Public Comments

I live in Douglas County and strongly urge that Douglas County be represented with the Front Range.

I attended the “redistricting boondoggle” held in Craig, CO. My gut told me this was a waste of time, “they”, the front range, was going to do what ever was required to silence the voice of the western slope. By lumping in the counties of Moffat, Rio Blanco, and Garfield with Larimer and Boulder they accomplished their goal. Now the, left leaning, counties of Route, Larimer, and Boulder will dictate the course for the less populated and conservative voices of Moffat, Rio Blanco, and Garfield. In my view the left leaning influence accomplished the same the take over for the entire State of Colorado. Polis, Bennett, Hickenlooper, Schumer, and Pelosi couldn’t be happier. Colorado just became ”New California.”

I think the inclusion of Fort Collins in the proposed District 4 is inappropriate. Fort Collins has little in common with the eastern counties that make up the bulk of the proposed district. The economies of the other counties are primarily agricultural and natural resources extraction (oil and gas). Fort Collins is a growing urban center with a an emphasis on education (CSU), technology, and climate change mitigation. Located at the edge of the mountains, we are challenged by wildfires, flooding, ozone, and air quality. As an important, and growing city, Fort Collins is challenged to address the stresses of rapid population growth, equity and diversity, and homelessness.

I live in the west end of Highlands Ranch that has been tucked into the corner of district 6 with the latest map iteration. I don't understand the reasoning behind breaking up Highlands Ranch amongst two districts, with the majority of Highlands Ranch in district 4. From a community interest and public policy standpoint Highlands Ranch should be in the same district. It's odd that my neighbors just to the east of me will have a representative that covers the rural parts of eastern Colorado. In the same vein, I don't get why most of the other suburban areas of Douglas County (i.e. Lone Tree, Parker, Castle Rock) are in district 4 either. The community interests and public policy interests of eastern Colorado are different than those of the suburban core of Douglas County. The elected representative of the proposed district 4 is likely to live in one of those suburban areas and not be plugged into the needs of eastern Colorado. This will be a disservice to those rural communities. The suburban core of Douglas County should be in either district 6 to the north or district 5 to the south.

I am a rancher in Routt County and am very upset at the new "First Staff Plan map" that has been presented. This hurts rural Colorado, we have nothing in common with the urban and suburban front range. It clearly ignores the ag community, wester water issues we have with the Colorado river compact etc. Western Colorado needs to stay as much intact as possible, using the Pueblo area to get our numbers is probably ok surely better that a front range plan. Please at least go back to the first map put out. Thanks

I am a rancher in Routt County and am very upset at the new "First Staff Plan map" that has been presented. This hurts rural Colorado, we have nothing in common with the urban and suburban front range. It clearly ignores the ag community, wester water issues we have with the Colorado river compact etc. Western Colorado needs to stay as much intact as possible, using the Pueblo area to get our numbers is probably ok surely better that a front range plan. Please at least go back to the first map put out. Thanks 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; ignores testimony from around the state regarding desired district lines.

As a resident of Douglas County, I demand to represented with the Front Range. I do not wish to be represented in the Eastern Plains, by leadership that does not have my family's interests at stake. Highlands Ranch is vastly different from many of the communities in the Eastern Plains, and having leadership that doesn't represent us, is a disservice.

Good morning - I am writing to address the redistricting that is currently taking place.  Why are you prioritizing your agenda and the city of Denver's agenda over the voice of all the people of Colorado?  Especially the voice of the people on the Western slope?  Why do people in an elected or elected appointed position think they can prioritize their agenda over the whole of the people that they work for?   Please see below and really consider that: 1. Northern Douglas County is not rural and should be properly included in the Metro Denver Area 2. Representation and rights of rural Colorado are being divided and diluted between the higher density counties of the metro Denver area. This is blatantly unfair and an obvious attempt at pushing an agenda that isn't agreed with by rural Colorado. Please give ALL of Colorado equal representation by redistricting appropriately! How can you not see that it is the right thing to do?! Thank you, Elizabeth 

After recently moving from the northern front range to rural Routt County to teach Agricultural Sciences, it was clearly evident how DIFFERENT these areas are. Boulder County and Larimer County do not even resemble the city of Steamboat Springs, not to mention have the same needs as the rural areas of Jackson, Grand, Routt, Moffat, Rio Blanco and Garfield County. This proposed map is a blatant step to ignore the needs of the agricultural community across the state. I grew up in Boulder and Larimer County, and can say with utmost certainty the first staff plan is the most absurd recommendation for rural Colorado. We are a very distinct community of interest in the state and this proposed map would absolutely ignore the differences in water management, ag industry/businesses and of course the social landscape. This is a clear attempt to silence rural constituents across Colorado. At the very least, to compose a district that shares counties on either side of the continental divide, is a social and geographical absurdity. Hear rural Colorado's voice, this map CANNOT stand.

Dear Redistricting Committee, I appreciate all of the hard work you are putting into this process, however, I am extremely disappointed in the most recent Congressional maps you have put out and in the last minute publishing on a holiday Friday afternoon with very little time for rural Coloradans to respond I know the two primary focuses of your endeavor are competitive races and communities of interest. It seems the communities of interest portion was cut out of these latest maps. Rural Colorado is already heavily influenced by the Metro areas in a statewide view. Please take into greater consideration the fact that rural Coloradans do not want the metro areas deciding for us how to run our farms and ranches, cattle operations/equine operations, etc. in either our Congressional or our Legislative districts. Please consider keeping rural Colorado together as opposed to putting large swaths of urban Colorado (as you have currently done) in our districts. By doing this, you effectively wipe out the voice of rural Colorado. I truly believe you have lost sight of communities of interest and I would urge you to put a greater focus on that issue. Best Regards, Carol Hinds