Public Comments

I support the CD-2 map which includes Boulder and the Northwest portion of the state because they are communities with shared interests. This district will be able to work together on important climate change policies which include wildfire prevention and mitigation, water conservation and use. I also agree with the map of CD-3 which includes Pueblo in the San Luis Valley. This supports historical ties and gives a voice to the Hispanic population of the district. It's also a good idea to include all of Summit County into CD-7 as a gateway to the Colorado mountains. I also support CD-8 in the Northern suburbs to include the minority influence along the I-25 corridor. Thank you for your consideration.

After watching today's meeting I would like to encourage the Commission to look into the map released today (9/12). It is the only neutral and apolitical source to release a map and deserves consideration by a neutral, apolitical commission. An approximation can be reviewed here: https://www.gjsentinel.com/opinion/editorials/redistricting-panel-needs-to-go-back-to-the-drawing-board/article_37bae68c-1290-11ec-ba51-07778c13f946.html. The map makes 3, 7, 8 more competitive than the current map that the commission has drawn today, and the population for every district is within 15,000 people, and 6 out of 8 districts are within 10,000. Both of these issues were brought up extensively during the commission meeting today which ended without a final conclusion. This map highlights all of the key communities of interest and points made today and deserves to be considered by the commission, thank you.

It is vitally important that our rural community have a strong and meaningful advocacy. This includes the hard working farmers who feed us and are already living on the edge of extinction.

Our community of Steamboat Springs faces many challenges as we move into the future and we haave a great deal in common with communities like Vail in Eagle county and other resort communities. It doesn't make any sense to put us in with the far West and Southwest region of the State which is different than us in SO VERY many ways. Affordable housing and potential ravages to our economies with looming climate change are two big issues that come to mind. Please consider grouping us legislatively with other like-minded counties so that we can be fairly represented. Thank You.

1. The map of CD-2 including Boulder and the North West supports communities of interest working together on policies of climate change concerns, fire, water. 2. The map of CD-3 that includes Pueblo in the San Luis Valley supports historical ties and minority voices for Hispanic population. 3. Suggest uniting all of Summit County into CD-7 as our gateway to the Colorado mountains 4. Support CD-8 in the Northern suburbs to include minority influence along the I25 corridor.

