Public Comments

To Whom It May Concern - I write to protest the recently redrawn CD3 map. It violates the Constitutional mandates for drawing new districts by purposely dividing the economic, environmental and cultural community of interest composed of ski and recreation towns, national parks and monuments, and their support communities. The new map also greatly reduces the political competitiveness in our district. I endorse the Alternative CD3 District Map, which can be seen at this address: https://davesredistricting.org/maps#viewmap::72e027fe-d181-4053-a915-743df53445f6 The Commission is tasked by the Constitution to ensure voting rights for ALL PEOPLE and to see that each district has a similar population. It is critical that the Commission fulfill its obligation to the people of Colorado's District 3 in a responsible manner, weighing this decision fairly and honestly. Thank you for your consideration of my argument. Adele Riffe Hesperus, Colorado (submitted via email 8/6/21)

Dear Committee, The alternative redistricting map for CD3 that includes all National Parks, all Ski Towns, all of the Western Slope, and most all of small independent food growers in Colorado makes sense to us. This is our like community. The area it encompasses is large, our population is spread out, with Grand Junction being our only city of size. But our way of life is what binds us. The outdoors, activity, independent thinking, the land, the mountains, We urge you to consider this map. It is equitable but varied, and gives all factors an equal chance at the table. Julianne Ward and Ed Lehner, Durango, retired. Colorado residents since 2001. (submitted via email 8/6/21)

Eric Douglas -GILPIN COUNTY ONLINE TESTIMONY FOR COLORADO LEGISLATIVE REDISTRICTING COMMISSION • Gilpin County, population around 6500 including the gambling towns of Black Hawk and Central City, is just west of Jefferson County and south of Boulder County. We want Colorado Legislators who understand our issues. The Western Slope counties (Summit, Eagle, Grand, Pitkin, Lake, Gunnison, Chaffee) that the preliminary Legislative redistricting maps associate us with are fundamentally different in the areas of employment, health care, education and other aspects of our daily lives. We have little if any interaction with these counties. • We would like to be included with the Front Range counties of Jefferson, Boulder and Clear Creek. • Our Communities of Interest: o Jefferson County ties  Shopping.  Employment commuting.  Contract with Jefferson County Public Health Department.  Shared Jefferson Center for Mental Health catchment area.  Health care services.  Front range forests – tourism vs ranching, wildfire issues, public shooting issues.  Water issues.  School sharing. • Warren Tech. • Red Rocks Community.  Same Judicial District (1).  NOCOPlaces2050 for managing public lands.  DRCOG regional planning for transportation, growth and aging. o Boulder County  Boulder Valley School District is in north Gilpin County.  Shopping.  Employment commuting.  NOCOPlaces2050 for managing public lands.  DRCOG regional planning for transportation, growth and aging. o Clear Creek County  Mutual aid, Law Enforcement, Fire, EMS.  NOCOPlaces2050 for managing public lands.  DRCOG regional planning for transportation, growth and aging.  Shared Animal Shelter.  Shared shooting range.  Shared Jefferson Center for Mental Health catchment area.  Limited Gaming Impact Fund Representative is Clear Creek County Commissioner. Thank you for your consideration!

Thank you for your time and effort on this important issue. I am a resident of Wind Crest retirement community and we are truly a "community." Please don't split us between District 22 and District 33. We are a group of senior folks who live, eat and do activities throughout our campus of 16 plus buildings. Having our community located in two districts would create confusion among the many residents who are and want to continue to be engaged in political activities. Thank you for your consideration. Doyle Preheim (submitted via email 8/6/21)

