman, read a tribute to the late congressman, stating: "All of us knew him as Bob Watkins, and found him to be a very congenial friend and a very clear thinking legislator....He was forceful in action and wise in counsel, and he had great wit...The citizens of Pennsylvania's Ninth Congressional District have lost a superb Representative, and I have lost a very close friend.". Watkins was replaced in the next election by state senator John Ware
, of Oxford. He is buried at Birmingham-Lafayette Cemetery in Birmingham Township, Pennsylvania
, near West Chester.
Republican Party (United States)
The Republican Party is one of the two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Democratic Party. Founded by anti-slavery expansion activists in 1854, it is often called the GOP . The party's platform generally reflects American conservatism in the U.S...
member of the U.S. House of Representatives, representing the 7th
Pennsylvania's 7th congressional district
Pennsylvania's 7th congressional district incorporates parts of the Philadelphia suburbs, including most of Delaware County. It is currently represented by Republican Pat Meehan in the 112th United States Congress....
district of Pennsylvania
Pennsylvania
The Commonwealth of Pennsylvania is a U.S. state that is located in the Northeastern and Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States. The state borders Delaware and Maryland to the south, West Virginia to the southwest, Ohio to the west, New York and Ontario, Canada, to the north, and New Jersey to...
. He operated a farm in Delaware County and was a breeder of thoroughbred horses.
Early life
George Watkins was born on May 21, 1902 in Hampton, VirginiaHampton, Virginia
Hampton is an independent city that is not part of any county in Southeast Virginia. Its population is 137,436. As one of the seven major cities that compose the Hampton Roads metropolitan area, it is on the southeastern end of the Virginia Peninsula. Located on the Hampton Roads Beltway, it hosts...
. He attended public schools there and learned the trade of shipfitter
Shipfitter
A shipfitter is a marine occupational classification used both by naval activities and among ship builders; however, the term applies mostly to certain workers at commercial and naval shipyards during the construction or repair phase of a ship....
, before moving to Chester County, Pennsylvania
Chester County, Pennsylvania
-State parks:*French Creek State Park*Marsh Creek State Park*White Clay Creek Preserve-Demographics:As of the 2010 census, the county was 85.5% White, 6.1% Black or African American, 0.2% Native American or Alaskan Native, 3.9% Asian, 0.0% Native Hawaiian, 1.8% were two or more races, and 2.4% were...
in 1920. There he organized the Chester Stevedoring Company, which he sold in 1931. With a partner, he then organized the Blue Line Transfer Company, operating a truck fleet in the eastern states. Watkins was elected Sheriff
Sheriff
A sheriff is in principle a legal official with responsibility for a county. In practice, the specific combination of legal, political, and ceremonial duties of a sheriff varies greatly from country to country....
of Delaware County, Pennsylvania
Delaware County, Pennsylvania
Delaware County is a county located in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania. As of 2010, the population was 558,979, making it Pennsylvania's fifth most populous county, behind Philadelphia, Allegheny, Montgomery, and Bucks counties....
in 1945 and served one term, through 1948, before his election to the Pennsylvania State Senate
Pennsylvania State Senate
The Pennsylvania State Senate has been meeting since 1791. It is the upper house of the Pennsylvania General Assembly, the Pennsylvania state legislature. The State Senate meets in the State Capitol building in Harrisburg. Senators are elected for four year terms, staggered every two years such...
, where he served from 1949 to 1960. He then also served one term as county commissioner for Delaware County, from 1960 to 1964. A longtime member of the Delaware County Board of Republican Supervisors (War Board), he was refused a second county commissioner term in 1963, but was endorsed the following year to represent Pennsylvania's 7th congressional district
Pennsylvania's 7th congressional district
Pennsylvania's 7th congressional district incorporates parts of the Philadelphia suburbs, including most of Delaware County. It is currently represented by Republican Pat Meehan in the 112th United States Congress....
in Congress, where he served three terms.
