Public Comments

Testimony was provided at the August 19 Hearing. Attached are the comments in letter form.

This isn't even a good idea! Why are you trying to take a good chunk out of Montezuma County? Is it because we're mostly a Republican County?? Wanting to take it away, so La Plata County gets more Democrat votes?? To me, that appears to be a blatant attempt to rob us of our votes! This would be detrimental to our area! Leave us alone!

I am the Executive Director of the Dolores Public Library District, a special library district in the north of Montezuma County. The current redistricting map for the 52nd and 53rd State House Districts looks like it splits Montezuma County into two different districts which will significantly increase the cost of doing ballot initiatives for the county and make advocacy on behalf of the whole county more challenging. Furthermore the boundary is almost equal to our special district boundary on the west side, but would cut off a small area with a significant population. Our special district boundary is coterminous with the RE-4a school district as well, so they would face the same situation where now a small part of their district is in a separate legislative district. My main concern is that this will make a ballot initiative to adjust our mill levy much more expensive to administer. I am also concerned about other impacts that this might have on our district in the future. Montezuma County is the main organizational unit for our local government and I think separating the county into two legislative districts is a bad idea for many reasons. Many of us consider ourselves residents of the county rather than any municipality and fracturing that identity may prove very difficult. If you do proceed with the current plan I would implore you to consider the impacts on special districts and adjust the western boundary of House District 52 to match the western boundary of the RE-4a School District and Dolores Public Library District. Thank you for your consideration, Sean Gantt, PhD Executive Director Dolores Public Library District

Do not split Montezuma County. This looks suspiciously like an attempt to pull some conservative votes from one district and have them overridden by a democratic dominated district.

Do NOT do this. This would be detrimental to Montezuma County!!! Keep ot the way it is. We don't want to be associated ANYWHERE with liberal LaPlata County

I think this is one of the dumbest things I've ever seen. I think that if the state wants to come through and control the way the democrats are elected by splitting counties up 1/2 that should be illegal. That's exactly what many Colorado people see this as is a way for a political government Powerhouse to push their will upon every other citizen in Colorado. All counties should be left whole there should never be a splitting of any county not at all. Splitting counties does nothing but cause division and cause political problems whenever we go to vote and whenever we go to have different elections. I'm sick of seeing people in the Denver metro area have an Say in what we do down here 8 hours away.

We do not align with La Plata county. Leave us as we are.

