Public Comments

As I watch the emerging proposed maps, I cam concerned that the intent of the law may not be fully realized. As I understand it, the law emphasizes drawing boundaries based upon communities of interest. The draft maps I have seen seem to put undue emphasis on keeping municipalities in single districts rather than keeping the focus on communities of interest. Having a map that keeps sitting politicians in their current districts may make some feel comfortable but having sitting elected officials feel comfortable is not one of the legally specified criteria for defining districts. Also, I am distressed that there does not seem to be much effort to define minority communities as communities of interest for the purpose of redistricting.

I am a resident of Teller County, Colorado. I am strongly against the redistricting of our rural community. Woodland Park a close knit conservative community. We deserve to have our voices heard and do not wish to be represented in the same way as those who live in urban areas. We are a mountain community and our needs as rural residents are not the same as those residents who reside in large urban areas. We share geographic as well as shared interests with other rural and less densely populated areas of Colorado. As tax paying citizens of Colorado we deserve and expect our voices to be heard and fairly represented. We are connected by roads to other mountain communities and spend our time in these like-minded communities. We share strong values and support one another. It is our desire to continue to be in our current districts and represented with fair and equal representation. Thank you, Carol Roberts

Teller County is a Southern Colorado county that is also a mountainous rural county. The Denver metro area, is neither southern Colorado and it is not mountainous. We have no communities of shared interest with Denver Metro! We don't shop there, work there, nor have any connecting easy access to that area. The public policies of Denver Metro are totally different from Teller County! We are concerned with ranching, rural community life, National Forests, mining; non of which are connected with Denver Metro. Our federal public land use, land use, mining and the extraction industries connects us more to the counties of the Western slope and Southern region. We share communities of interests with El Paso County for employment. Our county shares communities of interests with Fremont and El Paso Counties for commerce. Highway 24 connects us to multiple Western-slope counties with similar landscapes. Geographically, the Palmer Divide separates Teller County into the rural, mountainous Southern region. Our county's wildlife management shares communities of interests with the Western slopes and Southern mountainous regions. Overall, we need fair maps that preserve rural voices because we have different needs and challenges that the urban Denver communities do not share.

Teller County is a Southern Colorado county that is also a mountainous rural county. The Denver metro area, is neither southern Colorado and it is not mountainous. We have no communities of shared interest with Denver Metro! We don't shop there, work there, nor have any connecting easy access to that area. The public policies of Denver Metro are totally different from Teller County! We are concerned with ranching, rural community life, National Forests, mining; non of which are connected with Denver Metro. Our federal public land use, land use, mining and the extraction industries connects us more to the counties of the Western slope and Southern region. We share communities of interests with El Paso County for employment. Our county shares communities of interests with Fremont and El Paso Counties for commerce. Highway 24 connects us to multiple Western-slope counties with similar landscapes. Geographically, the Palmer Divide separates Teller County into the rural, mountainous Southern region. Our county's wildlife management shares communities of interests with the Western slopes and Southern mountainous regions. Overall, we need fair maps that preserve rural voices because we have different needs and challenges that the urban Denver communities do not share.

Teller County is a Southern Colorado county that is also a mountainous rural county. The Denver metro area, is neither southern Colorado and it is not mountainous. We have no communities of shared interest with Denver Metro! We don't shop there, work there, nor have any connecting easy access to that area. The public policies of Denver Metro are totally different from Teller County! We are concerned with ranching, rural community life, National Forests, mining; non of which are connected with Denver Metro. Our federal public land use, land use, mining and the extraction industries connects us more to the counties of the Western slope and Southern region. We share communities of interests with El Paso County for employment. Our county shares communities of interests with Fremont and El Paso Counties for commerce. Highway 24 connects us to multiple Western-slope counties with similar landscapes. Geographically, the Palmer Divide separates Teller County into the rural, mountainous Southern region. Our county's wildlife management shares communities of interests with the Western slopes and Southern mountainous regions. Overall, we need fair maps that preserve rural voices because we have different needs and challenges that the urban Denver communities do not share.

