Public Comments

Please reject the partisan maps being pushed by Commissioners Barnett and Kottwitz and support maps drawn by nonpartisan staff. Thank you Joan

Do not accept the maps from Kottwitz and Barnnet. They are repub. gerrymandering.

Legislative Redistricting Commission: My name is Ms. Katherine Czukas. I am representing myself. I have been a resident of El Paso County for 11 years. I wanted to get these comments in quickly, please excuse any typos. My comments are about observations in SP.008 BarnettFletcherHassHorvathKottwitz map / plan. My comments are about the northern and western side of El Paso County in the city of Colorado Springs. I do not support this SP.008 map as it is dividing up neighborhoods and school districts in an arbitrary way as it established the boundaries of SD12, SD9 and SD10 near the I25 and Union Blvd areas by Woodmen Road. In my quick analysis, there are only 2 Academy District 20 (D20) schools that are being placed in SD12 due to some edge case boundaries, and the remaining 30+ sites are in the proposed SD9. It seems like this could have been thought through more clearly to reflect the community. Let me illustrate. The proposed division line between SD9 and SD12 west of I25 does not take into account natural geographic boundaries (e.g., Mesas or Open Spaces) or school districts. For example, the few hundred residents in the area west of Centennial Blvd and north of Vindicator in the Wilson Ranch Park area is part of D11 school district, but it is being placed in SD9 (which is served by D20 and D38 public schools). And in a contrasting way, Eagleview Middle School, and the people living in the multi-unit apartments on the south side of S Rockrimmon Blvd along Ute Valley Park are being placed in SD12, but they are part of the D20 school district. If there needs to be a division, why not make it the middle of the open space of Ute Valley Park or the school district boundaries rather than an even/odd side of the street in a neighborhood? While streets are being used to for the SD12 and SD10 boundary near Dublin Blvd and Rangewood Drive, the separating of Cottonwood Creek Park into an eastern SD10 area not based upon school district or any other neighborhood designation. SD10 as proposed is a new subdivision growth area of Marksheffel Rd and Falcon, but Cottonwood Creek Park with its very busy recreation, is a place where city families spend time on weekends, we all know how challenging it is to find parking to disc golf, swim, play soccer, or baseball in that area. This Cottonwood Creek Park area is a D20 school district area, and the same is not true of the remainder of SD10 (which is D11 and D49). The Second Senate Staff Plan and the Thirds Senate Staff Plan did a better job of thinking about communities of interest in this part of Colorado Springs using geographic or school district boundaries. I’d encourage the commissioners to think more about those options when considering what is relevant for most families living in city of Colorado Springs to have their representatives for roads and schools understand their community of interest. Thank you.

Please, for the sake of the residence of Colorado, reject maps being drawn by commissioners Barnett and Kottwitz and support maps drawn by nonpartisan staff.

Please remember that people in Colorado wanted independent people drawing the legislative maps!!!! Please disregard the suggestions of Barnett and Kottwitz.... thank you!!!

I want it to be known that I reject maps being pushed by Commissioners Barnett and Kottwitz and support maps drawn by nonpartisan staff.

As a Colorado citizen, and one who voted to put in place an independent redistricting commission, I urge you to reject the last-minute set of maps commissioners Hunter Barnett and Aislinn Kottwitz have submitted. It contradicts the will of Colorado voters who wished for maps to be drawn by a balanced set of stakeholders. I question not only their motives, but also their methods in composing such maps.

I understand that Commissioners Barnett and Kottwitz are submitting maps that would undermine the voting influence of people of color. As a Latina, I urge you to reject these maps and instead support the maps drawn by the nonpartisan staff. Thank you, Polly Baca

TO: The Colorado Independent Redistricting Commissions FROM: Lisa R. Hartman, Colorado resident living in Denver County RE: Ongoing, unreported lobbying by nonpartisan staff After eleven members of the twelve-member panel of commissioners supported the redistricting map that was sent to the Colorado Supreme Court last Tuesday for approval, I am outraged to read that Commissioners Barnett and Kottwitz have been working with nonpartisan staff to put a gerrymandered map before the commission. This ongoing, unreported lobbying must be stopped, and the maps drawn by nonpartisan staff must be rejected. Thank you for your prompt attention to this matter. Lisa R. Hartman

I would respectfully request the commission reject maps by Commissioners Barnett and Kottwitz and support maps drawn by nonpartisan staff. Please reject any maps that could be tarnished by the ongoing, unreported lobbying to gerrymander legislative districts for the GOP. Thank You, Hummer Marchand Routt County Clark, Colorado