To Whomever is concerned, As a former Routt County Commissioner from 1993 to 2002 would like to submit the following comments regarding the Community of Interest of Routt County for the State House District Redistricting. Routt County is basically a growth oriented county tied to tourism and an amenity economy. It is totally different than the other counties to the west and south in Northwest Colorado. After the redistricting in 2000 when Routt and Eagle were put in a combined House District, it made sense. I would like to tell a personal story. When I was County Commissioner in the 1990's Routt County belonged to two County Government Organizations: Associated Governments of Northwest CO (AGNC) and Northwest Council of Governments NWCOG). The Routt County Board of County Commissioners representatives attended the meetings of both organizations. I was the RCBCC representative to AGNC. It was difficult because all AGNC cared about was their extractive economies and using the resources of public lands. This was not the main focus of Routt County with its ski area, growth, and residents and visitors who wanted to protect public lands and the rural open spaces of the county.. Moving into the present, the Routt County Board of County Commissioners in 2021 made the decision to be only a member of NWCOG and resigned their membership in AGNC. Eagle County which has a similar economy to Routt County, this will be even more so with the close of 20-Mile Coal Mine and the Hayden Power Plant within the next 10 years. The main interests of Routt and Eagle County and NWCOG are tourism, growth, climate change, affordable housing, and childcare. In order to address the Community of Interest issue Routt County and Eagle County should remain as a CO House District. If this is not possible due to other parameters, Routt County should be at least placed with another grouping with a similar Community of Interest...not with Moffat, Rio Blanco, or Garfield Counties. Thanks, Ben Beall Former Routt Count Commissioner

Redistricting based on the 2020 census is a very important enterprise--thank you for devoting time and energy to this issue. As a 5-year resident of Wind Crest Retirement Community in Highlands Ranch, I request that the entire Wind Crest community remain in only one legislative district--Precinct 201-- and not split into two districts as currently proposed. Splitting Wind Crest into two districts--District 22 and District 33 as proposed-- has potential to cause confusion and unnecessary inconvenience to a community of seniors who function as one community. In order to continue to stay active as voters, it would be highly desirable to remain one precinct as we are today. Thank you for your thoughtful consideration. Mary Jo Preheim (submitted via email 8/6/21)

I respect and appreciate your dedicated efforts, however splitting Windcrest into 2 different districts is not good. It will be very confusing to our senior citizens and quite frankly, we do not need more confusion in our lives. We have enough as it is. So please consider keeping Windcrest in one district. Many thanks! Respectfully, Robert Terrien (submitted via email 8/5/21)

To Whom It May Concern, I'm writing on behalf of the 350 Boulder County team to express deep concerns about redistricting that would combine parts of Boulder County with Weld County. We are part of a coalition that has been working hard to stop fracking and are concerned that any such redistricting could minimize and diminish the voice of our community around these serious issues that affect our health, safety, welfare and our climate. Weld County is clearly quite differently positioned around the issues of fossil fuel extraction compared with our County. We need to be able to retain our unique voice, as compared with Weld County. Thank you, Micah Parkin 350 Boulder County Team (submitted via email 8/4/21)

To Redistricting Commissioners: I have been studying the proposed maps for redistricting . I am very concerned with the proposed lines in my area. It always seems suspect to me when district lines are drawn outside of natural community boundaries. These proposed lineswill sever communities of interest. I am a long time resident of Boulder County. The mountain communities of Western Boulder County and the City of Boulder face similar meaningful challenges related to wildfires, floods and wildlife management. These communities in westernBoulder County share important interests related to water conservation, environmental stewardship, and recreation. So these shared interests should be together in a voting district to be represented. Meanwhile, the communities of Lafayette, Louisville, and Erie, are also a community with shared interests, along with Superior. Community concerns is this suburban area include suburban development, shopping areas, open space recreation,schools and community services. These interests are best represented in one district, not combined with mountain areas with other concerns! The business districts of East Boulder County , Gunbarrel, and the Foothills Parkway are also a combines businessinterest that deserves representation, not lumped with suburban areas in another part. Voters in Boulder County and Weld County have different values and interests that deserve separate representation in districts. Thank-you for your consideration! (submitted via email 8/4/21)

Dear Colorado State Redistricting Committee, Montezuma County welcomes the opportunity to work with you as you develop your plans for the Colorado state legislative districts. On the local level, we also will be embarking on updates to our commissioner districts, school districtsand voter precincts. A primary concern is the preliminary house district map. This proposal not only splits Montezuma County, but it also splits our communities, neighborhoods and in one case a housing development. Furthermore the proposed house district linesare not coincident with any of our current voter precincts boundaries which could be burdensome for our election officials. I understand Colorado is a large and diverse state. It would be impossible for the redistricting committee to have the kind of local knowledge needed to realize the full implications of this plan as it stands. For this reason I respectfullyask that you reach out to our Montezuma County Officials directly, prior to your next proposal, in order to develop a proposal that keeps our communities of interest intact. Sincerely, Douglas Roth (submitted via email 8/3/21)