Public Comments

As the Commission considers if/how to re-draw boundaries for Colorado's Congressional District 3 (CO-03), please consider that the mountain resort community of Steamboat Springs - the largest population center in Routt County - has very little in common with the rural extraction-industry dominated counties and communities that surround it. The outdoor recreation interests and concerns of Steamboat's residents would actually be better served by Steamboat being added to Congressional District 2 (CO-02), with whose residents we form a community of interest.

I support the Independent Redistricting Commission's recommendation to place Summit County in Congressional District 3. Thank you.

My name is Jacy Rock. I am a currently a resident of unincorporated Golden, CO. I am registered as an unaffiliated voter. I am an attorney, a current member of the Jefferson County Open Space Advisory Committee, and a former member of the Great Outdoors Colorado Board of Trustees. I am a human mom, dog mom, and trail runner. Of particular relevance here, I also am a co-founder of a group called Women of the West. Women of the West is a nonpartisan group of women that supports women running for office in the western Denver suburbs-Golden, Wheat Ridge, Arvada, and Lakewood, in particular-and connects those women to others who want to support them. We focus on local elections-cities and county in particular- as these are great paths to entry for women who are new to or intimated by traditional politics. My comment relates specifically to CD7 and Jefferson County. I encourage the committee to keep all of Jefferson County together in one district during the redistricting process. Women of the West has created some amazing relationships-across the aisle and otherwise-that are benefitted from the collaboration encouraged by keeping these communities in one district. While we may not always agree on policy, we all share a commitment to the resources, opportunities, and challenges (including in the areas of education, environment, and public health) that face our often-overlapping communities. Splitting us up into different districts would impair our ability to problem solve and encourage grassroots leaders that share our commitment to working in a nonpartisan way to solve local issues. Thank you. Jacy Rock

I attended via Zoom the Colorado Springs meeting on August 5. A question was asked of one of the witnesses regarding "carving off" part of El Paso County into another district. The witness had suggested carving off the east or west rather than north or south. When asked if it would be better or worse to carve off a little from each side, she didn't have an opinion. I wanted to point out that if you carve from both sides, you would likely be splitting El Paso County among three different districts, whereas if you carve off from only one side, it would keep El Paso County within two districts. This seems like a better option.

Barb Stoermer 18656 Eastridge RD Cedaredge, CO 81413 970-201-0519 Many thanks to all the volunteer commissioners who are offering their time and expertise to participate in these critical redistricting procedures. As a resident of Cedaredge, Delta County, I have very deep concerns about the preliminary proposals being suggested by the Colorado Redistricting staff. I agree with staff’s proposed map for CD3. I disagree with staff’s proposed legislative senate map SD7. Once again, splitting Delta County in halves into this senate district is not a good solution. We do not share common interests with the other counties suggested for SD7. Dividing Delta County puts us at risk for less representation for water concerns (our water comes from either the Grand Mesa and the Gunnison River Basin), agriculture needs, and all other concerns. Delta County should be combined with Mesa County into the proposed SD6. I disagree with staff’s proposed legislative house district map. I submit the following concerns: Ten years ago, during the last redistricting, Delta County was divided into western and eastern halves. This was counter intuitive to the commissions criteria for keeping districts compact and to maintain communities of interest. The agricultural eastern segment of the county, which includes Cedaredge, Hotchkiss, Paonia, and Crawford became part of the massive 600 square mile House District 61. On the other side, our district counterparts are the tourist towns of Aspen, Breckenridge, Silverthorne, and Leadville. We share nothing in common. Unfortunately, our quaint little towns of rural Delta County have been ignored by the politicians, suffer inequities, and are at the mercy of the ruling class of State House District 61. The Democrat politicians funded by the wealthy class of the tourist towns have controlled this house seat since 2012 – since the last redistricting slice and dice. Go figure. So, I am very happy to see some potential changes to the current configuration of HD61. Thank you for recognizing the errors made in the 2011 redistricting experiment. However, once again it is being suggested to slice and dice Delta County into two new halves – north and south. Please do not separate our county again. Delta County belongs whole. Our community leaders, business interests, parents, and citizens need one legislative voice. Delta County should remain whole and united with Mesa County. Together our combined unique communities will satisfy the commissions requirement of keeping districts compact and maintaining communities of interest. We the people of Delta County want to be whole again! All of Delta County should become one with all of Mesa County in the newly proposed HD55. We want our legislative voice back! Thank you for your consideration regarding these important redistricting matters.

