Public Comments

Commissioners, Thank you for serving the people of Colorado in the important task of drawing legislative district boundaries. I support the adoption of the attached map for the configuration for Southwest Colorado. I recently served eight years as a La Plata County Commissioner. In that time, I cooperated, advocated and worked with county commissioners from our region. I can say with certainty that the attached map supports the common interests of our SW Colorado counties. The eastern district reflects our economies driven by tourism, public lands and mining. The western district captures counties driven by agriculture. I have worked with the county commissioners in the proposed eastern (purple) district on wildfire, water, public lands and mining issues. In 2020, I worked with the same county commissioners to deal with impacts and risks of tourism in the pandemic. These are issues of critical importance to the health and welfare of La Plata county and mountain region residents. Adopting the attached map is beneficial to our region, its economies, its water, its mountains and its citizens. It also gives us a unified voice and helps ensure that representatives from the proposed districts understand and value the issues of the districts. Thank you for your consideration.

Hello my name is Victor Galvan, I am the Political Field Director with United for a New Economy (UNE). UNE is a 501 (c)(3) nonprofit organization whose work is centered in Commerce City, Westminster, Unincorporated Adams County, and Aurora. UNE envisions vibrant, strong communities where everyone has a voice in the decisions that impact them, access to affordable housing and jobs that pay a living wage, and the ability to live free of racism and fear. Our work is centered on the issues that the communities we work with have raised: housing, economic security, immigration, and racial justice. Adams County is rich in diversity and we have known anecdotally about the Latino growth happening due to the gentrification in Denver. Due to the housing boom in the Denver-Metro area, many families have been moving to the suburbs to find more affordable places to live. This is especially the case in Adams County - we have seen significant population growth and housing development. The job market in Adams County with the housing boom has created more construction jobs which is the top industry in Adams County. I can appreciate the difficult job the redistricting commissions have and want to thank you for having hearings across the state for community members to share their thoughts on the maps with you. Please honor Adams County’s Latino population growth and presence in both the state legislative maps and the congressional map, especially since the 2020 census data shows the Latino community now makes up 41% of the County. In addition, UNE also engages with the Black, Asian and Native American community members who now make up between 2 and 4% of the population in Adams county. Commerce City is the historic heart of the Latinos community in Adams County. Please keep us whole in the state house, state senate, and congressional maps. . Commerce City faces challenges with air pollution, industrial contamination, and under-resourced schools. In the past, Adams County voters, especially Latino voters, are often looked to as a source of “extra” population and votes for outside suburban districts. Adams County voters, especially Latino voters, deserve strong representation and districts where they can elect legislators who will represent and address their issues in Congress and the Colorado State Legislature. I would like to briefly talk about Westminster and some of the dynamics at play there. Westminster City Council, which is elected entirely at-large, currently has no Latino members and none from the southern portion of the city. This indicates Latino voters in this part of Westminster may not have as much influence when paired with the rest of the city. This part of Westminster and the neighborhoods to the south are served by Westminster Public Schools. In that district, 76% of students qualify for free and reduced lunch compared to just 42% in Adams 12 to the north. The community interests of all of Westminster need to be taken into consideration when drawing Congressional, Senate, and House districts in a manner where voters have the ability to elect representation that understands the community’s issues and can work to find solutions at all levels. UNE has been in conversations with CLLARO and supports the way those maps draw the House and Senate districts for Adams County. I urge you to strongly consider that as you do your next round of maps. On the preliminary congressional map, I respectfully disagree with how the preliminary plan splits up Commerce City. While I agree that a district north of denver would unite the many communities of interest in our county and the region, the way that the proposed 8th congressional district is drawn would place a large part of Commerce City and many of our Latino voters in Congressional District 4, putting them in a district with other Coloradans who wouldn’t understand the housing impact that Latinos face in Commerce City. It is in UNE’s opinion that Commerce City residents, and those we work with, would be better served if they were represented along with their neighbors in the rest of commerce city and in other communities such as Thornton, Federal Heights, and Northglenn in what is the proposed district 8. Specifically as it relates to latino residents, an 8th district that is comprised of all of adams county west of the airport would create a congressional district where Latinos and many of the communities we work with could be jointly represented by someone who understands the significant housing challenges faced by residents north of the Denver Metro Area, specifically suburban adams county north of denver. In summation, I ask that you keep Commerce City both the state legislative and congressional maps. Thank you for your time and consideration.

