Public Comments

The Tafoya map is an excellent redistricting idea, to better represent and service Southern Colorado. Thank You, Rita M. Gonzales

The latest revision is much more in line with the comments and feelings expressed at the hearing recently held in Grand Junction. Routt, Eagle and Summit counties should be in the 2nd CD. Custer, Teller, Park, and Fremont should be in the 3rd CD, along with Moffat, Rio Blanco, Garfield and Mesa. Keep the Western Slope and the 3rd CD intact.

Good morning Committee members, I am at a total loss on the changes to this latest version of your congressional map. I fully appreciate the difficulty of having to do your best to please everyone but knowing that is impossible. Again, I fully appreciate this. What I am having so much difficulty with this latest map is what did happen and what didn't happen in NW Colorado's current CD 3, splitting it in to CD 2 & CD3. After last weeks testimony from so many people, including my written on-line, why are you ripping apart NW Colorado's Counties that ARE COMMUNITIES OF INTEREST? I personally listened to hours of testimony on Thursday, September 9 and with only ONE exception, no one said ANYTHING about what you did to the Western Slope Counties. NO ONE! Many of us heard and said; 1. The Western Slope Counties have NOTHING in common with Boulder County, and adamantly asked you please remove it! 2. Eagle County and Mesa County have more in common with NW Colorado than Southern Colorado as stated by Southern Coloradoans. 3. While Rural Larimer County has similar commonalities, it really is not an overall Community of Interest and should not be included. 4. NO ONE MENTIONED PULLING OUT MOFFAT, RIO BLANCO AND ALL OF GARFIELD in a swap to get Eagle County back. WHAT IS THAT other than absurd. 5. Don't cut the County Seat of Larimer County out and add it to Weld County? This is 100% wrong to do. Not fair to Larimer or Weld Counties. 6. Several testifiers from other districts that don't have anything in common with NW Colorado expressed that adding Boulder and Larimer to NW Colorado was NOT IN ANYONES BEST INTEREST. From an outside, unprejudiced perspective, why wouldn't you listen to them. Through my frustration and disappointment, I'm sure I have forgotten some points. In my opinion and many others, this new version produced this week, gives many people reason to think this is all a political play by this committee. If you are saying that Routt County has more in common with Boulder and Larimer than it has with Moffat, Rio Blanco, Mesa, Garfield, Eagle, Grand and Jackson, then you have proven my point. I am a common sense person and not very political at all. This makes no sense AT ALL. ZERO. I personally cannot believe that this committee thinks Routt County has more common interests with the Front Range Boulder and Larimer than it does with the Western Slope. Unbelievable!!!!! As a registered voter of Routt County I am asking that you PLEASE use the Club 20 map submitted in April/May or this committee's first draft released June 23 for NW Colorado. CD 2 should have Grand, Jackson, Routt, Eagle, Garfield, Moffat, Rio Blanco, Mesa and NOT include Boulder or Larimer Counties. These are far from Communities of Interest to the Western Slope. Thank you for your time. Charles T. Holley (Tom) Routh County Registered Voter Oak Creek, CO 80467

I live on the Western Slope where our agricultural, industrial, water and recreational economies require special attention. We rely on local representatives who are well informed to protect our community’s interests at the federal levels. If the Western Slope were to be split in any way, it would compromise the unity required to properly represent the interests of our region. There is, and has been, a clear division between the Western Slope and front range communities, which clearly designates western Colorado as a community with unique federal interests. Though many of our communities do not have the tax base of their front range counterparts, they still must provide the essential services of government: safe roads and bridges, law enforcement, public schools, and critical infrastructure with minimal resources. The front range communities do not experience these challenges because virtually no federally owned lands exist. While federal lands are preserved for the benefit of all Americans, the day-to-day responsibilities of preservation fall upon those who live closest to those lands. These lands are managed for multiple uses – from livestock grazing to energy extraction to outdoor recreation. For generations, communities on the Western Slope have worked with federal agencies to develop and demonstrate best practices for multi-use lands for the country and these uses are limited to county border. Keep the West Slope whole.

The redistricting proposal leans to heavily favor Democrats. This is unfair and should be stopped. Colorado districts should be closer to the lines of the counties. Instead, huge swaths of land include small areas which are highly populated and which tend to be Democrat, giving the Democrats control of the whole area. For example, with this plan, the city of Boulder would control most of northwestern Colorado. This is very unfair.

I support the New Tafoya. 005. Map. It retains water and cultural communities and offers more power to the vast Las Animas County district where I live and vote. Thank you.

The Western slope should remain whole - entirely different populations, industries and demographics warrant the need for separate representation from the Front Range.

Splitting Broomfield to be partly in district 7 and district 8 lessens the voice of the residents in our community and in the end making our voices insignificant whether in 7 or 8. The City and County of Broomfield should be kept all together to bring better and fair representation to our community. Thank you.

Putting Fremont County "UNDER" the massive Jefferson County, is obviously a way of "damping out" any conservative voice of us in Fremont County, but that's the sign of the times...I guess.

In reviewing the currently drafted state house map for Steamboat Springs which includes parts of Routt County, Eagle County, Grand County, and a portion of Summit County, I wanted to state that I feel this is a good compromise which links numerous communities of interest. The communities in these areas share a multitude of interests from being locations that include world-class ski resorts, struggles with affordable housing, shared economic and workforce issues, and high health care costs. By drawing the new state house map in this way it will ensure that these communities obtain representation that is consistent and necessary to bring these issues to the state assembly. Thank you for your consideration.