Public Comments

I like the preliminary map the best. I think it best groups like-minded people.

We living in the rural parts of Colorado have not had our voices heard and many of us had had enough of state becoming unrecognizable. We are against the Redistricting proposal.

No more of your creative and racist solutions. Your proposal could not be more reckless. My district is the entire western slope. Leave it that way. In a million years I have never heard of a representative moved entirely out of their own district. It is important that I have representation to go along with the taxes you waste on my behalf. Enough is enough. Now is not the time for stupid. Pull your head out and leave the western slope alone. Paul Elmont Ouray, CO

It is both selfish and un-American to take away power from rural America and give it to urban areas.

Hello my name is Jason Cox and I live in the new 8th district. I have lived here my whole life and I am writing to you to Express my opinion on the congressional redistricting opportunity we have, more specifically the first staff plan. I believe that the previous plan was much more fair and just to the constituents within the districts. I believe the current map is very bias and would not be in the best interest of our state. I would like to see a more balanced plan similar to the previous one to where the 2nd district and the 3rd district specificity are more ideal and unbiased, like they were previously. When I speak of bias I mean it is apparent that the 2nd district was purposely enlarged to unfairly manipulate the voter demographic of the two districts in the favor of the 2nd over the 3rd. This is not who we are as Coloradans. Please consider revising the 2nd and 3rd to something that resembles the previous map and make our districts fair and unbiased. Thank you for you time.

Western Slope Colorado is no way like Eastern Colorado. I have lived in both areas and we should not ever be in the same districting area as we do no only function the same, but have the same needs. Rural Western Colorado not only has irrigation water issues, Eastern Colorado does not. We are a community of people that believe in the rights of the people and protecting ourselves. We voted for our district congress men & women and by redistricting you are trying to take those people away from us, the people and our voting rights. Hunting, fishing, BLM, water, biking, hiking, growth, weather, fruit, wine, mountains.

I am opposed to the current redistricting map. It puts the interests of people living along the front range above those folks in rural areas. As proposed, rural folks’ votes are so diluted, it doesn’t matter how they vote. Rural folks will always be shut out. Rural communities care about water, rangeland, energy, wildlife, agriculture, etc. We want our voices heard. We don’t want to be split from one another. Let me give you an example. Recently Colorado voted on reintroducing wolves. People on the front range voted for it. Folks on the western slope voted against it. Where is the government proposing reintroduction? On the western slope. Urban dwellers will never have to deal with wolves attacking their livestock. But rural folks will.

A power grab by urban Democrats to further harm rural Coloradoans and marginalize their voices. If Colorado is controlled by Denver Democrats, it will go the way of California: increased wealth inequality, ineffective bureaucracies and increased homelessness with public drug use.

In my opinion no currently elected officials should be moved out of their current district because of these changes. The numbering of the legislative districts should remain as close to the current numbering as is possible to avoid confusion to the voters. All of Boulder county should not be included in congressional district 2 because the population of Boulder county is larg enough that Boulder county would be controlling the outcome of elections in that district. The western slope is largely agricultural where as Boulder county is not. It would not be fare to the citizens of the western slope to have to live with decisions being made in Boulder. The majority of the people in our area agree with the maps produced by club 20.

Changing the way the maps was drawn after the fact, ignores the voices that represent rural Colorado that spoke up during the hearings. The commissioners chose to put the interests of the urban Front Range first by diluting the voice of rural Colorado and completely changed the map from the first preliminary Congressional maps released in June that were the subject of 36 hearings across the state. This map prioritizes the interests of the Denver Metro (other than Republican Douglas County) and targets the voices of rural Coloradans. The commission also chose to split up the Western Slope, despite the voices of the people who live there. The people who live in the rural areas of our state deserve to have a voice. Partisan gerrymandering denies us that voice. You are supposed to represent ALL of Colorado, not just the urban corridor.