Public Comments

Summit County, ALL of it, should be in the same district with more rural counties, not larger cities and counties. Summit County should not be split PERIOD. I object to the proposed redistricting. Leave District 2 as is, except get Boulder into the metro district.

Hi, my name is Leslie Bell, and I live in North Routt County. I am a 4th generation Coloradan farmer, and moved here from Dove Creek because I wanted to continue my way of life. I picked Routt County because I love the Western heritage and small town feel. I am writing to ask you to not water down the voices out here on the Western Slope by dividing us and lumping us into Front Range cities. Consider that we are different in many ways from them. They wanted wolves; we did not. They want our water, and we want to keep it. We are rural; they are highly populated. I want a voice that speaks for me in Washington, and a representative that serves Routt County and Boulder will spend all of their time in Boulder, since they can get more exposure in a city. They won’t have my town’s best in mind, because they won’t rely on the few votes they can get in Clark, Colorado. Grouping rural people together would help us have a representative who cares about us and depends on us as much as we would depend on him or her. We have no commonality with cities. I live near the border to Wyoming. A district that stretches all the way from the Front Range to here, and even touches Utah, ignores geographical barriers and makes little sense to locals who respect our unique identity. I hope to see you go back to your first map, and thank you again for working so hard on this! Thank you for your consideration Leslie Bell here 🔔

See attached written comments regarding First Staff Congressional Plan

Please do not break up the Western slope. Please! Rural Colorado needs to have it's voice heard! If it is broken up and lumped together with the densely populated areas on the Front Range our voice will disappear! Completely! It is imperative that our voice be heard on the issues that directly affect the Western Slope of Colorado and rural Colorado! Thanks you!

Hello, I am writing to you as a resident of Fort Collins to object to our city's placement in district 4, separated from the rest of out county and the rest of the front range cities that share our interests. Fort Collins has distinctly different interests from the largely agricultural land that makes up the majority of district 4. We are a college town that is focused on equitable urban planning, as well as tourism to the front range to our city. None of these important issues affect the eastern part of the state that makes up the rest of district 4, whereas our community is highly aligned with other front range college towns like Boulder. By placing Fort Collins in a district where the majority of the other counties have no interest in issues we care about, you are effectively silencing us. Please move Fort Collins to District 2 with Boulder and other front range communities so that we can be represented properly.

The original congressional redistricting map was, in my opinion, appropriate and separated districts appropriately based on shared values and interests of the Western Slope. The new map dilutes Western Slope interests and values with those of Front Range urban residents and would be extremely unfair to Western Slope residents for the following reasons: • The urban populations in Boulder and Larimer County have entirely different interests and priorities than those of Routt, Moffat, Jackson, Grand, Rio Blanco, and Garfield counties. These are largely rural communities where residents are often separated by miles of gravel roads and 2-lane blacktop, rather than backyard fences and interstate highways. We deserve to be represented appropriately by elected officials who understand the needs of rural communities vs. the needs of densely populated cities like Boulder, Broomfield, Lafayette, and Louisville. • Western Slope residents are often surrounded on all sides by federal and state lands, and often derive income and sustenance from those same public lands. Agriculture, resource extraction, and power generation industries on the Western Slope are directly impacted by decisions made by federal land management agencies. Urban dwellers in Boulder, Broomfield, Lafayette, and Louisville have no knowledge, understanding, or experience with any of these industries and only visit their public lands for short periods. Representatives should not be elected that represent both interests. Rather, they should represent one or the other, so neither populations needs are ignored or diluted. • Western Slope communities that have friends, neighbors, and relatives working in the fossil fuel industry will not be represented fairly by elected officials who represent Front Range city people who have never even seen a coal mine and have no idea where their power comes from. With the closing of major coal mines, coal power plants, and the restrictions on fossil fuel extraction, people on the Western Slope need to be represented by leaders who understand our economic needs and prioritize them accordingly. • Western Slope water users should be represented by a Western Slope congress when it comes to transbasin water diversions to Front Range cities like Boulder, Broomfield, Lafayette, and Louisville. It would be unfair to Western Slope citizens to have a congressional representative who also represents the Front Range beneficiaries of such a diversion. • Water rights and issues on the Western Slope would be at risk of being represented by Front Range interests that are opposed to the real, everyday needs of rural, agricultural, and ranching communities. • Conservation issues specific to the Western Slope would be controlled by Front Range interests. Front Range constituents are the ones who voted to introduce wolves to the Western Slope without regard for the impact on western Colorado conservation, outdoor recreation, agriculture, and ranching industries. We require representation that puts our needs before the desires of city dwellers living 5 hours distant from the effects of their actions. • Health care availability and costs in rural communities is a major concern and won't be adequately represented by urban-focused elected leadership. Growing Front Range populations will always take priority over those rural communities. • Transportation needs are entirely different for rural and urban commuters. While the cities of Steamboat Springs and Craig are somewhat urban, citizens elsewhere in Routt, Moffat, Jackson, Grand, Rio Blanco, and Garfield counties live in rural areas with entirely different transportation needs than Front Range urban dwellers. Thanks you for reading my comments.