1964 election
With incumbent William H. Milliken bowing out after not being endorsed by the War Board, Watkins faced three other candidates in the 1964 primary: Carl Mau, John W. Wellman and John T. Kenna. When the election was over on April 28, Watkins won by about 55% of the total vote. His closest opponent, Wellman, had only 30% of the vote, but had surprisingly carried SpringfieldSpringfield Township, Delaware County, Pennsylvania
Springfield Township, or simply Springfield, is a township and a Census Designated Place in Delaware County in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania. The population was 23,677 at the 2000 census...
by a few votes. Thirty-nine-year-old Democrat Dr. Leonard Bachman won his primary by a similar margin and was ready to wage a tough campaign for the fall election. As in the presidential elections of 1944 and 1960, the Democrats had a very strong top of the ticket this time. Also, they were helped by a narrowing of the Republican registration lead in the county, a trend that began in the previous decade. Since 1960, the Democrats had gained about 7,700 voters, while the GOP lost about 1,200. By the November election, the new totals were: 227,825 Republicans to 67,247 Democrats.
In early July, rumors that the War Board was maintaining a neutral stance regarding the Republican presidential contest between moderate Pennsylvania Governor William Scranton
William Scranton
William Warren Scranton is a former U.S. Republican Party politician. Scranton served as the 38th Governor of Pennsylvania from 1963 to 1967. From 1976 to 1977, he served as United States Ambassador to the United Nations.-Early life:...
and conservative Arizona
Arizona
Arizona ; is a state located in the southwestern region of the United States. It is also part of the western United States and the mountain west. The capital and largest city is Phoenix...
Senator Barry Goldwater
Barry Goldwater
Barry Morris Goldwater was a five-term United States Senator from Arizona and the Republican Party's nominee for President in the 1964 election. An articulate and charismatic figure during the first half of the 1960s, he was known as "Mr...
, were denied. Mae Kernaghan, the executive secretary of the county party, said that on February 24, the War Board had endorsed the governor, notifying him by letter of their decision. JRP Surveys of Drexel Hill interviewed 200 voters in Upper Darby on June 30, asking their preferences in the presidential primaries and general election, with the worst showing for the GOP being: Goldwater, 21%; Johnson, 66%; Neither/No Opin, 13%.
The widespread view that Senator Goldwater was an extremist was not shared by Watkins. On July 23, Watkins told the News of Delaware County: "He doesn't have extremist views. That's just part of the newspaper campaign waged against him ever since he began his bid for nomination." Even though Goldwater voted against the Civil Rights Act of 1964
Civil Rights Act of 1964
The Civil Rights Act of 1964 was a landmark piece of legislation in the United States that outlawed major forms of discrimination against African Americans and women, including racial segregation...
, Watkins added: "Goldwater is a real friend of the Negro." Watkins, the "gentleman farmer" from Birmingham Township, derided his opponent as one who "reads the newspapers and talks a lot - I don't pay any attention to him. I understand he's a good doctor. He should talk into his own stethoscope."
Bachman had strong criticism for the Republicans, stating that Goldwater's support of extremism as a virtue "gives aid and comfort to extremists on both sides." Regarding the looming civil rights issue, he declared: "I came out against the civil rights demonstrations in Chester this spring because I don't think the answer to the Negroes' problem lies in the streets. Goldwater, in his nominating speech, seemed to condone such demonstrations. County residents are, I believe, upset by the increasing rate of civil rights activity, but not enough to lose their common sense for one issue." Denying the possibility of a national backlash from whites, county Democratic chairman Ernani C. Falcone said: "The issue is being promoted by Goldwater forces to manufacture controversy." In August, Bachman announced he had taken a three month leave of absence from his duties as a medical doctor at Children's Hospital in Philadelphia
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Philadelphia is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania and the county seat of Philadelphia County, with which it is coterminous. The city is located in the Northeastern United States along the Delaware and Schuylkill rivers. It is the fifth-most-populous city in the United States,...
to go "directly to the people".
As the heated campaign drew to a close, both candidates issued statements attempting to persuade the voters in their direction. At a meeting of the Haverford
Haverford, Pennsylvania
Haverford is an unincorporated community located partially in Haverford Township in Delaware County, Pennsylvania, USA, but primarily in Lower Merion Township in Montgomery County, about west of Philadelphia. It is on the Main Line, which is known historically for its wealth. As of August 2009,...
