Public Comments

My name is Patrick Hegarty, I am a resident of La Plata County and am representing myself. Splitting up the western slope counties proves the Colorado Independent Redistricting Commission does not understand the western slope. The Commission’s lack of understanding makes sense in that only one Commissioner lives in the Western Slope. And, not one Commissioner grew up in a Western Slope community. The Commission needs to appreciate that rural western slope communities, businesses, individuals and associations have worked together for over seventy years to protect their interests. Keeping the western slope in one Congressional District maintains a historic community of interest. No knowledgeable person questions that the western slope is a community of interest, with shared public policy concerns like: water, travel, economics, employment and health care. Some examples of their communalities of interest are: the western slope has experienced extensive draught condictiones. Residents must drive their cars and trucks many miles to reach destinations, due to our predominantly rural lifestyles. Employment relies heavily upon agriculture, construction, and oil & gas. Public health is predominately clinic oriented. Eastern slope cities like Boulder do not share these interests. The largely conservative residents of the western slope rural counties will clearly be disenfranchised to vote if they are included with a more populated cities like Boulder. The interests of eastern slope cities like Boulder is an antithesis of the interests of rural western slope counties. Eastern slope urban dwellers like Boulder residents drive electric cars and work to eliminate oil and gas jobs that the rural western slope residents rely upon to feed their families. The severance taxes paid from the production of oil and gas are major contributors to western slope counties’ tax base. Eastern slope urban dwellers want to outlaw guns, while western slope rural residents are huge supporters of gun rights. Eastern slope residents want water for urban purposes, while western slope residents need that water to support their farming and ranching operations. Operations that feed their families and sustain a life style that has existed for hundreds of years. The differences between rural western slope life and eastern slope urban dwelling are endless. The western slope is a community of interest. It is shameful for the Commission to imply that eastern slope urban dwellers like Boulder have shared interests with those western slope ranchers, farmers, oil field workers and other rural residents. It appears political considerations are responsible in splitting the western slope in half. The newly proposed second congressional district that splits the western slop in half will disenfranchise rural voters by nullifying their voice with the more populous radically liberal eastern slope city residents. Colorado Independent Redistricting Commission Carly Hare – Boulder Jolie Brawner – Denver Martha Coleman - Fort Collins Moussa Diawara - Pueblo Paula Espinoza – Boulder Jason Kelly Alamosa William Leone Denver Danny Moore – Centennial Lori Schell – has Iived in Durango for the last 19 years. Julie Marie Shepherd Macklin - Boulder Simon Tafoya – Denver Elizabeth "Lisa" Wilkes - Colorado Springs

How does it make any sense to have summit county aligned with front range counties? We should be with other west slope adjoining counties. (submitted by email 9/9/21)

Having lived in the Pinery in Douglas County Congressional District for over 25 years, I have been very unhappy and frustrated with the way this district is drawn. This is NOT a competitive district in its current configuration and does not reflect the fact that Douglas County in a METRO living area. Douglas County should be represented with the FRONT RANGE, not Kansas, not farming/ranching country. I urge the Commission to draw new district lines to include Douglas County as part of the front range, making it reflective of the urban character of the area, and giving us the opportunity to elect a more moderate candidate! Diana Harper (submitted by email 9/8/21)

Greetings! I am wondering about the methods of thinking... where the city of Cortez, has been shifted and seemingly carved out to be in the district to the East... which is heavily Blue. How do the Montezuma county people feel about cutting their county in half- and has anybody else from Cortez voiced concern about this shift? Cortez, and Montezuma county have been in House District 58 for some time, and I'm wondering why we are specifically being carved out, and put into a Blue district. I have heard that one of the directives for the redistricting commission is to make the districts "more competitive". This means taking some Red areas, and putting them in Blue districts, and taking some Blue areas, and shifting them to Red districts... I think this is rather foolhardy. We should let Red areas be Red, and let Blue areas be Blue... Let the policies and the representatives from these districts represent them in their own ways- and let the chips fall where they may. Thank you for your time. (submitted by email 9/8/21)

Adding Boulder to District 3 effectively takes away the voice of rural Colorado. The people of Boulder have nothing in common with the rural communities of western Colorado besides living in the same state and will effectively nullify any votes by rural citizens. This is totally unacceptable.

While the commission has done an impressive job of redistricting based on population, race and ethnicity, they've done an abysmal job on the political aspect. Nowadays, politics is of utmost importance as society has become so polarized. I currently live in District 4, which suits my political outlook as an AMERICAN! Your redistricting plan changes the boundaries lumping me in with the District 2 urban socialists and leftists. A new redistricting plan should minimize urban influence in a state that is geographically so rural.

September 9, 2021 The Colorado Independent Redistricting Commission Staff “first staff plan map” released on 9/3/2021 is an outrageous attempt by the relentless liberal (not to be confused with progressive) majority of District 2 to overwhelm and negate the voters of northwestern Colorado in District 3 and eastern Colorado in District 1 with their proposed revisions to the “preliminary Congressional maps” released in June after 36 hearings across Colorado. Do the clandestine proposal revisers really think that by writing over-and-over again “nonpartisan staff” throughout the notes, it will somehow trick we the voters into believing this is anything but a shamelessly biased power grab attempt? How dare they think we are that stupid! The proposed “first staff plan map” brazenly ignores the stated purpose of, “Preservation of communities of interests and political subdivisions” … and “attempted to keep communities of interest together”, by gerrymandering the major Front Range metropolises of Boulder combined with northwest Colorado, and for no reason moving District 2 Fort Collins into District 1 and reducing that territory to the south and west but to ensure liberal majorities in the resultant Districts 1 and 2. I have lived and worked in major metropolitan areas all my life but have also worked in rural areas with natural resources development and management. I greatly admire and appreciate America’s backbone agrarian and natural resource development communities that feed, fuel and drive our economy and comfortable urban lifestyles. I can state with certainty that most of the liberal city dwellers in Boulder and Fort Collins have little knowledge of or frankly care about the needs of Americans living in agrarian and natural resource producing areas. The “first staff plan map” would ensure the overwhelming and silencing of the voices and concerns of 2/3rds of our rural Colorado! There is simply no reason but for underhanded political redistricting to nullify the majority conservative voters in smaller population Districts 1 and 3 by overwhelming their voices and concerns by the metropolitan liberal majorities in much more populated District 2. I urge the Colorado Independent Redistricting Commission to reject the “first staff plan map” as the unethical scam that it is and retain the preliminary Congressional maps released in June. Gregory Petruska District 2 Loveland, Colorado

This latest map, proposed Sept 3 is a travesty to rural Colorado. I gives population centers all the control. What does Boulder have in common with Meeker? How does a rep from Fort Collins understand a rural Lincoln County need? Las Animas County and Grand Junction? Really, people. Use the previously proposed map proposed June 29 and supported by Colorado Farm Bureau. (submitted by email 9/8/21)

Please, add my name as opposed to the new gerrymandering of Colorado. It is blatantly unfair. Colorado is NOT just about Denver. Katherine Michelsen Registered voter, Douglas County (submitted by email 9/8/21)

Your committee has put the rural areas with cities. Their votes will outnumber the rural voters and change our representatives from rural to city. Logan countys decisions will be made by people who live in the city. Thats very unfair to rural residents. We are the ones who raise cattle and food and what works best for doing that is not understood by many city people. We have that education, many city residents have no clue what is required to do the work we do. You have taken our vote away from us. This has to be on purpose to make such horrible redistricting decisions. Please put rural people in their own district. (submitted by email 9/7/21)