Public Comments

Dear Commissioners, I would like to address my opinion on the current first staff plan map released on September 3, 2021. This draft in my opinion is not a fair representation of rural Colorado. Please listen to the people on the Western Slope who do not want their slope divided and will dilute their voices. I also feel it prioritizes the interests of the Denver Metro area whereas Douglas County needs to be recognized in the equation. The preliminary Congressional maps that were released in June should be re-implemented as these were drawn from the 36 hearings held across the state and were based on a more equitable process. Thank you.

I have looked over the new district map. It appears that the front range will be making all the decisions for the rest of the state. Agriculture has a large financial tax base but little voice in politics in Colorado. This map will kill any voice we may have had previously. Please rework this map to be more equal politically; Thank you.

I do not support the latest planned redistricting in Colorado. I believe the rural and western district should be kept intact as in the preliminary map (attached.) Western Colorado shares interests such as open spaces, protection of wildlife habitat, freedom from too much government regulation, livestock and agriculture production, hunting opportunities, recreational shooting opportunities. Our public policy concerns differ from the urban areas of the front range and the Denver metro area. Examples are water, livestock production, tourism, wildfire protection, heating with firewood, etc. In Park county, we are fighting to preserve our water while the urban areas want to take more of our water. Our rural and agricultural areas, national forests, and national parks are important to our community. Our community has rarely agreed with the voting record of the urban areas. Wolf reintroduction is a good example.

Dear Colorado Independent Redistricting Commission, As an alumnus of Colorado State University (CSU), I am concerned about the implications of Colorado’s congressional district map as it currently stands. Fort Collins was my home for the four years in which I completed my undergraduate degree, and as one of the most progressive places in Colorado, the city offered many desirable opportunities for me, including being involved in cutting-edge research, using solar energy investments to power my home, and making use of the city's multi-modal transportation system. My concern is that the draft would jeopardize those and other opportunities for current and future students and change the very dynamic of Fort Collins as it is so dissimilar to communities in the East Plains. If the goal of the Commission is to preserve communities of interest and political subdivisions, the current map does not do that successfully. CSU is a major driver of the Fort Collins community. It is directly linked with, and feeds into, local industries that simply do not exist in the East Plains. Boulder county, however, has many similar industries to Fort Collins (solar power, digital industries, etc.) and like Fort Collins is home to a Tier One research university and a diverse student populace. The draft places Fort Collins with traditionally conservative counties that usually fail to support the agenda of minority groups, take action on climate change, and confront issues such as equity and diversity. This draft would dilute the voices and political power of young students and may even impact student enrollment at CSU, as the progressive campus and city culture are important allures for prospective students. Another factor to consider is how a future representative could possibly represent such contrary interests as those that exist between Fort Collins and the Eastern Plains. Our needs as communities are so very different, whereas there are many similarities between the Fort Collins and Boulder communities. The Commission needs to remember that Fort Collins is a highly progressive Front Range urban area, and has very little in common with areas such as Weld County whose economy is centered on agriculture and extractive industries. We experience the issues of an urban community and have much more in common with places like Boulder county. Moreover, by including Fort Collins in Boulder county on the congressional district map, the Commission will offer the support that students and the wider Fort Collins community need to effectively voice their opinions and not be overshadowed by those in the East Plains who have more conservative ideals. Thank you for your time, Hannah Jacobsen

Ft Collins doesn’t have anything in common with the rural communities in the eastern portion of the state. I’m incensed that it would be considered at all to be carved out as though it has the same interests as communities like Holyoke, Wray, Sterling, Yuma, Ault, and Nunn, when it does not rely on the extraction of oil and gas for its economy! There are many differences between these communities indeed. The list is long, to include Ft Collins possessing outstanding education in the fields of medicine, engineering, the arts, and technology. Cultural differences are also obvious and should be respected. This is why I am appalled by the idea that Ft Collins could be left completely out of Larimer county and pulled into all the rural areas of Colorado in redistricting! Cutting out one city the size of Ft Collins from a county and lumping it in with an extremely rural part of the state (nearly one third!) to get to any population goal is not a proper way to redistrict. Splitting communities of interest which have little to nothing in common is not a good way to make districts more competitive. Keeping Larimer county whole is!

Our area doesn’t have a lot in common with Boulder. If Boulder is lumped in with rural Grand County, can we send our grey wolf population to them instead of our livestock ranchers having to suffer the effects of them. We asked that they not be introduced here but other animal lovers on the front range thought it would be great to introduce them in our county.

I am a 4th generation farmer in Fowler, CO. I am 68 yrs. old and actively farming an irrigated farm that has been in my family for well over 100 years. It is my responsibility to keep it viable for the next generation of farmers in my family. I have grave concerns that under the current redistricting map proposal the decisions for what is best for rural Colorado farming and ranching is being taken from me and given to residents living in the big cities on the front range. An example is current water law. Every city I know of is trying to get control of agriculture water so they can keep growing at unchecked rates. The farming and ranching economy of Colorado has been and will continue to be a stablizing factor for our state. We need to take care of it! Richard Jensen

I do not agree with the inclusion of Boulder County with Grand County in the changed proposal for redistricting. Our west slope voices with rural views have continually been ignored with this type of a district. As examples, front range views on water use for lawns and new housing do not match our views to leave water in our streams nor did we want wolves on my land while Boulder County voted to put wolves in my yard Not in theirs. Half of Grand County burned last year due to human visitors. We need a western district to represent our needs. Our views are different let us have a voice.

Do not cut off Fort Collins from our peer cities along the Front Range in the congressional district map. Based on the current draft Fort Collins is in District 4 along with the more rural northeastern plains. We aren't just cut off from other university towns like Boulder, but we are cut off from the majority of our county! This makes no sense to me. The concerns of the Fort Collins area center around affordable housing, better transportation options, buidling more schools to account for population change. These are not the same shared concerns of more rural eastern plains communities.

the new map which puts the eastern plains with Ft Collins is unacceptable! we need the Agricultural communities to stay together and not have the front range representing us! that is why it is so important to have the San Luis Valley included with the eastern plains, agriculture is not well represented in Colorado and is often forgotten. Agriculture is an economic driver for Colorado and deserves representation, our community of interest is Agriculture and we need to stay together!!