Township Lions Club, Bachman leveled an attack on the War Board-backed candidacy of Watkins:
Successive lackluster Congressmen spawned by the Republican machine bosses have been notable for one major characteristic—their utter lack of concern for job, business and industry in our county. The political phantom who is the Republican Congressional candidate not only has failed to speak out on the vital issues of this campaign, but he had failed to show up before the public. The Republicans have given the nomination to a man who took part in four years' County administration marked by bickering and physical combat among its top elected officials.
Watkins returned fire in a release from the Republican headquarters in Media:
...I don't believe that the people of Delaware County can afford to wait for a man with a longing to go to Congress to gain 12 years of legislative experience. I am interested, too, in the retired man or woman, who are living on pensions, a fixed income or Social Security. I promise to fight for legislation to bring the dollar back to being worth a dollar. The dollar today is worth just 44 cents because of the deficit spendingDeficit spendingDeficit spending is the amount by which a government, private company, or individual's spending exceeds income over a particular period of time, also called simply "deficit," or "budget deficit," the opposite of budget surplus....
of the Democrats. If something isn't done we will have to use a wheelbarrow to take enough paper money to the store to buy a loaf of bread.
In Pennsylvania, President Johnson received 3.130 million votes to 1.672 million for Goldwater. In hester, Pennsylvania, it was a complete collapse of the top of the ticket, with Goldwater taking only 31% of the vote and a Democrat being elected as state representative, even though it was widely known he was a "McClure Democrat". Watkins narrowly escaped being a political casualty, with his 129,572 to 123,750 win over Bachman, a close margin of only 5,822. While Goldwater only carried 14 towns, Watkins carried 25, including all of the largest, except the City of Chester and Ridley Township. This was the last election in which all of Delaware County would be contained in the same congressional district. There also was enough ticket-splitting to give state Senator Clarence Bell a comfortable lead for his second term, 137,495 to 115,747. In the Second legislative district
Pennsylvania's 2nd congressional district
Pennsylvania's second district includes predominantly African American sections of the city of Philadelphia-West Philadelphia, North Philadelphia, and Northwest Philadelphia in addition to Cheltenham Township in Montgomery County...
, which consisted of the northern and eastern tiers of the county, all four Republican incumbents were re-elected handily by about an average of 11,000 votes, while in the Third District
Pennsylvania's 3rd congressional district
Pennsylvania's third district is located in the northwestern part of the state and includes the cities of Erie, Sharon, Hermitage, Butler and Meadville....
, consisting of the Chester Pike and riverfront towns, the results were closer, but all four GOP candidates came through by about 6,000 votes. This would also be the last election where multiple members would be elected from the same district.
When Watkins was sworn into office in January, 1965, he sat with only 139 other Republicans, while 295 Democrats sat as the majority. In the Senate, Hugh Scott had only 31 other colleagues of his party, while the Democrats had 68. Not since the New Deal
New Deal
The New Deal was a series of economic programs implemented in the United States between 1933 and 1936. They were passed by the U.S. Congress during the first term of President Franklin D. Roosevelt. The programs were Roosevelt's responses to the Great Depression, and focused on what historians call...
in 1937, did so many Democrats occupy seats in Congress. But, their peak of power and popularity would be relatively short-lived, as the Vietnam War
Vietnam War
The Vietnam War was a Cold War-era military conflict that occurred in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia from 1 November 1955 to the fall of Saigon on 30 April 1975. This war followed the First Indochina War and was fought between North Vietnam, supported by its communist allies, and the government of...
entered a major escalation phase only months after Johnson's inauguration, in spite of his campaign promises to the contrary.
On March 28, John J. McClure, 78, died twelve days after being admitted to University Hospital
University hospital
A university hospital is an institution which combines the services of a hospital with the education of medical students and with medical research. These hospitals are typically affiliated with a medical school or university...
in Philadelphia for multiple fractures of the hip and pelvis. Flags at all Chester city municipal buildings were flown at half-staff the rest of the week. Frank Snear, chairman of the county commissioners, succeeded McClure as chairman of the War Board.
