Public Comments

Let it be known, I live in Otero county. The proposed redistricting is putting Otero county in with a far different geographic system, economic system, environmental system, climate and life-style area than we presently are part of. I do NOT agree with what is being proposed. Our way of life and issues we face on the plains and prairie of Colorado is opposite of the recreational, mountainous , more populated counties being proposed . Do NOT approve this redistricting ! Sylvia McComber

I am concerned with the redistricting maps that have been published thus far. As a Douglas County resident, I do not believe that we have enough in common with the Eastern plains to be put in a district with those counties. Parker is growing by leaps and bounds. We are no longer a community of ranches and horse farms. We have much more in common in terms of policy and economics with the Front Range area. Douglas County is a suburb of Denver. We should be represented by someone who understands our needs. Please consider this is future maps.

See attached letter as a supplement to my testimony on 9-10-21.

I have viewed the map for the possible redistricting of Colorado, and I am opposed to the way it is drawn. Dividing areas that have obvious shared interest, and putting them together with higher population centers that will overwhelm the lesser populated areas. It will basically leave the Western Slope of Colorado with no representation. The Western Slope needs to have at least 1 representative to address our needs. Our Senators seem to only care about the Eastern Slope and forget to include the needs of the rural areas in there plans. We need someone to represent the needs that come with a less populated area. Funding for the roads that lead through the state, not just I-25 and I-70 East of the tunnel. the needs that are unique to the rural areas. Open space, water, federal lands, hunting fishing, you know the reason people come to Colorado. The logical division would be to have the Western Slope have a Congressional District, and the Eastern Plains have a district, then divide the Metro Areas. Both the Western Slope and the Eastern Plains have a large geographical area with less people, but they also have unique needs, and produce a great deal of the real produces that define our state. I hope that you will seriously consider a better map to allow people with related interests to band together for their best interests.

My family owns and operates Fortunate Fruit LLC, a 83 acre certified organic peach, pear, apple, cherry, apricot, apple, plum and watermelon farm. We are located on the Delta County and Mesa County line in the Dominguez Canyon area. Western Colorado’s fruit industry is a very important industry in our area providing jobs and a strong cultural identity. Our fruit industry is relatively small and, to my knowledge, every fruit growing farm is family owned and operated. Our irrigation water is threatened and it is a struggle for many of us to compete in a market place dominated by large agri-business from California and Washington. Our district would benefit greatly from having one representative representing all of the fruit orchards in the Palisade, Cedar Edge, Hotchkiss, Paonia, and Dominguez Canyon area. Delta and Mesa Counties share a similar desert climate that is unique in Colorado. The Colorado River and Gunnison River Canyons provide significant recreation generated income for Delta and Mesa Counties and it seems logical that one representative should cover these two areas. Delta and Montrose, on the other hand, are very different from each other. These cities are like oil and water. It’s no secret that Delta is struggling and has not experienced the recent economic boom Montrose, Ridgeway, and Telluride have experinced. To thrust the little town of Delta in with Montrose will be one more blow to a town struggling with many issues. The current district map blending most of Delta and Mesa Counties was created that way for reason and I recomend that it stay largely in tact. Thank you, Ewell Culbertson Organic Farmer Fortunate Fruit LLC Dominguez Canyon Delta County

Dear Commissioners, Thank you for your interest in what I view as important in my community. I am a resident of the Western Slope of the state. Water, grazing, public lands, employment opportunities and being smaller communities unite our area. We do not desire to be just a tourist destination. We need a robust energy industry, service industries, outdoor industries, small business and ranching industries. Importantly it must be affordable energy which natural gas has been for many years while providing great wages for families. The energy industry in particular has brought growth to the service,ranching and small business industries here. We have done fairly well in these areas until the eastern slope people, many of whom moved in recently and don't understand agriculture nor that all business and living take abundant energy to survive are voting to force energy companies out and causing unemployment and small service businesses to fail.The energy sector also brought in a great tax base here which has been decimated. We can see Boulder and the Western Slope have greatly differing opinions on policy on these issues. The cities usually want to divert water to the east slope to fuel population growth. The western slope needs water for farming and ranching. We also have several river recreation companies that need the water here. It is obvious our interest differ greatly from Boulder.and our districts should not be in the same district. This committee doesn't look bipartisan from here.

