Public Comments

My name is Rich Gribbon and I am a residential realtor. I’ve helped people buy and sell homes in and around the city of Boulder for nearly 27 years. I want to encourage the commission to recognize the important communities of interest that unite the western part of the city of Boulder with our adjacent mountain communities like Nederland, Sunshine Canyon, Four Mile Canyon, and Pine Brook Hills, to name a few. These communities should be represented with one voice at the State House. I have two key points to share with you. First, many close-in mountain residents face ever-present fire risks, which spill over into the western part of the city of Boulder. I lived in the Dakota Ridge neighborhood in 2009, when our community was evacuated during the Olde Stage Fire along with many adjacent mountain neighborhoods. The integrated governance of these communities was key to that retreat going smoothly. Coordinated planning for evacuations, and the maintenance of roads connecting our communities represent critical shared interests. We also share policy concerns around insurance, fire mitigation, and land use, all of which are impacted by state legislation. Water is another key community of interest. Right now, the draft maps show Barker Reservoir in Nederland and the Betasso water treatment facility cut off from the city of Boulder. I believe this is a critical flaw. State legislation impacting water policy, conservation, and environmental stewardship should be a united front for the city of Boulder and the communities where its water sources are located. I hope this perspective is helpful to you. Thank you for your service.

I’m writing to request that weld county keep its own redistricting. Weld county is different than any other county in Colorado. We are leaders in agriculture and energy development. We need to be able to elect officials who will represent the majority of what/who we are. Redistricting outside of weld county will not be beneficial for our residents.

I would like to express my concern for the proposed movement of the Town of Nederland into Congressional District 3 from District 2. As an employee of the largest employer in the Town of Nederland, I am concerned about the negative impact the redistricting would have in our community of interest. Especially with future representation and legislation as it relates to protecting public lands and climate change. Based on my understand of Communities of Interest, they must share public policy concerns, none of which the Town of Nederland shares with the communities across the continental divide. Education, employment, environment, public health, transportation, water needs & supply are all shared with the rest of Boulder county and have no interaction with the communities across the continental divide. It does not make sense to separate the Town of Nederland, or any of the surrounding mountain communities from the greater Boulder area where all of our public policies and interests are aligned and united with the rest of Boulder County. Please consider keeping our local community whole when reviewing the proposed redistricting lines.

Hello, First and foremost, I hope this finds all members of the committees well. Following-up on the hearing held in Arvada, I wanted to submit maps with clear lines to go with the communities of interest I spoke about, many of whom I represent in a non-partisan office. I serve as the City Councilmember for Arvada's District 2, representing the eastern quadrant of the city. However, I am submitting these maps as a private citizen with on-the-ground knowledge of Arvada's community and legislative needs. Arvada shares many communities of interest with the JeffCo side of the City of Westminster, including JeffCo Public Schools, major roads and highways, and management of the waters in Standley Lake. This is just a small sample of our many joint issues impacted by decisions made at the state legislature. The maps I'm submitting today respect those lines between Jefferson County and Adams County, while also keeping the entirety of Arvada in one Senate District with the Jefferson County side of Westminster, and all of Arvada in two house districts (instead of four!) along with Westminster, JeffCo. Moreover, Arvada, Adams County residents should finally be brought in with their fellow Arvadans under the same state leadership as they are with their local leadership. I have spoken with many residents from Arvada, AdamsCo and there is an impression among many that they are "forgotten about." It's high time we change that and include them with the rest of Arvadans by providing unified state-level leadership across the city. These districts not only respect our communities of interest, but are compact and they follow city lines and then county lines. I feel confident that keeping these areas together will ensure effective representation for the next decade. Links: Senate: https://davesredistricting.org/join/5d004e2a-6f31-408e-a0fd-4463f8f904e9 House: https://davesredistricting.org/join/984fbffe-72c7-4673-9b74-6ea7d0fd0e76 Thank you for your consideration and for all of your time and hard work. All My Best, Lauren

Please see attachment

I live in Boulder County. There are a couple of important aspects of the maps I'd like to address: --Boulder County has gone to great lengths to protect open space land. These public and protected lands need to be included with the cities that created and protect them. Open space land formed by Boulder needs to be included with the city of Boulder, open space land formed by Lafayette needs to be included with it, etc. This is a good reason to generally keep counties intact, if possible, within Congressional districts and state House and Senate districts. --Regarding the Congressional districts, by letting go of the concept that the City of Denver should be its own district should be loosened. Communities of interest, especially among historically under-represented communities of color, are more important than just the city itself. It might be "easier" to just call Denver one CD, but it's time to flex that notion. --I understand that communities of color are under-represented in especially the State House districts. The long history of this occurring everywhere across the country needs to be addressed head-on in Colorado. Better efforts could be made to assure that the interests of communities of color are not watered down by spreading minority populations throughout majority-controlled districts. This must, in my opinion, be dealt with by redrawing State House districts to allow for the "correct" number of minority population controlled districts. Thanks for doing this and for considering my opinions. Kenneth Nova

