Public Comments

Dear CO Independent Redistricting Commission, I wish to convey my concerns regarding the (latest) proposed new CD congressional districts. I live in Fort Collins, and I believe that as a Front Range community, we have far more in common with the communities of Boulder county, and the rest of Larimer County, than we do with communities on the Eastern Plains. Fort Collins' economic, cultural, and educational interests are more aligned with those of Boulder County than with those of, say, Kiowa County. And it does not make sense to carve up Larimer County, cherry-picking Fort Collins, the county seat, so that the proposed 4th CD meets its population target. Sincerely, Nancy R. Lawrence

I do not feel that our county will be adequately represented when combined with front range counties. Our lifestyles and economies are completely opposite. We have different needs and face different factors not encountered by anyone on the east side of the Continental Divide. I have yet to encounter a representative that understands such wide variations in lifestyles and federal regulations and needs. I liked the first version of the map which detached Larimer and Boulder counties from the current district.

As a resident of Ft. Collins I feel this community has little in common with the eastern plains of Colorado. For example we are urban, they are rural. We are technologically industrial with large facilities such as HP, they are engaged in agriculture. We are a tourist destination, and gateway to Rocky Mt. National Park, while tourists pass thru the eastern high plains, we have the state's second largest university coupled with major medical facilities such as Poudre Hospital and UC and Banner Health. Our major public policy concerns are traffic on College Avenue and other arteries, affordable housing and CSU student housing off campus, energy production via Platt River Power Authority, air pollution, ,use of the Poudre River for recreation, and recreational use of the Roosevelt National Forest. Ft. Collins is part of the Front Range grouping of communities whose citizens have aa different set of priorities, and perspective from those living far to the east.

Resubmitted, left off the links ... In advance of your release of the first census-based state legislative maps, I wanted to call your attention to maps I have created using Dave's Redistricting App (DRA). State legislative maps are so complex that I will not provide detailed commentary except to note that my goal in both maps was to keep political units -- cities/towns and counties -- intact as much as possible within the context of the constraints of geography. My Senate map is at https://davesredistricting.org/join/1aa9b529-2e91-4631-b24e-4c346af5b781. I will note, for what it's worth, that it currently is ranked as the most competitive set of districts among the maps submitted to DRA. My House map is at https://davesredistricting.org/join/ec7f48a2-8af8-49b6-a397-9dec137c97c7. In this case, it is currently ranked as the most competitive, most proportional, and least split set of districts among the maps submitted to DRA. I would be happy to communicate regarding these maps. I can be reached at tom@rampartprosolutions.com and can provide a phone number upon request.

In advance of your release of the first census-based state legislative maps, I wanted to call your attention to maps I have created using Dave's Redistricting App (DRA). State legislative maps are so complex that I will not provide detailed commentary except to note that my goal in both maps was to keep political units -- cities/towns and counties -- intact as much as possible within the context of the constraints of geography. My Senate map is at . I will note, for what it's worth, that it currently is ranked as the most competitive set of districts among the maps submitted to DRA. My House map is at. In this case, it is currently ranked as the most competitive, most proportional, and least split set of districts among the maps submitted to DRA. I would be happy to communicate regarding these maps. I can be reached at tom@rampartprosolutions.com and can provide a phone number upon request.

I'm having a very difficult time trying to understand why one would want to split our Western Slope in half. I currently live in Jefferson County (3 years), but formerly lived in Eagle County for 35 years, and am a third generation Coloradoan. My children played games with other children in Grand Junction, Steamboat Springs, Summit County..., because we were all part of the Western Slope. These communities have much in common with one another including weather, children's sport and other activities, rural living vs city living, economics, etc. They really have nothing in common with Boulder and the Denver/Front Range communities. I respectfully request that you please re-consider this proposal. Thank you.

I think you should reconsider splitting Summit County between districts. The major cities in Summit County (Breckenridge, Silverthorne, Dillion, Frisco, Keystone, Copper, etc.) share a common community of interest.. Examples: 1) Dependency of the I-70 corridor, 2)Shared workforce and workforce housing challenges, 3) Economies interdependent and reliant on recreation/vacationing (e.g. skiing). I agree the needs of rural Summit County might better align with our colleagues to the north or south. Please consider a districting map that keeps all of Summit County together or at least keeps the major cities together in a single district.

Montezuma County must remain whole . Jim krater

Good day redistricting commissioners. I don’t envy your task. I have been a resident of Routt County for 48 years. Until now I’ve never thought that the needs of a unique county like Routt could have proper representation. It’s true Routt has ranch lands, but more people live in Steamboat Springs by a large majority. As such, outdoor activities and the environmental impact of, and ability to continue those activities, are important to the majority of the population of Routt County. I would like to be in a district that mirrors the unique makeup of Routt county. We have the ability to redraw the map. The largest number of people need to be represented not marginalized. Thank you.

Dear Commitee Members, Fort Collins should remain aligned with the rest of Larimer County since it is foremost the county seat. One of the goals of the Commission is to preserve whole communities of interest and whole political subdivisions, such as counties, cities, and towns. The proposed map does not do that. It moves the County seat into a different Congressional District separating it from rest of the County. Fort Collins does not share the same interest as the Eastern Plains of Colorado and This alignment effectively splits the county’s focus in two different directions and couples an urban, high-tech community to Weld County, a community that 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. As the Community is 10th from the bottom for air quality in the US, it’s quite clear, we do not share an interest in promoting such industries. Fort Collins has a developed tourism industry with a national and international reputation. This includes unique breweries, music festivals plus a music district as well as biking and hiking trails along our scenic rivers offering front range views. Fort Collins’ success in these areas are the results of hard work by our resident industries, the local government and their connections to the two National Parks making Fort Collins a stop on many national and international visitor’s itineraries. Again, this is not an interest we share with the Eastern Plains. Fort Collins has Colorado State University driving our economy. The University provides a trained work force to local industries, including solar power installers, pharmaceutical manufacturers, and digital industry researchers. The high-tech nature of these industries here better match to Boulder County verses the Eastern Plains. Boulder’s similar high-tech industry and a high-tech educational base matches ours. That means we need similar representation. 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. These are not concerns that the Eastern Plains share with us. As I said earlier, the separation of the county seat from county at large splits the county’s focus. Separation of the county seat inclusive of Fort Collins, the largest population center from the rest of the county it is charged with governing also makes interacting with the Colorado Congressional Delegation more difficult as those with the most knowledge of the regions will have to work twice as hard to interact with two different congressional staffs that will most likely have significantly different priorities. The ending result will be, the issues we have in Fort Collins would be ignored which effectively is no representation. Immy McMahon immymcmahon@gmail.com 2166329810