Public Comments

I am a resident of Fort Collins in CD2. Please consider my comments to the Commission about the latest Congressional redistricting maps released on September 3. I object to the city of Fort Collins being moved from CD2 to CD4 for the following reasons. Fort Collins is the county seat of Larimer County and should not be moved into a different Congressional District than the rest of the county. One of the goals of the Commission is to preserve whole communities of interest and whole political subdivisions including counties, cities and towns, and the CD2/CD4 maps do not do this. Fort Collins is a North Front Range urban area that is very different from the eastern plains, and we would have very little in common with neighbors to the east including those in the southeast corner of the state in Baca County, some 300 miles away. Fort Collins would in no way represent the population center of such a rural, agricultural district. Our economy and our needs as a community are very different from cities and towns on the eastern plains. In Larimer County, we are focused on issues like wildfire mitigation, watershed restoration, multi-modal connections, climate action, equity and diversity, and dealing with urban issues including homelessness, high population growth, ozone non-attainment, and air quality issues. We have much more in common with Boulder County than we do with counties to the east. Following are two scenarios for you to consider: 1. Put the east side of Colorado Springs in CD4, put Fort Collins back in CD2 and do some rearranging to the Congressional Districts farther south to even out the population factor 2. Take Broomfield (pop 74112) and Lafayette (pop 34205) out of CD2 and put in CD8. Take Loveland (pop 76378) out of CD2 and put it in CD4 along with Greeley (pop 108745) which you can now take out of CD8. Fort Collins (pop 169810) comes out of CD4 and back to CD2 The bottom line is that Fort Collins should remain in CD2. Thank you for your consideration.

Please accept this comment regarding congressional and legislative redistricting. I am opposed to the proposed redistricting plan. The proposal ignores the interests and well being of Colorado residents. It is nothing more than blatant gerrymandering. By going through with this redistricting plan, you will ignore and cancel the interests of a large portion or rural Colorado. This plan ignores agriculture and rural Colorado's unique community of interest by combining it with urban and suburban populations; fails to reflect the differences in water administration, ag industry makeup, and social landscape between eastern and western parts of the state and ignores testimony from around the state regarding desired district lines. Please recognize rural Colorado as a distinct community of interest with the same public policy concerns based on agriculture, employment, and water needs and supplies, which are different from urban and suburban communities. Commissioners need to revert back to the Preliminary congressional map and improve it. Thank you,

I’ve under the impression from my early education in public schools that the United States’ government is always intended to be by and for the people that are to be governed. Is that no longer the case? Why would we allow only the most populated areas of our State to dictate what is good for the entire State? We are supposed to be a republic that essentially represents ALL the people who are citizens, aren’t we? We were never intended to be a pure democracy where the majority alone dictates what happens. By redistricting to favor only the highly populated front range and Denver Metro areas we will increasingly disinfranchize everyone else that’s not represented. Please allow me he State of Colorado to be justly represented across the entire State.

I live in Loveland. I appreciate all your work for creating the new Congressional Districts from 7 to 8. With that said, I would encourage you to not split Larimer County into 2 Congressional Districts. Fort Collins and Loveland have very similar interests and are well conditioned to one set of coordinated efforts from Washington. For the next 10 years, it will not make good administrative sense to separate Fort Collins from Larimer county and thus 2 separate Congressional Districts. Separating us would mean 2 different groups in Washington and 2 different groups in Larimer County jockeying for control and influence. That could result in a political quagmire. With a large county population, having one source working with just one source makes better sense, better use of our tax dollars. We should be flexible as needed and not prone to political hassling; and flexibility means keeping all of Larimer County in one Congressional District. Please Keep Larimer County As One. Thanks for listening - Larry Roos (registered Independent), Loveland

I want to encourage the redistricting commission to remove Douglas County from the district that includes Sterling and the eastern plains. Douglas County is a much more urban county than those on the eastern slope and doesn't share the same concerns as farmers and ranchers. Douglas should be included in the Front Range communities along with Centennial and Littleton - included in the 6th district. Thank you. Deb

Gentlemen and Ladies. Our U.S. constitution is based on the voice of the people. It is unlawful for anyone, judge or committee, to go against the pleas of the people. For those who aspire to bring down the declarations of the people of the United State or the state of Colorado will, in the end, condemn themselves to destruction. If you do not remember the Nuremburg Trials, a refresher will help you. There is a Law higher than any laws of man. Respectfully submitted, Ivy Joy & Frank Johnson, Sedgwick County, CO

The public policy concerns of our extremely poor community are: 1. Denver metro should not be able to vote us out of public funding. 2. Our governor should not be allowed to issue mandates that shut down our tiny, struggling businesses for good. 3. The needs of our area are often overlooked by politicians in the metro area. 4. Once politicians go to DC, they get gradually brainwashed to believe our concerns are no longer important.

Thank you for the opportunity to comment in the most recent proposed congressional redistricting maps. I am writing on behalf of our agricultural business in Weld County. The current proposal completely ignores from around the state regarding desired district lines and fails to reflect the differences in water administration, ag industry makeup, and the social landscape between the eastern and western parts of the state. It also ignores the agriculture community and Colorado's unique community of interest by combining it with urban and suburban populations and thereby drowns out the rural Colorado and ag voice. In many ways, it feels intentional and designed to do so. The rural/agricultural communities in Colorado will not be fairly represented under the proposed redistricting lines. This is unacceptable as it is important for all communities to be represented in a way that reflects the realities of the community....not some washed-out version that all but completely silences those communities. This is unacceptable and will cause harm to the agriculture community and our business. In doing so, there will also be harmful to the State and the people who Colorado home. The economic impacts will be significant and real. Please reconsider and take into account the proposals that have been made and which do a better job of representing the rural agricultural communities in Colorado. Sincerely, Jordan Rolfe

Please reconsider the partitioning of the western slope area. The eastern plains were allowed to remain as a contiguous group. Why was the west partitioned? It is obvious that once again Colorado has been bought by outside influence and money and political dominance is what drives human ambition. Respecting the opinions of individuals is drowned by the ambitions of those who wish to rule rather than govern. We endorse the redistricting plan proposed by Club 20.

I don't believe Douglas County should be grouped in with the rural counties in Eastern Colorado. Instead, Douglas County should be grouped with other urban communities, who have different needs and values than our rural neighbors. Maybe group the rural counties in the east with the rural counties in the west. They won't be contiguous but they'll have similar needs and values which seems to be most important. Thanks for listening. Best regards, John