Public Comments

I am very distressed to see the new proposed map that splits Fort Collins from the rest of Larimer County and from our fellow Front Range communities. I feel very much a part of Larimer County, including our mountains. The Poudre River that flows through Fort Collins comes down to us from those mountains. Wildfires in the mountains affect our water and air quality. I and everyone I know recreates extensively in the mountains. My son has worked on a Larimer County road crew repairing roads around the county. We share with the rest of our county in public health measures that matter to me. I also feel connected to, have friends in, and often visit other Front Range communities such as Loveland and Boulder. We share concerns about climate change, health care, the spread of diseases such as Covid-19, homelessness, unemployment, lack of affordable housing, ozone and other air pollution, and water rights and water conservation. We in the Front Range need to pull together to deal with these issues. I have no connection to eastern Colorado except to wish that they also be well and be part of a thriving and sustainable Colorado. I am also distressed that the district we in Fort Collins would be moved to is considered very safely Republican. I experienced in past years when we had Republican representatives that my efforts to contact those representatives about issues that are very important to me were utterly futile. I'm not sure those representatives ever voted in a way that I thought would help to solve any of the problems that I see. I'm sure they represented the interests of some others in our district, and I don't mind being in a competetive district where candidates who have different approaches can be considered by voters, but I dread the thought of not having a chance to elect a representative who will work in Congress on the concerns that are so critical to me and my community. So please keep Fort Collins with the rest of Larimer County, and, if possible, with other Front Range communities. At the very least, give us a competetive district. Perhaps there shouldn't be districts considered "safe" for either party; that effectively disenfranchises many voters.

We are not in favor of the proposed redistricting. It once again takes our educated, environmentally aware, progressive university town and hooks us up with an agricultural and oil & gas intensive region. We do not share economic drivers or work forces in common. We tried this years ago and it was a spectacular failure. It basically disenfranchises Fort Collins.

I have been a homeowner in Steamboat Springs, Routt County since 1997. I am 100% against the redistricting to include our small rural town with Boulder County. We have very little in common with them and want to keep it that way. These counties do not understand our quality of life nor the things we depend upon such as agriculture, ranching and recreation. They should not have a vote on the things that matter to us and our community! Please DO NOT LET THIS HAPPEN TO ROUTT COUNTY! DO NOT INCLUDE MOFFAT COUNTY to BOULDER COUNTY in the redistricting. NO, NO, NO!

I live in Fort Collins. Under the current redistricting proposal, Fort Collins is put in District 4, which stretches all along the eastern border. I don't think that our interests as a community are best represented by these district lines. It would make more sense to put us with the rest of Larimer County and/or Boulder County. It seems like the "rural" / farming /Eastern Colorado concerns are not the same as some of our concerns as a community. Thanks for considering redistricting our city.

I am very concerned about the plan to separate Larimer County. On its surface and drilling down, the redistricting plan does not make any sense. The Sheriff's office covers all five communities in Larimer County including the bigger cities of Loveland and Fort Collins. These cities also have elected county commissioners who are responsible for the entire county, Summitstone Health Partners (mental health and addictions) covers the entire county and the public health department and council for Equity, Diversity and Inclusion address the county as a whole. The county has similar demographics and linked economies, especially Loveland and Fort Collins. All the larger not-for-profit agencies such as United Way, ARC, or Neighbor to Neighbor, focus their services, program beneficiaries, policy questions, and fund raising throughout the entire county. To divide the county reeks of party politics rather than doing what is best for the county. PLEASE do not take Fort Collins away from the rest of the county.

The most current version (Sept 2021) of the map has put my suburban neighborhood (adjacent to the massive Sterling Ranch planned community near Roxborough) back in District 4 with the vastly rural Eastern plains. I doubt those of us who chose to live here feel we have much in common with farming and ranching interests hundreds of miles away. I was quite encouraged seeing the previous version (June 2021) that moved us into District 7 that would more appropriately represent the area here. I do understand areas in this county are rural further south and east and perhaps it makes sense for those areas to stay in District 4 but I’d like there to be some reconsideration of the boundaries on the southwestern metro.

The proposed map is TOTALLY unacceptable! What does Boulder have in common with Meeker? What does Fairplay have in common with Lakewood? By combining rural sections of Colorado with major metro areas who have NOTHING in common with us, you dilute the representation of rural areas. Yes, half the population of Colorado lives in Denver/Boulder, but that means half does NOT. Larimer and Boulder counties have far more in common with the proposed new 8th district than they do with Craig or Hayden--especially if you pull Weld county OUT of that district completely. Pueblo has more in common with Colorado Springs than they do with Grand Junction, and Crowley, Otero, and Las Animas are far more aligned with the 4th district than they are with places like Durango or Montrose. We in rural Colorado need to have a voice as well--please don't lump us in with a district where our voices will be lost to the urban population centers.

The redistricting makes no sense at all, Fort Collins has become a large and thriving city. We do not vote for fracking and want to keep it that way. Please do not take Ft. Collins away from Larimer County as it stood before this redistricting happened. Missy Abrams

Please do not split Summit County between 2 districts. If there is a way, I think it would be good to have an I-70 recreational corridor district that included areas dedicated to skiing and other outdoor recreation areas. This would NOT include places like Garfield county, which seems to be more dedicated to oil & gas production and agriculture.

Fort Collins is very different from the Eastern plains and one of the goals of the Commission is to preserve whole communities of interest and whole political subdivisions, such as counties, cities, and towns. This map does not do that and in fact moves the County seat into a different Congressional District than the rest of the County. Weld County relies on extractive industries, (oil and gas) and agriculture. Fort Collins suffers the consequences of the extractive industries with non-compliance of EPA limits on ozone. We do not have interests in promoting such industries. Fort Collins has an extensive tourism industry, with breweries, music festivals and biking. Tourists are not likely to wish to visit Greeley or other towns to our east. How could a future representative possibly represent such diverse communities as Fort Collins and the Eastern Plains? Fort Collins has a large University which is a major driver of our economy. The University feeds the many high tech local industries, including solar power installers, pharmaceutical manufacturers, digital industry researchers etc. None of these industries exist to our east. Yet Boulder County has many similar industries and educational bases. 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 like homelessness, high population growth, ozone nonattainment, and air quality issues, etc. We have much more in common with counties like Boulder County.