Public Comments

I was at the Steamboat Springs public comment debate as an interested citizen, to hear first hand the various opinions as to the consequences of the various changes requested to the preliminary map. I have been a Steamboat Springs city resident working in healthcare, now a West Routt county resident shopping in Craig among other ski-town USA commuters. It would seem to me that having two or more districts composed of ski mountain communities that also include their feeder areas of employment and non-ski recreation would (or at least should) be having 2 representatives of their respective parallel interests. This seems more reasonable than lumping the ski-towns in one district and the "low rent" commuters in another segregating their interests and widening cultural divides. I appreciate the difficult task you have agreed to handle in order to ensure each voter's voice is heard. Valerie LeGore Hayden, CO

Kittredge resident here…the redistributing map including superior and Louisville into rural jeffco representation makes no sense. In unincorporated Jeffco we prefer to not enjoy a low density, local focused economy, and will not be adequately represented by a population that will dwarf our political leanings being brought into the fold. There is a spirit of freedom, autonomy, and self determination that prevails in this area of CO that will not be benefitted by drawing in Boulder adjacent authoritarian politics. Please consider the differences of life in a canyon community of 1,000 versus a sprawling tract home suburbia.

First off, thank you to all who are serving on the commission. I appreciate the time and effort each and every one of you are making to ensure this redistricting process is as fair and competitive as possible with the new growth in CO. I am a healthcare provider who lives in Steamboat Springs and I work in all areas of Routt County including Oak Creek, Steamboat Springs, Hayden, and Clark. I work both in a Healthcare facility and in the school districts. I chose Routt County to settle down in, due to it's sense of community, rich rural history of ranching and agriculture, and separation from all the other 1-70 ski towns being that it is a rural area in the Northwest corner of CO. This is what makes this place so unique and special and different from all of the other "resort ski towns". It is definitely part of the Western Slope and should remain so. I also believe our water supply should stay in our region. I do not think it fair to discredit the fossil fuel energy use stating that they will no longer be in use as they still will be in use for a good amount of the time until the next census occurs. These communities need to stay together as they carve out a new way of living. I worked in Moffat County for 5 years and know a lot of other healthcare providers that do the same. A lot of us provide care to both Moffatt and Routt County and have this shared interest in common. I do not feel that Routt County as a whole is defined by our ski resort and the city of Steamboat Springs. It is diverse with shared interests and policies regarding healthcare, education, ranching, agricultural, fossil fuel use, tourism, small town businesses, outdoor recreation, preservation of land, transportation, jobs, housing, and the need for management of our natural resources, esp. water and wildfires. I believe the preliminary maps that have been drawn up for both the legislature and congressional, are all done pretty well and would like to see them stay the way they are. Thank you

I know this has to be done but PLEASE MAKE IT FAIR. Do not let one party win over the other because of the way the lines are drawn. MAKE IT FAIR.

Living full time in Silverthorne, I like the proposed district because it aligns the mountain communities with each other. The I-70 mountain corridor and Aspen all share common community interests and should be represented by the same person. Boulder's community interests are not the same as Summit County's. Just because the people from Boulder may frequent Summit County does not mean that they need the same representation. They don't vote in Summit County, they vote at their place of primary residence, which is Boulder. I vote in Summit County and don't want my voice drowned out by those that visit here but don't have to deal with the day to day living concerns.

I’ve been working & volunteering in Aurora since I moved to Centennial five years ago, and I know both cities intimately. So does my representative, Jason Crow. To divide us into different Congressional districts would be a disservice to the communities that continue to expand throughout Arapahoe County. Families socialize on front lawns and throw block parties together in my neighborhood near Eaglecrest HS, which has a mix of blue and green street signs because Aurora and Centennial wind around each other within it. We have the same values and demographics I see canvassing and campaigning in Aurora, and we should have the same representation too.

Colorado is a diverse state in many ways, one of those important diversities is basic community profiles. The urban/rural interface communities are unique and desire, rightfully so, different priorities than truly suburban areas. The communities of Golden and Wheat Ridge, while clearly suburban communities, look through a different lens of community life than those living in unincorporated Jefferson County. In many ways, traveling around Kittredge or Pine can feel very different than in travels through the Golden area. I believe folks who live in these different locations have chosen their locations with intentionality. Asking citizens to set aside their habitat choices when there is a solution which respects those choices is both unnecessary and disrespectful. A currently very important, and apparently long-term issue is wildfires. The unincorporated areas of Jefferson County are minutely aware of this issue to a level not required of those living in the more urbanized areas. Just as the urbanized area of Golden/ Wheat Ridge has a greater awareness and concern for rapid transit and air pollution – that which we have been experiencing to record setting data of late. All the above stated issues impact these two areas I am addressing in different ways and to different depths. I therefor ask you to consider drawing district lines that honor and respect the cohesive integrity of Golden/Wheat Ridge as a unique area and the same for unincorporated Jefferson County. Keeping these areas contiguous and within the same legislative district will best serve the citizens who live and work there.

Clear Creek County is culturally a blend of a mountain community and a suburb of the metro area. While we share interests with other mountain communities regarding land and water use, we also share interests with the metro area, especially economically. The proposed map which separates us from the metro area and groups us with many predominantly rural counties with which we have little in common makes me feel disenfranchised in terms of ever being able to influence who my Representative in Congress is again. I strongly encourage the commission to return Clear Creek to the 2nd Congressional District and make adjustments to include communities with more common interests.

To Colorado Independent Redistricting Commissions: Colorado rural populations need to have a voice in the congressional and state legislatures. We need representatives who live in Delta, Mesa, and/or Montrose Counties, sensitive to the environmental and societal concerns common to our region. Those concerns include agriculture, mining, water shortages, wildfire control, health needs, and crime. Keep Delta Count whole. We are not well served by combining our county with populations on the other side of McClure Pass, a major geographic and community barrier.

I'm writing to express my interest in having Mesa County, the City of Delta and eastern Delta county in the same Legislative and Congressional districts. Delta and Mesa county share not only a western slope lifestyle but also important geological features such as the Grand Mesa as well as canyons, forests, and rivers. The Grand Mesa, Uncompahgre and Gunnison National Forrests have a supervisor located in Delta. In additional to being compatible neighbors we share employees. About 20% of Delta's workforces commutes to Mesa County daily, while a smaller percentage in Mesa County commute to Delta. My sister-in-law was one of these workers who commuted to Delta's hospital for work for about 20 years. Both counties have a focus on agriculture and our real estate markets share similarities regarding housing trends. We don't have much connection to Rifle, Silt and New Castle; these areas are more connected to the northwestern Colorado geographically and economically. These should not be part of Mesa County's legislative seat. I don't believe Hotchikiss, Paonia and Crawford should be part of Mesa County's Senate District as we have little in common economically and are geographically separated. Last but not least, please do not have Western Slope districts go beyond the Continental Divide to the east. Based on our population, we would loose our voice to densely populated counties that have a very different life style. Thank you for considering my comments.