Public Comments

Dear Commissioners, I am a 49 year resident of Routt County and proud of our rural way of life and the fact that we have always dug deep to care for our community and its citizens. I have been watching the redrawing of Colorado's congressional districts with much interest. It is a very difficult job and appreciate your committee for taking the time to allow for public comment. I find this last draft to be problematic. Incorporating the western slope into the urban Front Range absolutely dilutes the voice of those of us who choose to live in the western slope. The density and population of the urban front range is destroying the economy of the western slope where they do not even live. They want to speak to how we chose to make a living, direct our water usage, limit our access to resources that they so abundantly are entitled to, and much more. They even overwhelmingly voted to put wolves in our backyards while leaving their homes protected. The western slope and our southern partners need to maintain a voice in Colorado! Recently I attended a Q&A with Governor Polis. He glorified in the economy of Colorado on the front range but did not take any questions which were asked regarding the economy of the western slope. He is a Governor for the entire state but does not need any support from the western slope so he automatically removes himself from our concerns. My suggestion is to go back to the current congressional map keeping the the western and southern part of the state that values rural life separate from the ever growing urban areas. Thank you for your consideration in this manner.

again you are cutting out the voices of RURAL COLORADO WE OPPOSE THESE CHANGES KENT R REICHOW

I am deeply concerned about the proposed redistricting process which is designed to politically weight Colorado's legislative seats. This compromises the will of the voters. I strongly feel this form of gerrymandering is undemocratic and corrupt! Other democratic election systems have successfully avoided manipulation of district lines; we need to rethink how we can implement this, as well. As a fourth-generation Coloradoan, I was born and raised on the Front Range. My great-grandparents and grandparents were farmers; at one time my grandpa George Rusho had a mercantile shop in Ward around the 1920s. My father worked at the National Bureau of Standards (now NIST) and later at NOAA as a scientific instrument designer; my mother was a district supervisor for the US Census until she stepped down to raise us four children. As a adult living on the Western Slope for over 30 years, I've raised my own family and have had a successful career in education reform, economic revitalization, and grant administration. I was the Southwest Colorado coordinator for 11 counties in the School-to-Career initiative. This bi-partisan program brought businesses and education sectors together for student apprenticeship programs, internships, and job shadowing in their communities. For teachers, I offered graduate re-certification programs partnering teachers with businesses to redesign relevant curriculum. I drove all over the Western Slope and coordinated statewide with the other regions. From my experience knowing all sides of Colorado, I can attest to how totally different sectors of Colorado are geographically, economically, and politically. I love the Western Slope agriculture/tourism focus and our rural lifestyle. Our elected representatives reflect those unique characteristics and lifestyles of our area and, most importantly, understand our geopolitical concerns. PLEASE strongly consider leaving Colorado's districts, especially the Western Slope, intact.

From the map I've seen the committee has pretty much locked Colorado into a socialist state. The conservative areas are isolated so that they will have minimal voting influence. Of course you knew better than to try to dilute El Paso County. We have a tendency to protest. Let's try to be fair with this. I do realize that this process is a political tool used by both parties, but that doesn't make it right. Mark J Anthony

I am writing to express my concern over the recent redistricting map released 9/3/21. First, I would like to say I do not envy your position in trying to create a redistricting map that will be acceptable to everyone. However, I disagree strongly with the inclusion of Fort Collins in District 4. I live in the city of Fort Collins, and I am finding it very difficult to see a shared interest in Fort Collins with the communities on the eastern plains of Colorado. In Fort Collins, we have several shared interests in education, research, manufacturing, craft brewing, bicycling, and outdoor activities. Our community is concerned about public health, diversity, education, transportation such as buses, bike lanes for commuting, air quality, and tourism. Virtually all of these interests are absent in the eastern plains of Colorado. There are no major universities, craft breweries, tourism areas, or manufacturing sectors I am aware of on the eastern plains. If the interests of virtually all the eastern plains is taken into account, I feel the interests of the City of Fort Collins will be unheard and not represented. We have several geographic areas of interest to us, including Lory State Park, the Poudre Canyon, Horsetooth Reservoir, and Rocky Mountain National Park. All of these locations draw a large number of tourists every year, especially Rocky Mountain National Park. Perhaps the most similar community that shares these locations is Boulder. We have quite a diverse population with folks from all parts of the world. Many, if not all of these individuals, are drawn to Fort Collins for the University and the research/manufacturing in the area. This diversity enriches our community. The festivals and outdoor activities make Fort Collins a great place to visit and live. Please reconsider the current redistricting map, and include Fort Collins with other communities with shared interests, such as Boulder.

