Public Comments

As a resident of Indian Peaks in Lafayette, I am writing to ask that you reconsider the initial draft of redistricting on my community. We regularly interact with folks from Lafayette, Louisville, Superior, Broomfield and Erie. We have nothing in common with the Mountain districts you propose to combine us with. (submitted by email 7/31/21)

The current proposal divides and disrupts the communities within Boulder County and weakens our state representation. •It isolates the city of Boulder and pairs our mountain communities with parts of the cities of Longmont and Lafayette. •It severs the eastern part of the city of Boulder from industrial clusters in Gunbarrel and business parks east of Foothills Parkway. •It divides Lafayette, Louisville and Erie •It combines parts of Boulder with Weld County. WHY IS THIS IMPORTANT? •The western part of Boulder County and the western end of the city of Boulder face meaningful challenges related to wildfires, floods, and wildlife management. These adjacent communities share important interests related to water conservation, environmental stewardship and recreation. Other parts of Boulder County are more suburban. Louisville, Lafayette and Eire are not threatened by fires and floods in anywhere near the same manner. • The business districts of East Boulder, Gunbarrel and the Foothills Parkway industrial parks are a combined business Community of Interest that experience a multitude of legislative issues. • Lafayette, Louisville and Erie share schools and community services, and thus should also be considered a combined Community of Interest. •Voters in Eastern Boulder County have very different values from voters in Weld County. While residents of Boulder care about fighting oil and gas development and limiting pollution, 2/3 of property tax revenue in Weld County comes from oil & gas companies. They literally own most of the county! Thank you for taking my comments. Candace Bowie (submitted by email 7/31/21)

Dear People, Thank you for your time and for your work on this important issue. I’m writing as a resident of Wind Crest retirement community in Highlands Ranch. I wish to respectfully request that the Wind Crest community be included within only one legislative district, and not two separate districts as is currently proposed. In the most recent preliminary legislative district map, I notice that the Wind Crest campus would be split between District 22 and District 33. Wind Crest is a community of senior folks who live, eat and do activities throughout the campus. We also are very active voters. Having our community located in two districts would create confusion among a group of people who are and want to continue to be engaged in political activities. Thank you, in advance, for your consideration of this important issue. Dottie Wolcott (submitted by email 7/31/21)

To whom it may concern, I am deeply concerned about the proposed redistricting suggestions. The current proposal divides and disrupts the communities within Boulder County and weakens our state representations. This representation is much needed and the way the proposal cuts up Boulder County makes no sense to me. The city of Boulder is isolated and pairs our mountain communites with parts of Longmont and Lafayette. It severs the eastern part of the city of Boulder from industrial clusters in Gunbarrel and business parks east of Foothills Parkway. It divides Lafayette, Louisville and Erie. It combines parts of Boulder with Weld County which are very different places in terms of issues and ethos. Why is this important? The western part of Boulder County and the western end of the city of Boulder face meaningful challenges related to wildfires, floods, and wildlife management. These adjacent communities share important interests related to water conservation, environmental stewardship and recreation. Other parts of Boulder County are more suburban. Louisville, Lafayette and Eire are not threatened by fires and floods in anywhere near the same manner. I have been a resident of Boulder since 1994 and believe I have some judgement about what our county needs in terms of representation. I think this takes away from what we need. Deborah Ruth Bronstein (submitted by email 7/31/21)

Dear Sir or Madam: I am a resident of Wind Crest senior community in Highlands Ranch, and see that the currently proposed redistricting plan would divide our community between two separate districts. I realize this may be convenient when you are simply looking at votes on a map, but I beg you to consider how disruptive it would be to our residents to have two separate caucuses and two places to vote, and certainly would place a major burden on the volunteers who organize these events at Wind Crest. Our residents are accustomed to going back and forth between “neighborhoods" for social and political events, and to try to sort this out with separate political activities according to neighborhood would be confusing to many, and create a lot of confusion. Remember, we are all seniors and avoidance of complexity and confusion is a primary goal here!! Thank you for your time and for your work on this important issue. I hope you will reconsider on splitting Wind Crest into two districts! Sara H. Todd (submitted by email 7/31/21)

The WindCrest community should be included in only one legislative district and not split into two separate districts as currently proposed. That proposal would create confusion among residents who otherwise are operating as one in many ways. Roderick M. Grant (submitted by email 7/31/21)

As a resident of Wind Crest senior living community in Highlands Ranch I respectfully request that we all be included in one legislative district, not two (22 and 33) as currently proposed. We are active voters and do not need to be confused as to which of two districts we are in. Thanks for your consideration. Barbara C. schira (submitted by email 7/30/21)

I am writing as a resident of Windcrest retirement community. We are active voters and represent an engaged community. I would ask that we as a community remain as one legislative district. Sincerely, Christina Erdmann (submitted by email 7/30/21)

I am an educator who has lived in LaPlata County for 30+ years and my comments will echo those of Karen Pontius and Anne Markward with respect to having a congressional district which reflects our shared needs for federal representation on public lands, rural and water issues. I want also to add that I am concerned about the competitiveness of congressional districts. I teach civics and social studies to my middle school students, and one of the principals we often explore is that of seeing both (or all) sides of an issue or election. I support the map submitted by Ms. Pontius since it is more competitive according to the Cooke's Political Reports than the preliminary redistricting map. I believe it also meets the requirements of being contiguous and of equal population.

I believe that the initial redistricting that has been proposed is incorrect and renders CO #3 much less competitive. Since that is the objective of the commission, I urge you to reconsider your decision