First, thanks to the commission members for their service. This is a very challenging undertaking! Regarding the Congressional map, please adopt the Club 20/Action22/Pro15 map. This map keeps the Western Slope whole and also keeps the most rural counties together. It fulfills, especially, keeping communities of interest together. Regarding the State Senate map, please find a way to keep Pueblo County whole. That county as well as Delta County are split in both the House and the Senate maps. At the very least, please give them relief in one of the maps. For new district 7, I believe the current map fulfills the highest criteria of mostly keeping counties whole, mostly keeping communities of interest together, and, even though it includes Red Mountain Pass, it is mostly compact. Regarding the State House map, again, please find a way to keep counties whole, again, particularly, Pueblo. The Garfield/Mesa/Delta section appears jerrymandered. Dave's maps has one possibility that fixes that in a way that looks good and keeps Garfield whole. On that same map, Gunnison County is still an outlier. Gunnison County needs to be scrutinized and many comments analyzed about how they fit, or not, with the adjacent counties. In general, some of the districts do not appear competitive. Since that is not the highest tier of criteria, perhaps that is just how it goes. Sometimes, communities of interest are more like-minded. For the Western Slope, water can be the greatest community of interest along with rural values that differ from urban values. Hopefully, the commission can maintain the rigorous schedule and timeline as well as hear the comments of concerned citizens. Thank you again.

I agree with what Hoover and Lawrence said at the meeting in Frisco. Summit should continue to stay with district 2.

I strongly support keeping Summit county together with Clear creek, Lake County and Park County. Their interest are similar regarding tourism, I 70 and fire control. They are not aligned with the front range counties.

I am writing to address the state house and state senate maps. As a longtime resident of Evergreen, Colorado—over 45 years—I want to ensure that a number of communities of interest are considered when you are creating the legislative maps. I believe unincorporated Jefferson County should be kept separate from the urban, incorporated pieces of the county, like Golden and Lakewood. Our needs in the exurban/rural part of the county are very different. While eastern Jefferson County deals with transportation connectivity and growth, this piece of the county is more prone to wildfires and therefore has different open space and wildlife management concerns—all issues incredibly close to my heart as a wildlife advocate. Just last year, we had two wildfires in Evergreen. While the metro area certainly experiences secondary effects from wildfires, here in Evergreen and Genesee and Conifer, and up the I-70 corridor, we experience the immediate effects of evacuations and burn damage. We need legislators who are able to make wildfire mitigation and the care of our open spaces their top priority at the Capitol, and I believe this would only happen by keeping Western, unincorporated Jefferson County together, and if needed, with similar counties up the I-70 corridor. I am also a retired home health and hospice nurse. My territory was not only Jefferson County, but up I-70 to Gilpin and Clear Creek counties and up Coal Creek Canyon to Southern Boulder County. As small, rural counties, they are incredibly reliant on Western Jefferson County for essential healthcare services, coming east down I-70 for hospitals and doctors’ visits. As well, we are incredibly impacted by the opioid epidemic, and for the sake of managing the 18 year’s worth of payouts, Gilpin, Clear Creek, and Jeffco are lumped together so Jeffco can help those smaller counties manage the funds. It would only make sense to have a legislator covering those territories to ensure that those public health funds are managed correctly, and fight for any further needed funds. I would hope that maps would preserve this community—we worked together during the pandemic and continue to work together to ensure all of our residents receive the health care they need. Rural healthcare is consistently a challenge, and we should be kept together in legislative districts in order to work on these constant issues. I hope you will consider keeping these Front Range communities together. We are not immediate suburbs of Denver, but exurban communities with significantly different priorities and needs. Rhonda Dern Evergreen, CO

The redistricting of Summit County into the proposed Congressional District 3 is the ABSOLUTE correct thing to do. Summit County and especially Silverthorne and the rural parts of the county do not line up with Boulder and Front Range Towns. The majority of residents of our county need the voice of the Western Slope Communities and leadership going into the future. Please move Summit into District 3.