Public Comments

Broomfield should not be split between two Congressional districts. With a population of roughly 75,000, we do not have the population size like Denver or Colorado Springs to have a significant voice when it comes to voting.

I am writing to express my disagreement with both the First Staff Plan (released September 3, 2021) and the Second Staff Plan (released September 15, 2021). All the cities and towns along the Front Range have shared concerns about the environment, public and private transportation along the corridor west of the I-25, water needs and supplies, and other issues of regional significance that are dictated by their proximity to the foothills and mountains. The First Staff Plan bisected Fort Collins, destroying its community interest as a city and placing the eastern half of the city in CD4, a rural agricultural, ranching and oil & gas area with which it has no common interests. The Second Staff Plan reunited Fort Collins but then placed the entire city of Loveland in CD4, a rural agricultural, ranching and oil & gas area with which it has no common interests. A redistricting map that emphasizes community interest should place all of Fort Collins and Loveland in the same congressional district as the other cities and towns along the Front Range. This realignment can easily be accomplished by reassigning a portion of the western edge of CD2 to CD3 then reassigning a portion of the eastern edge of CD3 to CD4 to balance the populations of the three affected districts.

Please find attached comments of the Boulder County Commissioners regarding the First Staff Map for state legislative districts.

I have lived in Northern Colorado for over 62 years. I lived in Greeley and LaSalle (Weld County)for 21 years, and have lived in Loveland ( and taught in Berthoud)in Larimer County, for 41 years. Having been part of each of those communities for extended periods of time, I feel qualified to attest to the fact that they do not belong in the same Congressional district. They each have a distinct, unique culture and are far better aligned with the districts they currently are a part of, than the one being proposed. It would not best serve the residents of Loveland, which is currently in District 2 to be moved to Congressional District 4, as the other communities in that district do not share similar characteristics or needs. Weld County is far more agricultural, rural, and conservative, and places a greater value on oil and gas production than does Loveland, which is much more similar to the communities of Fort Collins, Longmont, and Boulder. We share a presence along a corridor, and to randomly move Loveland out of it makes no sense. Allowing Loveland to remain where it currently is allows for far greater cooperation among the communities and far more efficient communication and representation. Please consider allowing Loveland to remain in Congressional District 2 in order not to dilute the impact of our voices. Thank you for your consideration. Debbie Rude Loveland, CO

It has been proposed to move my community of Loveland into Congressional District 4 with Weld County and other Eastern rural communities. Loveland is a growing city on the west side of I-25 with very close ties to Rocky Mountain National Park (many consider us the gateway to the park via Hwy 34), Estes Park and with Fort Collins and CSU which are in Congressional District 2. Loveland should be moved back into Congressional District 2 to maintain our local connections & interests. As a possible balance, the Arkansas Valley, with more rural interests, could be moved back into Congressional District 4.

We vote to keep Broomfield as one. One voice, one community Thank You, Frederick Dion Broomfield Resident

One more factor to add to my prior comments involves our community of interest as recognized by the SouthWest Colorado Council of Governments (SWCCOG ), which is made up of various counties and cities in our region. The member counties include Archuleta, La Plata and San Juan Counties (as well as Delores County) plus the cities of Pagosa Springs in Archuleta County, Silverton in San Juan County, Bayfield and Ignacio in La Plata County, and Cortez in Montezuma County. SWCCOG promotes regional cooperation and coordination among local governments and between levels of government for the geographic area comprising the Counties of Archuleta, Dolores, La Plata, Montezuma, and San Juan. The need for a SWCCOG was based on the recognition that the people of the Region form a single community and are bound together not only physically, but economically and socially. It is the purpose of the SWCCOG through its participating membership, staff and programs, to provide local public officials (including our Colorado House Representative) with the means of responding more effectively to the local and regional problems of this Regional community. For more information, see http://www.swccog.org/about/

The most recent proposal has the community of Loveland in Congressional District 4. Loveland should be moved back into Congressional District 2 to maintain our community of interest with areas west of I-25. Loveland has strong economic ties with Estes Park (RMNP) and with Fort Collins (CSU), which are both in Congressional District 2. Loveland does not have strong economic ties with the communities in District 4. The Arkansas Valley should be moved back into Congressional District 4 with Weld and other Eastern rural communities. This would balance Loveland returning to CD2.

Thank you for scrapping the first Staff map that lumped northwestern Colorado in with Boulder. That map did not consider the rural natural resource communities of interest. Thank you for the second staff (current) map. It appears that you listened to the communities of interest (rural, agriculture, natural resource based) communities and we greatly appreciate it. I support this second staff developed map that includes Moffat County and rest of the western slope communities that are primarily rural without resort communities. It groups the resort communities together with the exception of Jackson County (which has much in common with the current proposed 3rd Congressional District) but I don't see how you could get them grouped back with us. Again, thank you for listening to the western slope's communities and putting us back into primarily one district. Thanks You!

Please do NOT split Broomfield into 2 congressional districts! We need a unified voice to be heard! Thank you for your time, and thank you, especially, for listening to public comments.