Congressional work
Watkins served on the Committee on Interstate and Foreign Commerce during the 89th and 90th Congresses. He was appointed Member on Oct. 19, 1966, upon the resignation of vice Willard S. CurtinWillard S. Curtin
Willard Sevier Curtin was a Republican member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Pennsylvania....
. At his death, he was succeeded on the committee on Sept. 23, 1970 by Republican John G. Schmitz
John G. Schmitz
John George Schmitz was a Republican member of the United States House of Representatives and California State Senate from Orange County, California. He was also a member of the John Birch Society...
of California
California
California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...
.
Redistricting controversy
On February 17, 1964, the U.S. Supreme Court rendered a long-awaited decision on congressional redistricting. By a six to three vote, the Court, in Wesberry v. SandersWesberry v. Sanders
Wesberry v. Sanders, 376 U.S. 1 was a U.S. Supreme Court case involving U.S. Congressional districts in the state of Georgia. The Court issued its ruling on February 17, 1964. This decision requires each state to draw its U.S...
that "as nearly as practicable, one man's vote in a congressional election it to be worth as much as another's." The effect of this ruling meant that the redistricting in Pennsylvania and many other states based on the 1960 census
Census
A census is the procedure of systematically acquiring and recording information about the members of a given population. It is a regularly occurring and official count of a particular population. The term is used mostly in connection with national population and housing censuses; other common...
was nullified and would need to be redone.
In regards to his opposition to reapportionment and possible shift his hometown of Birmingham
Birmingham
Birmingham is a city and metropolitan borough in the West Midlands of England. It is the most populous British city outside the capital London, with a population of 1,036,900 , and lies at the heart of the West Midlands conurbation, the second most populous urban area in the United Kingdom with a...
and the rest of western Delaware County with Chester County
Chester County, Pennsylvania
-State parks:*French Creek State Park*Marsh Creek State Park*White Clay Creek Preserve-Demographics:As of the 2010 census, the county was 85.5% White, 6.1% Black or African American, 0.2% Native American or Alaskan Native, 3.9% Asian, 0.0% Native Hawaiian, 1.8% were two or more races, and 2.4% were...
Watkins commented, "It just doesn't seem right to me that a portion of Delaware County
Delaware County, Pennsylvania
Delaware County is a county located in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania. As of 2010, the population was 558,979, making it Pennsylvania's fifth most populous county, behind Philadelphia, Allegheny, Montgomery, and Bucks counties....
should be tacked onto some other county just to reach someone's idea of a magical figure." In January 1966, he testified to that effect before the state Senate reapportionment Committee and said that by 1970, Delaware County would have enough population to support two congressmen. In February, Watkins again attacked the pending redistricting plans:
If it is done now, large portions of Delaware County will be cut off from the balance of the county, attached to either Chester or Montgomery Counties and our people will be virtually without representation in Washington for at least the next four years. It will mean that Montgomery and Chester Counties will control those districts. It will mean that congressmen from those districts will not be working solely for Delaware County municipalities.
Meanwhile, it seemed that politicians of both parties were trying to avoid repeating the donnybrook of 1961. Philadelphia party leaders agreed to leave the alignment of the five city districts the same. The state's congressional delegation had reached a consensus on the remaining 22 districts. The plan would move Haverford, Marple and Radnor townships into Montgomery County's 13th district, while shifting Abington, Cheltenham, Lower Moreland and Upper Dublin townships into the Eighth District with Bucks County. However, later that month, the agreement seemed to unravel, as Scranton objected to leaving Philadelphia's districts unchanged. He cited that due to the city's districts not being contiguous and compact, the reapportionment plan will be subject to court challenges. "I agree," said William Meehan, GOP leader in the city. "Republicans upstate worked it out in 1962 and made the deal with Green and shoved it down my throat."
Events took a sudden turn, when Paul Dague, the 9th District incumbent, who Watkins would be forced to run against under the pending proposal, announced his retirement. Dague then endorsed Watkins and offered to campaign for him in the primary. County Democrats charged that the Philadelphia Democratic leadership cut a deal with the War Board, to allow the city to keep its five congressmen in exchange for dividing Delaware County between the 7th and 9th districts. The plan would also include Lower Merion and Narberth in the 7th District, which would comprise the eastern tier of the county. John J. Logue, of Swarthmore, the Democratic candidate for Congress, charged Snear with "gerrymandering". "It seems inevitable that one congressional district will cross county lines, but there is no reason for both of them to do so," the candidate said.