The preliminary plan was perfect. The first staff plan destroys the integrity of the independent redistricting effort

When I look at your proposed changes in regards to the Congressional District, I consider it unacceptable that large urban areas such as Boulder are included with the rural western slope. This will take away the voice of the rural areas entirely in what the needs of the citizens of rural Colorado. There is little to no common interests in those areas and hence representation would be extremely skewed for voting. It's not entirely a equal numbers game but fairness in the interests of every Coloradoan who lives here. Please reconsider your boundaries when you include highly suburban communities with those that are rural yet contribute as much to the dynamic makeup of the state. Legislatively, the needs of different areas are obvious but lines should be drawn to be inclusive of what helps the state function as a whole, not just the special interests. Coming from Weld county, I see so many decisions made that benefit only those in concentrated populated areas They may have the numbers to get special laws passed they want without considering just how much it affects rural areas which contribute a large percent of revenue to the state. Sometimes it feels like agriculture is treated like the "ugly stepchild" that is being ignored when it comes to input into the progress of the state.

Hello, My name is Coby Corkle and I am a Jackson County Commissioner. The Jackson County Board of Commissioners and the Jackson County Assessor have concerns with the recently issued "First Staff Map" for our Congressional Districts. Jackson County is one of the least populated counties in Colorado and we feel that we are under threat of being represented by individuals from parts of the state that do not understand our lifestyle or values. This new map lumps us into a district where our votes will be almost completely meaningless and our voices will likely fall on the ears of an individual who doesn't take into account the concerns of rural Colorado. Larimer and Boulder county will account for the vast majority of this district's population, so the representative will most assuredly come from that area. We will not speak on behalf of other counties, but this new map is perceived to silence rural Colorado, whether this was the intent or not. This is not a plea for putting us in a district that will vote Republican; it is a plea to put us in a district that will understand rural Colorado. We've recently had an elected, State official visit our county and we are grateful that he did. However, it was voiced to our community, by that official, that we were fortunate to have him visit us because there aren't that many votes in Jackson County. While we understand that this statement was meant to highlight his efforts, it is this mindset that makes us so frustrated with being lumped into regions like this. In today's political world, we are expected to be satisfied with someone showing up for a couple of hours, once every four years. Representatives cannot realistically expect to understand a community by simply "making the rounds." It takes being a part of that community or spending real time getting to know the problems that they face. As elected officials, we know that we need to lobby for our community. If our representative doesn't have a true understanding of our lifestyle or challenges, it doesn't matter how ardently we fight for our position. They will vote to appease where the majority of their votes come from. Jackson County would greatly appreciate it if the Redistricting Commission would reconsider moving Jackson County to the proposed 2nd District. We are currently a part of the 3rd District and would like to remain in a district that resembles the current 3rd District because we feel that we have a much better chance of being truly represented by someone from the Western Slope. Please consider the polarizing differences between rural and urban Colorado. Thank you for your time, consideration, and efforts.

I am opposed to any redistricting that favors the Denver Metro area. As a Western Slope resident our communities interests are different from the Denver area. We are interested in low density, open space, rural lifestyle, farm and ranch raising of crops and animals. The Denver area's interest in high density real estate development is in direct conflict with our interests on the Western Slope. Our current Congresswoman, Lauren Boebert, is a true representative of our Western Slope communities. Any redistricting that would hinder Lauren's ability to represent the Western Slope communities would be opposed by the citizens of the Western Slope, we need to be represented by a person from our area, not by someone from the Denver area. Thank you Ken Buttrey