I am Thomas Windham, a 52 year resident of Boulder currently residing at 2830 Iliff Street, Boulder 80305. I am a retired psychologist and educator, a parent of three (3) and grandparent of five (5). I am a member of the Executive Committee of the Boulder County NAACP. As you may know the NAACP, founded in 1909 has for the past 112 years devoted itself to “Making Democracy Work.” This is why I’m here. This is why we are all here. To offer perspectives on ways in which democracy in the USA can not only work, but thrive. Boulder County NAACP was chartered in 2017 and works with advocates and agencies throughout the county on issues that affect our greater community. We are one nation of fifty (50) states, approximately 30,500 cities, towns, and villages representing a cornucopia of racial, ethnic, geographic, governmental, regional, social, cultural, partisan, and historic entities, all with their plusses and minuses. Communities are at their best when they have have agency; the ability to have an authentic and critical voice in their local, regional, state, and national political bodies. As such, community members understand and trust that their common interests are not just known, but also understood, respected, and truly acted on by their elected representatives within their respective governmental entities. Latino and communities of color throughout Boulder and Longmont share public policy concerns, including environmental issues, employment concerns, and public health issues. It is important that communities that share significant values, interests, and concerns remain together and whole. Community members with similar concerns are better served when they remain together. Their elected leaders can better address their interests and needs i.e., bringing vaccine clinics directly to them. I wouldn’t be the first to point out that communities of color bore the brunt of the COVID-19 pandemic and are still suffering the consequences in higher infection rates, lower vaccination rates, and inequitable access to health care. Unfortunately, inequitable access for Latinos and communities of color has been the case throughout our nation's history and continues today. The state legislative boundaries draft for redistricting significantly disrupts Hispanic and communities of color. They reduce their ability to elect members from their communities; members who share their social and cultural histories and understand, appreciate and respect their way of life. This loss is all the more disturbing when we know that Colorado's Latino and other POC populations are growing, not shrinking. As numbers increase, so too should the ability to ensure political, educational, social, and economic equality. We know all too well that the result of the disenfranchisement of any one group increases the costs of governance to all groups, impacts the health of the economy, and displaces agency with victimization, dependency, demoralization, and the loss of human capital. There are no winners. It’s not a zero-sum game. There’s a price and everyone pays, like it or not. But it does not have to be that way. Through collective action, Latino communities have increased belief in and support for the American Dream. Through collective action Black communities have taught us to reimagine policing and how justice in this country has not truly been just. Ensuring communities stay together in redistricting ensures equal representation, ability of communities to elect representatives who understand their needs, and ensures fairness in Colorado state political lines. It’s essential that Latino communities in Longmont remain together. That is why I support the CLLARO maps released and encourage the commission to take these into consideration. It’s essential that the voice of communities of color is not diminished across the state. Thank you for your time.

Dear Commissioners: I am writing to protest the proposed change of my inclusion within the 2nd Congressional District to that of the 3rd Congressional District. It is illogical and inappropriate for several reasons: 1) I live in Boulder County on purpose. I enjoy the more progressive attitudes of my community and my county government. I am PROUD to have Rep. Joe Neguse as my representative in the U.S. House. His policies, participation, and advocacy for progressive and people-first legislation reflect my values. I deeply respect my neighbors to the west over the Continental Divide, as well as their values. I may not agree with them, but I respect them. Yet that's a different world over there, one that is geographically gorgeous while being politically foreign and anathema to my core values. Keep my District membership congruent with where *I* live; 2) Why on earth would a redistricting map cross not just the Divide, but an area that reaches for MILES across a large, non-populated area of land just to include so few residents? What reality does that reflect? I can find no logical reasoning for doing so; only political machinations that defeat voters' desires. (For a power grab?) 3) Finally, while admittedly drifting into gossip, I also find it deeply offensive to potentially be forced to have Lauren Boebert by my representative. She is an ill-qualified clown that is tragically desperate for attention. She has no business being in this position. Her agenda is all about her unresolved, internal childhood conflicts and barely about her constituents and the U.S. population. To be forced into a bizarrely-drawn and illogically-derived Congressional District that includes that {...} is like having shards of glass and rough salt ground into abraded skin. If it were simply a plain, old-fashioned conservative, it would merely be irritating and I wouldn't have included this last item. But it isn't. Lauren Boebert is a {...} and has NO BUSINESS being in her role. Her intentions are just plain dirty, and I despise her behavior, attitude, and crude, aggressive manner that she brings to this important commitment. DON'T MAKE HER MY REP, please. This redistricting proposal ill-serves my interests and those of many of my neighbors. Please keep Boulder County residents within the same Congressional District as ALL Boulder County residents. It is the congruent and logical thing to do. Sandy Maschan

I would just like to say that, right now, Colorado should rightly consider itself fortunate to have a process such as this. Right now, only three other States, being California, Arizona, and Michigan, have a similar process, where State Representative, State Senator, and U. S. Representative districts are decided, in the open, over time, with everyone having an opportunity to have a voice. This should be true in all 50 States, and hopefully one day it will be.

Please find attached letter from the Town of Paonia Board of Trustees. Thank you.