Public Comments

I’m very concerned about putting Douglas county into a district with rural communities and do not want this to happen. The community issues and often beliefs are different between rural and urban areas. Rural communities are in my experience significantly more conservative and I want to be represented by more urban and liberal representatives. Please do not lump us outside the Denver area.

The front range already makes decisions for the western slope that don’t benefit those people who reside there. Without being a resident with first-hand knowledge of the issues we face. Redistricting just manages to silence those who already struggle to feel heard.

When you visited Steamboat Springs several weeks ago, you seemed to be on the right track with the redistricting. What a difference several weeks makes. Instead of doing what is best for the people of this state, it appears to have turned into a political game. I would like to know which of you think putting the urban population of Boulder together with the rural counties of Routt, Moffat, Jackson, etc. is anything but a political ploy. The rural counties need representation of elected officials that understand the needs of our communities especially as our communities are forced out of fossil fuel extraction. We will need leaders who understand the economic needs we will have once this is finalized. Water rights is a big issue of the Western Slope. We would be at risk being represented by front range interests that are opposed to the needs or rural, agricultural and ranching communities. It makes much more sense to keep the Western Slope as a whole as our needs, issues and values align much more than Boulder. People have moved here to be away for the urban sprawl . Everything has become a political chess game which each side trying to one up each other. We the people have become pawns. Be the change! Please do right by the people. Keep the Western Slope as a whole.

I am attaching a new map called "Over The Top". It is a modification of the Staff 1 map issued on September 3rd. This map connects the three North West Counties (Garfield, Rio Blanco, and Moffat) with the rural Eastern side of the state by adding those counties plus the northern precincts of Routt, Jackson and Larimer Counties into CD 4. In doing so, all of the "edge" communities are in either CD 3 or CD 4 which will help address the concerns of rural citizens. Also, in doing this there would be two strong Democratic districts, 1 and 2; two strong Republican districts, 4 and 5; and the other four districts are (or can be) competitive. The map can be found on Dave's at: https://davesredistricting.org/join/12200d2d-ec87-4465-b15a-86778cddeaaf This map also keeps Jefferson, Summit, and Douglas Counties pretty much whole. The Northern precincts of Routt, Jackson and Larimer county are rural and politically mostly Republican. Colorado Highway 14 runs east and west through this district providing on ground connections. I urge the Commission and staff to take a look at this concept as a way to address rural interests while keeping CD 3 and other districts competitive. Thank you again for all your hard work on this process. Gary Thomas - Pueblo

Colorado is a geographically diverse state that has citizens and businesses equally as diverse. Seeking to politically manipulate our state’s congressional districts is not only irresponsible but completely unethical. Let’s all rise above the fray and responsibly recognize that we all need elected members of congress that can and will represent our areas and interests. The staff submitted map is a transparent attempt to eliminate rural Colorado’s needs and voice. We must continue to have districts that represent the east and west of the state where rural interests deserve representation. On behalf of the minority of Colorado’s population that feeds, fuels and fulfills our state, please oppose the staff drawn map and support a framework that creates good governance like the 3 and 4th congressional districts do today.

This plan is a sham and absolutely does not reflect the area that is being shifted. This represents political gerrymandering in its most blatant form. I am totally opposed to this plan.

Redistricing Commission, First I think you should remember that you are supposed to be making real political division lines in our state that are legal, not gerrymandered by partisan politics, consider communities of interest, geographics of moving about in a district, and balance the population numbers. Your current mapping examples are far from meeting that criteria. Communities of interest does not mean combining a few rural counties with a big urban center. Geographics and logistics of moving about a district does not mean crossing the continental divide and numerous mountain passes to combine populations. Diluting the rural interests by burying them under big urban influence does not give equal representation to the largest land mass of rural residents. Drawing imaginary lines around a lot of rural counties and one big urban population center will not make them common interest legislative districts. Please go back to the earlier proposals from the ag and rural leadership and create a western slope rural district and an eastern slope rural district and at least give the rural population some chance at representation of our interests and issues and way of life. And create your urban districts into areas of size and interests that will be more equally divided into their urban issues and interests. Please reconsider your current map of dividing the urban centers into all the districts which dilutes all the representation that rural communities need and want and instead gives all the interest powers to the urban centers. Thank you for your consideration Phyllis Snyder

Thanks for keeping Park whole. Thank you for creating a front range mountain district separate from the western slope.

As a resident of Fort Collins I am opposed to Fort Collins being redistricted to join Eastern Colorado. The more rural areas of Colorado have very different needs than Fort Collins. Fort Collins is a University city with needs that align more with other communities along the front range more urban corridor. I am concerned that the needs of Fort Collins will overshadow the rural needs of Easter Colorado or vice versa. My concerns are around diversity, sustainable development, urban growth, natural area preservation, etc.

Comment on Congressional redistricting to the Colorado Independent Redistricting Commissions From Donald W. and Nila Jo Schwindt, 20242 Road A, Cortez, Colorado We are commenting as residents of the current congressional District 3 in support of the proposed new Congressional District 3 as shown in the Redistricting Commission’s 2nd proposed draft map that was published Friday, September 3, 2021. Nila’s family has been in Montezuma County since it was split off from La Plata County in the 1800’s. Donald moved here in time for him to start the third grade. We have made our living in irrigated production agriculture in this area since our college years. We have been active in community affairs our entire lives, in advocacy for our agricultural industry as well as for education. Nila supplemented our farm income as an elementary teacher early on; Donald has been actively engaged in the “water board business” from local to state to national boards from those early years also. We think the current third congressional district has been fair to its constituents from a “community of interest” perspective. The polarized “red” and “blue” partisan divide maps of today also map out as a rural versus urban divide. These artificial divides are not healthy for our democracy. The rural and urban communities need each other to survive. We strongly supported the establishment of the current redistricting process. The “communities of interest” factors that the Redistricting Commission is charged with utilizing, as well as the non-partisan approach to drawing districts just make good sense. They also require some combination of both rural and urban to meet the population parameters needed by the redistricting process. You are charged with drawing new maps. Every congressional district needs some urban populations to find enough population as you have to add a new congressional district to Colorado. Your current map has the population centers from the old third district of Grand Junction, Delta/Montrose, Durango/Cortez and Pueblo coupled with their surrounding rural areas. The Arkansas River to the Rockies was the pre-USA geographic divide from New Spain and Mexico. There is still a strong community of interest generated from residents who date back to those years, coupled with the descendants of the Native Americans that preceded even that era, along with all of us who have chosen to join these two historical populations and live with them in this area today. We support this map as one that is fair to that community of interest. Thank you for the opportunity to share our comment.