Public Comments

I do not appreciate the changes that are proposed to add urban cities to the rural communities. Far to many times the urban community with a dense population gets to decide what happens in rural areas when they have no clue how the rural community works and lives. I am appalled that this has been snuck in on a holiday weekend in hopes the people won’t speak out against this. Keep the districts separated from Urban and rural. I do not want large cities choosing how I live!!!!

The vast majority of Doug co is not rural! Why is it looped with all far away rural counties? Sure looks odd how Arapahoe is particled out and Douglas particled in. Please do not allow this boundary. Otherwise it seems Douglas can stop funding and being grouped into the Denver Metro area.

Dear Colorado Independent Redistricting Commission: I am writing asking for you to place rural communities in like group of interest, as is constitutionally required, separate from the influence and often times ignorance of urban areas. We recently have seen two local industries decimated. Jobs were lost and families were financially affected. Rural communities deserve a voice and representation, otherwise we are trampled by the idiotic ideas of misinformed. These rural communities make up a vast part of the State and supporting economy. Don’t bite off the hand that feeds you. We are so tired of decisions that are made “for us” but absolutely harm us, with little to no understanding of truth or concern for those it effects. Do something good for our State, and keep the wisdom and heritage of rural life alive. Sincerely, Lynn Colander

I oppose the latest proposed redistricting map. The purpose of Congress is to represent the citizens of our different communities, which requires that representatives from those communities are selected that hold the values of the community. The latest proposal groups Western Colorado, which is mostly rural with very urban Boulder. I have spent a lot of time in both areas, and it is no secret that the two have immensely different values. I believe an excellent example of this is the issue of the reintroduction Of wolves on the Western Slope. While many on the Front Range supported this, they will not be impacted by the wolves in any way. The residents of the Western Slope, however, will be greatly impacted in many ways. Much of Western Colorado is agricultural, and there are many problems with having protected predators feeding on their livestock. Not to mention if I was raising children in the area, how uncomfortable would that be knowing there are wolves around, and that your children are in danger. It would be similar to people in Western Colorado deciding to introduce bears onto the streets of Denver to deal with the garbage problem. In both situations, the people who live in the areas know best what the needs of their communities are. So, to group the two, Western Colorado and the Front Range, into one congressional district would be to completely disregard the entire purpose of representative government. I urge you not to approve this proposal and take away the voice of many, many tax paying citizens, but rather to approve the preliminary map which keeps the Western portion of our state separate from the Front Range, and ensures that we all have the true representation in the Federal government that The Constitution guarantees in Article IV Section 4. Thank you for taking the time to consider these things.

Look at maps of Colorado in an atlas and you will see that the scales are different for the Eastern Plains and West Slope. There are few straight roads on this side, and fewer mountain passes there. The land defines our lives, our cultures, our economies. Both sides of the I-25 corridor deserve to be honored with realistic representation. Please do not divide West Slope representation.

I think this is very important and a prerequisite to voting! More important and needs to be brought to your attention is Election Fraud. Now you have the ability to through out my comment, But it is the base of your Question. I was a pole watcher in our State. I think after getting into the nuts and bolts of our Election we need a FULL Forensic Audit. I was told by the Election Commission that ALL signatures were to be checked of registered voters in the Whole State. We had many districts with more votes than registered voters. I have brought this up and formally asked for a AUDIT. This would help to Unite our State.

It does not make sense to separate Fort Collins from the rest of Larimer County and the Front Range and group it with the Eastern Plains communities. Four reasons: The map does not meet the goal of preserving whole communities and political subdivisions such as counties, cities and towns. Fort Collins is a very different community from those of the Eastern Plains and has little in common with those communities. Fort Collins is an urban area home to high tech companies and a tier one research university and the city has emphasized climate-friendly and progressive community policies. Additionally, Larimer County has focused on issues that the Eastern Plains communities/counties have not or have not needed to. In particular: wildfire mitigation, watershed restoration, climate action, equity and diversity, as we as urban issues like homelessness, high population growth, and air quality issues. We have much more in common with Boulder County than, for example, Weld County. Eastern Plains communities are addressing different issues and should have a representative advocating for those issues just as Fort Collins should have someone advocating for its issues.

Greetings, Amendment Y was passed to provide Coloradans with a fair Congressional district map for the next ten years and provide a transparent process in developing that map. You will certainly hear that the Staff Draft 1 doesn’t reflect Colorado’s rural-urban divide. You should know that this narrative is driven by a single political party - the Colorado GOP - which the party can’t deny. Why? Because it admitted as much in an email it sent this weekend. Please see email copied below that tells supporters to oppose a Southern District and the Staff Draft 1. The GOP did this for obvious reasons - because it sees its partisan interests as being advanced by a map that draws policy lines that do little more than protect the party’s position in 2 of 8 congressional districts. Expect an avalanche of comments in support of a return to the staff’s preliminary plan of June. Please keep in mind that it is a partisan messaging machine, not an outpouring of actual concern about the Staff Draft 1. Be skeptical of the comments that are motivated by the party’s agenda. https://mailchi.mp/63f3f1276ec0/redistricting-final-chance-to-weigh-in

We are highly disturbed by the apparent plans to dilute the influence of one of our state's most vibrant and important regions - greater Fort Collins - by splitting its influence into two largely rural districts, where the distinct needs of an urban population will be drowned out by other considerations. This loss of congressional influence for such a key region is unwarranted and uncalled for - and appears to violate the vary standards by which the redistricting process was to be conducted. Please keep greater Fort Collins together in its congressional representation.

Dear Colorado Independent Redistricting Commission, Rural communities want a voice NOT over powered by urban communities. The current proposed map effectively eliminates the rural voice. DO NOT approve this map. Constitutionally, you are to keep like communities together, NOT over power the rural communities as proposed. Please give the rural areas back their voice through representation. Thank you for attention to this important issue. Tom Colander Redvale, Colorado