I’d like to speak to the needs of our veterans. My friend was a veteran before he became a priest. He was an Aerial Navigator with the Marine Air Corp before he became an attorney. After he put his military service behind him along with his service as a priest, and after he retired from his law profession, he searched his soul along with his memories of war and he advocated for peace. He then did his civic duty again – in every election – working to get out the vote in the country he loved and for which he had great hopes. He believed in America’s democracy. He lived in the town claiming the proud slogan “Home of Heroes”. Yet in the last weeks of his life – a life devoted in service to God, to Country and to Humanity - when this World War II veteran was in need of the care which he so richly deserved there was no local Veteran’s Affairs hospital that could serve him. Dying from cancer during the pandemic in 2020, and unable to walk under his own power any more, my friend implored his wife not to take him to the nearby hospital, but instead to get him to a VA hospital so he could get the care he needed, as it was the VA medical personnel whom he trusted. But the closest VA facility in Colorado Springs restricts appointments for veterans outside their local area, so our Southern Colorado veterans often cannot get an appointment in a timely manner. Every time he tried to get in, they would refer him to Denver. So, when he was dying, his wife called us. And I can tell you honestly: we would’ve done anything in our power to aid this man who had given so much for the sake of others. My husband, a veteran from the Vietnam War, jumped into action and scoured local rental agencies for a van large enough to transport him while supine; I created a mobile structure with sufficient padding for the comfort of our friend, so we could transfer him from his hospice bed at home, down a steep flight of steps, and into the van. In Denver, the VA doctors and nurses moved swiftly, getting him safely into their facilities where he got the tests and the care he desired – and deserved. This may sound like a happy ending to a story, but for the fact that there was no V.A. hospital within 100 miles of this WWII veteran’s home which could serve his need. And his case is not singular. 11% of Pueblo County’s population are veterans, yet they must travel over 100 miles to receive prompt treatment at Denver’s VA hospital. This is not acceptable for the men and women who have put their lives on the line, again and again, for the safety of this nation and the security of democracy. They deserve better. There is a well-researched, proposed map for the redistricting of CD 3 – a contiguous horizontal band which runs from east to west along Colorado’s southern border, within which the “Home of Heroes” fits. The mission in redistricting under the new laws is to draw maps which fairly represent the constituents living within its boundaries. This proposed map is based primarily on our shared interests to responsibly manage the headwaters and downstream rivers and reservoirs of the Arkansas River Basin, and the San Juan and Rio Grande river valleys. I strongly support this proposed map. But the other strong bond we share within this proposed map is our higher than average percentage of veterans in Southern Colorado. This proposed map, at its northern point, includes Fort Carson and the surrounding area of Fountain, where approximately 18% of the population are veterans. Among the 28 counties in the proposed district, 22 have veteran populations higher than the state average, including Delores, Hinsdale, Pueblo and Ouray with over 11%, Archuleta, Costilla, San Juan and Fremont County 12-14.4%, Huerfano 16%, and Custer County’s veteran population at over 20%. And what the counties in this contiguous area all share is the need - sometimes dire need - to provide quality medical care for our loved ones who have proudly served our nation. The closing of Fort Lyons, where our veterans had been able to get treatment for PTSD to help restore their mental health, further dismissed their needs. When those who have heard our nations call, have thrown themselves into the fight to protect our nation’s mission, and parts of them come back damaged or broken, it is our responsibility to heed their call for aid in their time of need. We need a VA hospital in the territory where so many of our veterans reside. We need it as soon as possible. By implementing this map, veterans will have a shared, unbroken voice with which to select and influence a representative of their choosing. We must do our part in ensuring their fair representation in the political process. The redistricting commission has the power to provide our veterans a fighting chance to advocate for their needs, by treating them as an interest group with common needs – not breaking them up into disparate districts, watering down the power of their voices, weakening their ability to achieve their civic goals by fracturing their demographic. This only forces them to fight harder amidst other groups who would influence our representative to act in their own interests, often at odds with providing the necessary services our veterans deserve. Haven’t they fought enough? When I hear that our last representative of CD3 was made aware of this need many years ago, and then held off on doing anything about it so that he could use the issue for his reelection, I was livid. Pueblo has suffered long enough under the partisan gerrymandering which allows politicians to pick their voters. We embrace the purpose and goals of the Redistricting Commission, which is authorized – no, charged – with faithfully implementing a FAIR and NON-PARTISAN district which represents the genuine interests of the people for whom these politicians are supposed to serve. Southern Colorado – from Durango to Pueblo - needs to stay together on this issue, for our power to influence our political representative lies in our common needs, our common goals, and our commonwealth. Do not break up this band of military veterans. Instead, give them the power as a constituency to both elect and influence the representative who will best serve their needs. I write this letter to honor the life of service which my friend lived, and to advocate in his absence to influence those who have the power to honor the service of other men and women who have given their lives in service to our country. I believe that the proposed CD3 map, which has been posted on this site by a dedicated team of researchers – not the map which the staff has drafted – is the right map for CD 3. Thank you for your time in reading this submission. If you, too, see the critical need for our veterans to have a voice in the making of the policies affecting our district, then please urge the Redistricting Commission to adopt the proposed map. Of the proposals, it is the only map which holds them together as a band of brothers.

I am a Precinct Co-Chairman for voting district 5 in Montezuma County. I do not believe The splitting our county in half is in our county’s best interest. We have a cohesive county government right now, and splitting us into 2 voting districts would be confusing and a mistake for our county. DO NOT SPLIT OUR COUNTY. Lori York DVM

Please listen to our voices. We are a small community and dividing our county is an injustice. The Durango area does not have the same values as our wonderful county. We need representatives that understand a farming and ranching community. This will not happen if half of the county is represented by the Durango group. Please please listen to us.