Redistricting panel needs to go back to the drawing board We had high hopes for Colorado’s new, non-partisan redistricting commission to divide power equally among Colorado’s regions and political parties and to create congressional districts representative of our state’s vastly varying regional challenges. Instead we got a map that divides the Western Slope in half and robs the region of natural alliances built over generations based on shared interests: water, transportation, management of natural resources — even the emergence of outdoor recreation as an economic force. At the bottom of the page is a redistricting map we’d like the commission to consider. It keeps the Western Slope whole and creates a competitive district; more so than the commission’s proposed 3rd CD found on page 3A (the staff plan), which places Grand Junction in a district that stretches even farther into the Eastern Plains than it does currently. Dividing the Western Slope is the only way to accommodate the redistricting commission’s desire for a “southern district” that preserves political relevance for Pueblo and the San Luis Valley. So far, that’s the keystone around which the lines have been drawn. But if that’s the reason for cleaving Mesa County away from Garfield County and the rest of the Piceance Basin, it needs to be reconsidered. One way or another Pueblo and the San Luis Valley will lie in a vast district — lumped in with either southern Western Slope counties or the entire Eastern Plains. Given that’s there’s no natural fit for this redistricting priority, why does the Western Slope have to bear the brunt of this contortion? We know from experience that the 3rd CD has been too vast in issues and geography to be well represented in Congress. The new map doesn’t change that. Western and southern Colorado face vastly different challenges. Each needs its own representative — not a single one attending to disparate agendas. Having said all that, it’s probably unrealistic to expect the commission to significantly pivot away from the map its staff has already generated, which does achieve some political balance. It keeps the four Democratic seats relatively safe and preserves three as solidly Republican. It would add a new swing seat running from Adams County to Greeley. That area voted Democratic by 1.9 percentage point in last year’s Senate election, according to the Associated Press, setting up a possible even breakdown of congresstional seats, 4-4. If the proposed staff map doesn’t change, we’d likely see Rep. Lauren Boebert, R-Silt, move into the new proposed 3rd CD rather than compete in the proposed 2nd with most of its population in Boulder and Fort Collins. There are so many ways to skin this cat that don’t divide the Western Slope and we urge the commission to re-examine the possibilities. If that’s a dead end, we would much prefer a map that connects Grand Junction with Fort Collins and doesn’t divide representation of the Interstate 70 corridor. Fort Collins faces many of the same issues as we do — a growing university, drought and forest fires, outdoor recreation-dependent economies, and remote municipalities separated by public lands. They certainly share much more in common with us than they do with Springfield in Baca County down in the southeast corner of the state. We had high hopes for Colorado’s new, non-partisan redistricting commission to divide power equally among Colorado’s regions and political parties and to create congressional districts representative of our state’s vastly varying regional challenges. Instead we got a map that divides the Western Slope in half and robs the region of natural alliances built over generations based on shared interests: water, transportation, management of natural resources — even the emergence of outdoor recreation as an economic force. At the bottom of the page is a redistricting map we’d like the commission to consider. It keeps the Western Slope whole and creates a competitive district; more so than the commission’s proposed 3rd CD found on page 3A (the staff plan), which places Grand Junction in a district that stretches even farther into the Eastern Plains than it does currently. Dividing the Western Slope is the only way to accommodate the redistricting commission’s desire for a “southern district” that preserves political relevance for Pueblo and the San Luis Valley. So far, that’s the keystone around which the lines have been drawn. But if that’s the reason for cleaving Mesa County away from Garfield County and the rest of the Piceance Basin, it needs to be reconsidered. One way or another Pueblo and the San Luis Valley will lie in a vast district — lumped in with either southern Western Slope counties or the entire Eastern Plains. Given that’s there’s no natural fit for this redistricting priority, why does the Western Slope have to bear the brunt of this contortion? We know from experience that the 3rd CD has been too vast in issues and geography to be well represented in Congress. The new map doesn’t change that. Western and southern Colorado face vastly different challenges. Each needs its own representative — not a single one attending to disparate agendas. Having said all that, it’s probably unrealistic to expect the commission to significantly pivot away from the map its staff has already generated, which does achieve some political balance. It keeps the four Democratic seats relatively safe and preserves three as solidly Republican. It would add a new swing seat running from Adams County to Greeley. That area voted Democratic by 1.9 percentage point in last year’s Senate election, according to the Associated Press, setting up a possible even breakdown of congressional seats, 4-4. If the proposed staff map doesn’t change, we’d likely see Rep. Lauren Boebert, R-Silt, move into the new proposed 3rd CD rather than compete in the proposed 2nd with most of its population in Boulder and Fort Collins. There are so many ways to skin this cat that don’t divide the Western Slope and we urge the commission to re-examine the possibilities. If that’s a dead end, we would much prefer a map that connects Grand Junction with Fort Collins and doesn’t divide representation of the Interstate 70 corridor. Fort Collins faces many of the same issues as we do — a growing university, drought and forest fires, outdoor recreation-dependent economies, and remote municipalities separated by public lands. They certainly share much more in common with us than they do with Springfield in Baca County down in the southeast corner of the state. https://davesredistricting.org/maps#viewmap::03a629bb-d681-4b4a-81a2-b9b7db8d0265

I am writing in support of First Staff Plan dated 9/3/2021. This would place Woodland Park and Teller County in District 7. The advantages are the following: 1)Common roads; 2)Same Watershed; 3) Common interests; 4) Front range access and exposure.

I am a citizen of Teller County and like the First Staff Plan Map published on September 13, 2021. It unites the Intermountain counties that are connected by watersheds, roads and proximity. We have very little in common with CD-5 and CD-3, so this is a much better map and match. Thank you.

I object to chopping up Boulder County into three districts. Boulder County should stay as one district to keep communities of interest together. Boulder County cities collaborate on environment and climate goals, transportation, wild fire mitigation, as well as housing, health and employment. Splitting up the county would not help keep these communities of interest together. Sincerely yours, Anna Bonner

The map presented by Club 20, Action 22 and Pro 15 are maps that rightfully represent our rural community of Montrose. The Maps that are currently in place, align with our everyday way of life and values, concerning agriculture, economic and social community interests. Counties like Boulder and/or Pueblo do not have the same interests, needs or concerns. Please help us keep the Western Slope a unified Community of Interest. This new map will eventually destroy our/MY way of life. DO NOT redistrict my community!