Public Comments

I am a 23 year resident of Arvada, and I would like to add my voice to those calling for the following: Recommendation, put all of Arvada and western Westminster in the same senate district, by putting the Arvada portion of SD28 into SD27, and moving the Jefferson County portion of Westminster into SD27. To compensate, move the Golden portion of SD27 into SD 20 with the rest of Golden. Rationale: Arvada meets the criteria of a community of interest with shared interests and services: school district, fire district, recreation district, libraries, parks, trash pickup, service clubs, commercial areas. Arvada is compact and will fit entirely into one senate district. Arvada's population of 124 thousand fits neatly into the average senate district of 160 thousand; adding another 44 thousand from the Jeffco part of Westminster would still put the population in the 160 thousand range. Arvada is a very competitive voting area Both the state senator and representatives have been from both major parties in the past 10 years, and have changed parties in 2 of the last 3 elections, with several elections decided by only a few hundreds of votes. Voter registration is about equal in the 2 major parties at 30% Democrat, 25% Republican, and unaffiliated voters make up the largest segment at 40%. Arvada and western Westminster are contiguous and intertwined with common commercial areas and connecting east-west thoroughfares (72nd, 88th, etc.). Arvada and western Westminster have little in common with heavily industrialized Adams County. But Arvada and western Westminster have similar profiles and interests. Arvada and Golden have conflicting interests and should not be in the same senate district. For example, the 2 cities have been disputing for decades completion of the highway around Denver.

Redistricting as currently proposed would be highly detrimental to the community of Steamboat Springs as we would not be grouped with any community that has anything in common with us.

Dear Colorado Independent Redistricting Commissioners, My name is Shirley Bauer and I live in Cedaredge Colorado which is part of Delta County. I have been following the progress of the redistricting commissioners and I do thank you for all the work you are doing. However, after reviewing the proposed redistricting maps regarding Delta County, I do have major concerns. First of all, I see that one of the requirements is to try and "keep communities whole and those communities of shared interests together." I I believe "keeping counties whole" is part of the requirements by law as well. Seeing Cedaredge and Paonia, separated from Orchard City, Eckert, Delta & Hotchkiss makes no sense to me. Eckert is only 4 miles from Cedaredge and on the same highway. You put Paonia with Cedaredge and Mesa County which is okay, but all the towns in Delta County have the same interests in common. Eckert is only 4 miles from Cedaredge and on the same Highway. There are orchards and farming in Paonia, Cedaredge, Hotchkiss and Delta. That is common with Mesa County as well. Another thing is the Schools. Recently Paonia closed it's Highschool and now will be going to a new Highschool in Hotchkiss. How can you justify separating the community Paonia from Hotchkiss? How can you justify separating Eckert and Orchard City from Cedaredge as the children from those communities go to Cedaredge for School? Please keep these communities together. Grand Mesa is connected to Cedaredge and Hwy 65. All those that live in Delta County utilize all the recreational opportunities offered on Grand Mesa. Highway 65 goes from Hwy 92 over the top of Grand Mesa and comes out at HWY 70 just a little North of Grand Junction and Palisade. Our county fairgrounds are in Hotchkiss. Again, everyone in Delta County uses that fair grounds for many of our actitivities. In addition to the recreational use of Grand Mesa, much of the water used in Delta County comes from the Grand Mesa. Water usage is a huge issue in this area. Surface Creek joins all the towns coming down Highway 65. If you divide this area, you are putting us at risk for less representation for ALL our concerns in this region. Delta is only 14 miles from Cedaredge. Most of our shopping is done in Delta as Grand Junction is further away, but many from this area go to Grand Junction for major shopping as well as entertainment. I think you should put all of Delta County in with Mesa County. Makes more sense as almost a quarter of the working class in Delta, commute to Grand Junction. Please do not split Delta County up any more. I feel the same way about the Senate Redistricting as well. Regarding part of Garfield County. Why not leave Garfield County intact and put Rifle back with Moffat County, Rio Blanco and Routt? That way, putting all of Delta County with Mesa should make both districts fairly even. I am not sure why you want to split another county especially when the interests are the same as the other 3 counties. Regarding Legislative redistricting. I think that you have done a pretty good job of keeping District 3 together and it may be okay. The Western Slope must stay intact in order to make our voices heard. Sincerely, Shirley Bauer Cedaredge, CO. 81413 e-mail: msshirleyb@gmail.com Phone: 303-332-4564 Regarding Legislative redistricting. I think that you have done a pretty good job of keeping District 3 together and that may be okay. The Western Slope Must stay intact in order to make our voices heard.

I am seriously confused as to why public comment forums have started for what I have read and heard described as maps produced by legislative staffers. NOT the commissions! I haven't heard that the selected commissioners have blessed these preliminary maps or even commented on them. (I fully understand that they precede any actual numbers and data from the census people.) At minimum each set of commissioners need to adjust or get behind or confirm these starting point maps. Until that is done, there is nothing to show to the public. The maps are supposed to be commission driven: not legislative staffer driven.

