Public Comments

Please do not politicize what has allowed the voice of the people of Colorado to determine their form of governance. Please do what is “the right thing to do.” Rise above politics and vote with your heart. Leave the districting alone. Thank you, Christian Hawkinson

I prefer the proposed (previous) redistricting for Douglas County. Douglas County has grown to be influenced by the Front Range and the Denver Metropolitan District. We are no longer a rural, agricultural county. Douglas County should be represented along with other Front Range counties that are part of the greater Denver area. Not thrown in with a vast expansive District that primarily consists of rural, agricultural plains. It is almost impossible for a Representative to represent the BEST INTERESTS of both densely urban/suburban counties and sparsely populated rural agricultural areas. Please move Douglas County back where it belongs; back with areas like Jefferson County.

Douglas County should be included in a metro congressional and legislative district. The community of interests shared by Douglas County residents differ significantly from the interests of the rural eastern plains of Colorado and are not well served by the current paradigm. Personally, my interests and values conflict significantly from the interests and values championed by my current representatives (I.e., traffic, air pollution, minority rights). Democracy is failing me when my voice and concerns are overwhelmed by those who are not my neighbors or from my community and do not share my community of interest. Please rectify this injustice by including Douglas County in a congressional and legislative district with other metro communities. Thank you for your consideration of my concerns.

Your redistricting plan looks like a method to silence rural Colorad. You have included a major metropolitan area in each rural district, which does not uphold the 'community of interest' clause in the state constitution. Most of rural Colorado revolves around agriculture, and this is certainly true in Eastern Colorado where I reside. I don't think urban residents should be able to carry the vote in electing representatives who may or may not understand how their vote may negatively impact large swaths of rural residents. I speak for many residents of rural Colorado in saying that this is not acceptable and needs to be rectified before this legislation is passed.

I am concerned and dismayed about what I’m reading regarding redistricting that’s being proposed to push certain candidates out of their districts by the Commission purposely configuring districts to flip them to the opposite party. Residents and voters see what’s being done, and it’s unacceptable from an allegedly non-partisan Commission. It is particularly concerning that it’s occurring in districts where the community clearly and historically align as more liberal or more conservative. For example, districts that are in western Colorado typically align with predominantly with conservative values. For example, there should not be a grossly partisan attempt to realign Lauren Boebert’s district to push her out and promote liberal values and candidates. It’s happening, and Coloradans see what’s going on. I’m also aware that the Colorado Democrats purchased redistricting software to influence how redistricting is being done to their partisan ends. I read the fundraising email for the software they sent to Democrats in the state. Such partisan influences shouldn’t be allowed. Yet, they’re happening. Within my own community, the last redistricting was an obvious partisan-influenced move to prop up the then Democrat candidate. She wouldn’t have re-won her seat without the crazily shaped district that the Commission decided upon to that end. It is my strong hope that such partisan action won’t be taken again. I am concerned in my district that there’s a strong public policy focused on affordable housing for buildings with more that four units. That policy is turning formally safe areas into places that are now overrun with illegal drugs, drunkenness, and violence. There has to be a better balance between offering affordable housing and providing safety to residents and businesses. Small businesses are leaving because they no longer want to deal with the problems affecting their businesses due to high-density affordable housing. This hurts the communities and District as a whole. My district has extreme differences in the quality of public education offered across the district. We opted our child into another school district about 10 minutes away because our default one is so bad. Education opportunities should be more consistent across the district. In my district, we are subjected to blanket public health diktats that don’t make sense for the diverse areas within the district. Public health should be able to differentiate between the needs and what makes sense for wholly different communities within the District. It is important to my community that Englewood remain independent in its water rights and water maintenance. Voting in my district needs to have better security. Drop boxes should be actively monitored 24/7 to ensure fraud isn’t occurring through mail-in voting. Where I live, it doesn’t appear that constant, active monitoring is occurring at nearby drop boxes.

With the current iteration of the redistricting map, suburban and metropolitan areas of Douglas County are aligned with the entire eastern portion of the state, which consists of open range, farmland, ranches and small towns. This in effect annihilates representation of larger populated areas and puts then under the purview of agricultural interests. If you are purposely trying to decimate any semblance of "representation," you SCORED! I thought that the purpose of redistricting was to realign districts to match the needs and interests of the people who live there. This alignment, with Douglas County as an agricultural area, is approximately forty years outdated! Totally unacceptable!

The redistricting appears to heavily favor Democratic candidates. The Greeley area and Weld County identifies much more with eastern plains political views than the front range (Broomfield, Boulder) political views. Greeley should not be grouped with the front-range I-25 corrider. I believe the western slope should be kept together as there is a unique identity across that area. They need one united voice.

As a rural Coloradan, I urge you to not break up the rural areas of Colorado in the re-districting so that their voices are lumped into the higher numbers of those on the Front Range. Rural people need a voice, their issues need a voice, not just those in the metropolitan areas from Pueblo to Wellington along I-25.

Communities of interest do not include rural and metropolitan in the same interest! I STRONGLY oppose putting large metropolitan areas with rural/agriculture with the same representation! Weld county in particular, as it affects me, is among the largest producer of agriculture products as well as petroleum energy. Including much of weld county representation with north Denver is in direct conflict with the constitutional mandate of “keeping communities of interest together!” Part 2 section A clearly states that! There is no need to redistrict to this level. The majority of the increased population has been to the metropolitan areas and the fact that large metropolitan areas are even considered with rural communities is blatant and suspicious.

Please consider rural Colorado's voice when checking this map. It is unfair to group rural parts of the state with heavily populated urban areas- our voice in rural Colorado will be completely lost. The preliminary map is a much better distribution. Please revert to that fair map and give Coloradoans in rural areas a voice.