I am writing to express concern with the proposed congressional district map. I have concerns that rural Colorado will be left behind by added Boulder county into the same district of Moffatt and Route counties. The new map prioritizes the Front Range over rural Colorado. This with further divide the between rural versus urban. There is so much to Colorado but Denver and Boulder are driving the decisions that affect the Colorado citizens. While I desire to have more, if not all, the congressional districts to be competitive please don’t do that at the expense of rural Colorado.

I am writing to express concern with the proposed congressional district map. I have concerns that rural Colorado will be left behind by added Boulder county into the same district of Moffatt and Route counties. The new map prioritizes the Front Range over rural Colorado. This with further divide the between rural versus urban. There is so much to Colorado but Denver and Boulder are driving the decisions that affect the Colorado citizens. While I desire to have more, if not all, the congressional districts to be competitive please don’t do that at the expense of rural Colorado.

Good afternoon, I am writing to request that you draw the map for redistricting to keep western Colorado separate from eastern Colorado. Specifically Routt, Grand and Moffat counties should NOT be paired with Boulder county. I live in Routt county and though we have a great ski area which attracts many tourists who come and go, we are primarily an agricultural rural community. We do not have, nor do we want a big university here or the traffic problems of the Eastern slope. We have water needs specific to a rural agricultural area. We have a education and sport activities set up for our small community. We have recreation and wilderness areas which we want to preserve. Urban area requirements for open space are not congruent with our needs for wilderness, land and water use nor are they aligned with our education system. (As a mom of 3 hockey players, I can say the whole set up is different and we like it that way. Everyone gets to play no matter how good they are and this gives an entirely different feel for the teams here.) Horseback riding, backpacking, fishing and cross country skiing are what we do most, most kids do these things right out their back doors, not take the bus to a local yoga studio in an urban area. Many kids are responsible to take care of their farm animals before school. Even Steamboat is a small local community where kids grow up together from kindergarten through high school, play sports together and know when someone is sick or has trouble in their family. There is a wonderful sense of community here and we want to keep it this way. I am a fourth generation Coloradoan. I am sad to see the overgrowth that has happened in my life time here in Colorado. I would like to support that slowing down, not speed up as I think that would happen if Boulder were joined with Routt, Moffat and Grand counties. I attended the first redistricting meeting that was held here in Steamboat not long ago. I saw the projected map at that meeting which brought approval from most people at the meeting. Why was it changed?? At that meeting many people from Eagle and Pitkin county complained that they had been previously placed with Boulder county and did not want that to continue because they were not like Boulder and it caused problems in their community. I see that was corrected but... WHY would you then put Routt co and others with Boulder? We certainly fit less with Boulder than Eagle and Pitkin counties! If you need numbers, PLEASE keep the western slope whole. Grand Junction region, (Mesa co?), has the numbers to complete the western slope and we all have similar philosophies and ways of life, being rural and agriculturally based. Thank you for taking the time to read my comments and carefully considering the wishes of the people who live in these rural counties. Jennifer McPeek, DO

Gun safety is a major federal state and community issue. Preventing gun violence requires a comprehensive approach that must be addressed at the federal level. In too many instances, guns are bought in one state to avoid stringent gun regulations and are used to wreak havoc on our communities. Some of these policies that are currently and frequently debated at the federal level include background checks, bump stocks, extreme risk orders, CDC research, assault weapons, ghost/3D guns, and much more. Communities need representatives that reflect their priorities on gun violence prevention and shouldn’t be grouped with areas that have completely opposing views.