I oppose the breaking-up of the western part of the state. they should speak as one voice. their interests are the not the same as Denver's. dale elliott

I am a resident of Douglas County and am disappointed in the proposed districting with Limon, Kiowa and Sterling. The majority of residents in Douglas County have very few similarities with those counties, which are more rural and have different needs than DougCo which is more urban. I demand to be put in the Front Range District with counties similar to Douglas County.

Redistricting Colorado. It looks to me you want to control the Rural counties. I have to tell you that none of you known anything about the Rural counties. How many of you have ever work or raised cattle , run farm equipment or been involved with Rural community problems. I don’t think Ft Collins , Boulder and Denver can make good decisions for the hard working citizens in the Rural counties. Please stop your Bull Shit and the Maps right.

I am a resident of Fort Collins, and wish to object to the CD4 boundaries that the Congressional Commission’s staff has proposed and which are under review during the week of September 6-11, 2021. The Congressional Commission was charged with drawing redistricting maps based on several criteria, including 1) “preserve whole communities of interest” and 2) preserve “whole political subdivisions, such as counties, cities, and towns.” The CD4 map that the staff has proposed violates both of these criteria. The proposed CD4 unquestionably violates the second criteria by separating Fort Collins from the rest of Larimer County. Splitting Larimer County not only ignores the Commission’s stated criteria, it would increase the cost of elections and make elections more confusing to voters when we should be seeking transparency and simplicity. Dividing the county into two different Congressional districts would place the county seat in a different Congressional district than the rest of the county. It would also force residents of the county to travel to two different cities some distance apart to meet with their Congressional representatives and make it more difficult to obtain Congressional action on issues of countywide concern when those representatives belong to opposing political parties or hold conflicting political philosophies as is currently the case. The proposed CD4 would also violate the Commission’s criteria to preserve communities of interest. Fort Collins is an urban center with high-tech firms like HP and Woodward, one of the two large state research universities, and has very little in common with the mainly rural and agricultural counties on the Eastern plains. The proposed change ignores the important and growing communities of interest between Fort Collins and Boulder which share common concerns in many areas such as promoting higher education, access to Rocky Mountain park, the threat from wildfires, and the need to protect our air quality from the oil and gas industry sites which other counties in the proposed CD4 would be seeking to expand. The creation of a Congressional Redistricting Commission was intended to end the practice of gerrymandering, but the proposed CD4 looks exactly like a gerrymandered district. It also violates two of the fundamental criteria that the Commission was supposed to follow. Keeping Fort Collins in a district with Boulder would be far more consistent with the Commission’s stated criteria.

I recently saw comments about the Commission's preliminary plan. Members of the Commission were proud that the prelim plan was non-partisan - 3 districts strongly Republican, 3 districts strongly Democrat and 2 districts toss-up. That approach is strongly partisan with a self-fulfilling, predetermined result. I recommend a new approach that leaves the outcome of each district election up to the electorate. I understand we will have eight districts. First divide the number of state-wide, registered voters by eight; that is the number of registered voters in each district. Then starting at the northern border draw an east-west line that encompasses the appropriate number of registered voters. Continue southward to create all districts. On the map, the districts will look like a layer cake with all districts spanning the state from the eastern border to the western border. Some districts will be a thick layer, while others will be a thin layer. But all layers span the state and have an equal number of registered voters. There are several advantages of this approach. First, this approach will prevail in the inevitable lawsuits. The mathematical approach will squash any gerrymandering charges. Second and most important for Colorado is that all districts will consist of rural and urban populations. All districts representatives are responsible for farmers, manufacturers and consumers. Third, rather than a preconceived outcome, the registered voters of each district will determine the outcome of districtwide elections. Fourth, Colorado will lead the Nation in terminating gerrymandering. Fifth, it should be a simple process to draw the new districts. Remember Colorado first! Good luck. Joseph Schmid LtCol, USMC