In March, the state Senate passed an amended bill, which removed the Montgomery County communities and restored Radnor to the 7th District. With the extended filing deadline for candidates looming, the House quickly passed the redistricting bill and candidates scrambled to file nominating petitions. County Democrats still voiced their dissatisfaction and believed that the splitting of Delaware County was designed to prevent the Democrats from winning in either district. The reapportionment plan signed by the Governor placed 22 southern and western Delaware County communities into the Ninth District, with all of Chester County, which was separated from Lancaster County. The remaining 27 towns in the populous eastern half of Delaware County became the Seventh District. The Eighth District became all of Bucks, with several municipalities from Lehigh and Montgomery Counties, while the Thirteenth District retained the remainder of Montgomery County. While correcting some of the population imbalance, the new alignment still had problems. The Eighth District had a population of only 356,821, compared to the Thirteenth District, which contained almost 125,000 more. The legislature and political establishment finally had allowed the crossing of county lines in the suburban counties of Philadelphia for the first time. However, it would take another Supreme Court ruling to further correct the disproportionate representation in Congress and the state legislature.
With the shift of Watkins' hometown of Birmingham to the new Ninth District, the Seventh District became an open seat, which would be filled that year by Springfield GOP leader Lawrence G. Williams. In the meantime, Watkins now represented a district where 56% of the residents resided in Chester County. In spite of the desire of some leaders that the district be represented by a Chester County resident, an accommodation was reached between the War Board and the leadership of the former, allowing Watkins to continue. He was easily re-elected in November, 1966, beating Democrat Louis F. Waldman, 81,516 to 48,656.
Although the War Board was officially neutral in the heated contest for the Republican presidential nomination between Nixon and Rockefeller in 1968, Watkins said he "was all the way" for Nixon. "With his training as vice president and his understanding of foreign and domestic affairs, there is no one with a name that can equal him," the congressman declared. In the general election, Watkins easily beat his Democratic challenger, Philip L. Harding, 100,399 to 56,532. In his last election in 1970, he beat a nominal challenger in the Republican primary, Anthony Z. Giampietro, 31,058 to 13,419.
Death
Watkins died August 7, 1970 in West Chester, PennsylvaniaWest Chester, Pennsylvania
The Borough of West Chester is the county seat of Chester County, Pennsylvania, United States. The population was 18,461 at the 2010 census.Valley Forge, the Brandywine Battlefield, Longwood Gardens, Marsh Creek State Park, and other historical attractions are near West Chester...
from a heart attack while attending a meeting of the Penn Oakes Club (in Chester County). On August 27, 34 delegates from Delaware County met with 56 delegates from Chester County at the Penn Oakes Club to determine the candidate to replace Watkins on the GOP ballot. The chairman of the Delaware County Republican executive committee, Ed Hineman, read a tribute to the late congressman, stating: "All of us knew him as Bob Watkins, and found him to be a very congenial friend and a very clear thinking legislator....He was forceful in action and wise in counsel, and he had great wit...The citizens of Pennsylvania's Ninth Congressional District have lost a superb Representative, and I have lost a very close friend.". Watkins was replaced in the next election by state senator John Ware
John H. Ware, III
John Haines Ware III was a Republican member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Pennsylvania. John H. Ware was born in Vineland, New Jersey. He graduated from the Wharton School of University of Pennsylvania in 1930. He was a public utility executive, and a burgess of the borough of Oxford...
, of Oxford. He is buried at Birmingham-Lafayette Cemetery in Birmingham Township, Pennsylvania
Birmingham Township, Pennsylvania
Birmingham Township is a township in Chester County, Pennsylvania, United States. The population was 4,208 at the 2010 census.-History:Birmingham Township was the site of the Battle of Brandywine, September 11, 1777, during the American Revolutionary War. Over 18,000 men were engaged. It was,...
, near West Chester.