I am fully supportive of the new congressional redistricting for Steamboat Springs. I think this aligns us with similar areas within the geographic area and provides us with the proper representation. I am strongly against any redistricting effort that would include Vail or other resort communities as Steamboat has it own unique set of issues unlike other resort communities.

I live in Laporte Co and think our state legislative district should remain as much as possible like it was. We share more community policy issues with Fort Collins ie water and sewer district .

We are frankly shocked by the proposed redistricting of our home and community into Congressional District 3. We live in western Boulder County in zip code 80481. We are a bedroom community of the front range with a significantly smaller second-home owner percentage than the communities in the mountains on the western side of the Continental Divide. Western Boulder County is not a resort community. Western Boulder County has little to no oil and gas development. Like the rest of proposed Congressional District 2, western Boulder County's economy is largely linked on the front range communities. Our water conversation and environmental concerns map closely to proposed Congressional District 2. Unlike the communities on the western side of the continental divide, drought conditions in Western Boulder County, like the rest of proposed Congressional District 2, have been significantly reduced by 2021’s Spring and Summer precipitation. In short, we almost nothing in common with the communities in proposed Congressional District 3. Based on almost all of the criteria in your definition of Communities of Interest, please continue to include western Boulder County in Congressional District 2.

Commissioners: I listened online to the public hearing on Tuesday evening which was held in Arvada. Most of the discourse pertained to JeffCo and Adams County. However, there was some comment and discussion about “mountain people” that really, really rubbed me the wrong way. I am a “mountain person” in so much as I call the mountains of western Boulder County near the Indian Peaks Wilderness area home. If I, my friends, and neighbors are going to have our assumed individual personalities, “wealth status,” “intelligence,” social behaviors, wants, needs, political affinities, issue passions, etc. grotesquely over-generalized (whether implicitly or explicitly) because we live closer to and among big protruding slabs of granite, I will STRENUOUSLY object to such flippant and dismissive characterizations. I can speak only from and for my own perspective and humbly suggest that the commissioners hold as more relevant people’s individual, personal, authentic experiences/views when making the difficult judgements about who will ultimately represent me and all Coloradans in the US Congress and State Legislature. Based upon my own lived experiences of residing in the Boulder County mountains and having traveled extensively across our state, I very, very strongly feel that the mountains east of the Great Divide in western Boulder County share little in common with the Western Slope (as completely awesome and unique as I have found many of the individuals I have met and places I have visited on the Western Slope to be). In spite of all the trees and exposed rocks around me here, I feel highly attached to and resonant with Front Range areas like Boulder. From practical life stuff like where I buy my garden supplies and milk, to where individuals in my social group reside, to where my “day job” is, to where I date and look for a life partner, all of my significant connections are down canyon in Boulder and the immediate surroundings. Of the preliminary maps put forward by the commissions thus far, the congressional and state house maps don’t reflect representation that I feel is congruent with my life and lived experience. I do like the preliminary state senate map — very good job on that one. The preliminary congressional map, in particular, is actually appalling to me. Not only would it cut me off from practical access to my representative — we’d be marooned without direct access to the rest of the 3rd District because of the Divide without having to travel back through the 2nd District, it divides my friends and neighbors between districts and dilutes our voices. I strongly supported Amendment Y but, respectfully, the congressional proposal is both sad and frustrating to me. Instead of painting “the mountains” and the “mountain people” who live and contribute there with a broad brush, please visit. Or, at very least, listen very closely to those who live in these tight-knit communities. The commissions will be holding a public hearing in Boulder in August. Why not take a little time and visit the people and places up canyon in their organic home settings? It’s a mere 20 minute (and beautiful!) drive up canyon to one of our larger communities — Nederland — from downtown Boulder. I would deeply appreciate commissioners making the effort and taking the time to get to know me and my fellow “mountain people” friends and neighbors a little better. With respect and gratitude, Ryan

The Bar-K ranch community that I live in has not much in common with the Western Slope, which is the proposed district for our area. Our school system is the Boulder Valley school system. Our community unites around acceptance of all people, regardless of race, color, sexual orientation, gender, etc. This is NOT the stated views of the current representative, nor is it typical of western slope ideals. I am very confused as to why one side of our main street (Overland Road) would be in the Boulder district, and the other side would be in the western slope district. The two sides of Overland road have the same concerns and community interests. Our weather concerns are Boulder's weather concerns, our people here work, go to school, and shop in Boulder and Longmont. It would take over 4 hours to drive to the main areas in our district on the western side of the divide. There would be no opportunity for us to visit with our representative, as they would not come to this side of the divide to interact with such a small portion of their constituency. Our values, needs, concerns, norms, and pretty much everything else are tied together with the Boulder/Longmont area, not the western slope. Please do not include us in the western slope district.

Live in Colorado for over 25 years. Very suspicious of the corrupt politicians, who only look out for themselves, to stay in power. They never look out for the people in Colorado.