We are opposed to the latest Congressional redistricting proposal of September 3rd. Please understand there are clear economic distinctions and political differences existing between Fort Collins and eastern Colorado counties. As a community Fort Collins is much more aligned with the city of Boulder especially in terms of hosting state universities and the often related tech industries found in both areas. Progressive political initiatives supported by the Fort Collins voters are often at odds with neighboring Weld County. The current Covid-19 pandemic serves as just one example illustrating the sharp contrast in attitudes and policies between Fort Collins and Weld County populations. We are happy to reside in Fort Collins for a reason. Please respect that. Thank you.

I moved to Colorado from New York, back in 1991, I lived in the Denver/ Boulder area for about 5 years,then I lived in Durango for about 1 1/2 years. I moved away to Arizona for 5 years,then moved back to Eastern Colorado where my wife and I have raised our family of fourteen for the last 19 years. Now that I have given you a little background on myself,I think it is fair to say that I have enjoyed living at both ends of the Colorado political spectrum and have always enjoyed the open dialogue between one point of view and the other. I imagine that this sentiment is shared in the Colorado State legislature, as well as The United States Congress, whom are all elected by the people of the Great state of Colorado. I feel The First Staff Plan map for Congressional redistricting is a grave threat to equal representation for the state of Colorado. I believe that the state should revert back to the Preliminary Congressional map, to ensure that all Coloradans have equal representation across the entire state, after all that is one of the founding principles of our Republic! Thank you for your time.

Please take action to preserve our rural/mountain way of life. We need to retain our rural/mountain voices. We don't want to be silenced. Thank you!

I live in Teller County and while I do not understand a lot of the issues with redistricting. I do know that it is NOT done in a way to best benefit the counties' and their constituents. And, I have a serious problem with that. Based on the below findings of the first round of maps, I am amazed to see the outright disparity and clear shift into districts being lopped into areas where there is NO TRUE REPRESENTATION FOR THEM as the concerns and needs do not come together. Teller County is a Southern Colorado county that is also a mountainous rural county. The Denver metro area, under the current map, has undue influences on what happens in our county relative to our way of living and being in this county if it is left to stand because there are a great many constituents without representation based on their needs and concerns in this redistricting. *Our federal public land use, land use, mining and the extraction industries connects us more to the counties of the Western slope and Southern region. *We share communities of interests with El Paso County for employment. *Our county shares communities of interests with Fremont and El Paso Counties for commerce. *Highway 24 connects us to multiple Western-slope counties with similar landscapes. *Geographically, the Palmer Divide separates Teller County into the rural, mountainous Southern region. *Our county's wildlife management shares communities of interests with the Western slopes and Southern mountainous regions. Overall, we need fair maps that preserve rural voices because we have different needs and challenges that the urban Denver communities do not share and basically have zero interests in. And that leaves us uncovered basically. It is my honest hope that this is intended to be fair and based on TRUE CONCERNS AND NEEDS of the constituents in each county. I am not clear as to how you could have come up with these maps as there seems to have been NO thought as to what it would mean to the people living in any of the counties as you moved them around. I appreciate your honest and fair redistricting changes that lead to the betterment of each county. Sincerely, Melva J. Harris

Thank you for the work that commissioners and staff are putting into this important project. I am writing to express my concerns over the latest Congressional redistricting map for Colorado. I strongly disagree with the proposed map that splits the West Slope in half. By putting NE Colorado into the same district as Boulder and other high-population urban areas, you would effectively drown out the votes and voices of those who live and work in rural areas such as Moffat County. I understand that the newer map was based on updated census data, which required altering the contours to ensure equal populations. That alone doesn't seem to justify tearing the West Slope into two pieces. I urge the Commission to revisit the map and look for ways to minimize community disruption.