I would like to thank the commissioners for creating such good initial maps to protect the interest of all Coloradans I do support CFB's legislative redistricting maps the way it is drawn. By creation the two rural districts in the Congressional map because this helps define "specific communities of interest" to rural Colorado. Please maintain the representation between east and west because it makes the most sense for their two rural districts of Colrado

Please use the original map prepared by the nonpartisan committee. They are employing common sense principles to this project. If this is not acceptable, then use the Farm Bureau prepared map. These are fair solutions to the entire state. Thank-you

I would very much appreciate having Eagle County, remain in district 3 and not be put back in district 2. Our community is based upon a ski resort and vacation economy. This is quite different than that of Boulder and other more urban like communities in district 2. Our commonality with other western slope communities, like ours, share similar lifestyles and geographical considerations and usages that are not consistent with much of district 2. Our traffic patterns the demands they create as well as our infrastructure priorities are very unique to other like towns on the western slope. Therefore, we would like to interact and share our strategies with other district 3 communities and then choose representatives who are sensitive to our needs and challenges. Here in the Vail Valley we have managed our growth and quality of life issues in a very successful way which we would like to continue and collaborate with other western slope ski and recreation based areas and be able to speak with one voice, all in district 3. Please allow all of Eagle County to be in and remain in district 3. Thank you, Barbara De Luca

What are you doing to District 17? The proposed map splits it into a bunch of districts. You are cutting apart a distinct C-Springs community. Colorado's population is only 4.6% Black and 21.8% Hispanic. District 17 is 20.2% Black and 40.3% Hispanic. When you split District 17 apart, you are taking away a community's voice in the Colorado Legislature.

Thank you to all the commissioners for your service on this project and your work in creating initial maps. I would like to strongly encourage use of the legislative redistricting maps drawn by the Colorado Farm Bureau. I am appreciative of the two special districts created in the Congressional map, because this allows for specific communities of interest to be accounted for. It's also very important to maintain representation between east and west in these two rural districts. Thanks again, Anneliese Phippen

I am writing to express my disagreement with redistricting Colorado Springs and El Paso county. I do not think this is necessary. Splitting our city and county is not prudent and could/would potentially create a divide in our communities. This consideration seems to be motivated for political reasons, not community enhancement. I would appreciate the County Commissioners support in maintaining our current city and county districts lines.

When I think of El Paso County, one thing that makes it distinct is that it is at the foot of Pikes Peak. This is different than being a mountain town and different than being on the plains, its' beauty and character come from being at the foot of the mountains. My community is also built around I-25 and its' ties to Denver and Pueblo. When we go too far East or West we lose some of that character. I go to the mountains as a vacation and have never been to Calahan, Yoder, or Truckton. Denver is a normal place I pop over to, Pueblo is where I might work or commute from. I also identify El Paso County as being a bit more connected to the southwestern states. So I made this map, it has 723,849 people in it. Instead of going more East or West it includes more of the Southern part of Colorado. When it comes to utilities, public transportation and water please keep the county together. We need to create policy that can easily address these issues cohesively without having to worry about complications with jurisdiction, especially when it comes to climate change and a booming population in C-Springs.

I live in unincorporated El Paso County in an area known as Woodmen Valley. (See uploaded map) It is located west of I-25, south of the Air Force Academy. It is an area of 3 - 5 acre lots; an area adjacent to ours (Thunderbird Estates/Pine Creek) is also part of my question. This area is projected to be placed in Senate District 11. I think we should be moved to Senate District 12 because our area relates much more to the areas of Rockrimmon and Peregrine than those in District 11. We access our properties through the areas to the South, we are bounded by the Air Force Academy on the North, our fire protection comes from the City also. If we are in District 11, we will be 5 - 6 miles from the nearest homes in District 11 which would be Manitou Springs or Briargate while the areas across the "street" would be in District 12. The population in District 12 is lower than in District 11 per the projections so there would be less discrepancy in those two Districts. There are 342 houses in this area (data from the Woodmen Valley Fire Protection District). At an average of 3 per unit, that would reduce SD11 and increase SD12 by 1,026. It appears that the line drawn between the two districts is the city limit line, but I don't believe that our interests from a state perspective are different from our neighbors in Colorado Springs. I will speak to the Commission on August 28 on this matter.