Public Comments

The issues facing Pueblo and Southern Colorado are different from much of the rest of the state. I have appreciated the diversity of representation that has come from connecting Pueblo with the San Luis Valley. We have a unique mix of issues pertaining to rural Colorado, agriculture, working class people, and our diverse population. We have been very lucky to have representatives in the Colorado State House who have understood this balance and who have seen substantial, prolonged support from all portions of this district and community. I encourage the commission to hold these interests sacred and to keep our connections strong through the next decade.

Thank you vey much to the Colorado Independent Legislative Redistricting Commission and staff for including public comments as part of the decision making process when drawing new lines for the Colorado Legislative Districts. My goal in submitting these comments are for you consider how to best redraw the House and Senate District lines for West Greeley that would make our districts more compact, competitive and to reflect the new and ongoing changing landscape of my the community of interest. I would like to comment on my “community of interest’ and how much it has changed in the last 10 years and its implications redrawing House District 48 and Senate District 13. Weld County is not a single entity, it is a politically, culturally, and economically diverse community. As a resident of Greeley-Weld County for 31 years (1989-present), I have witnessed many changes in my community and northern Colorado. Actually, I attended the Colorado State University from 1965-69, so I have seen dramatic changes throughout the northern I-25 corridor since that time, too. I live on the west side of Greeley and when I moved to Greeley the population was 60,000 (1989) and now it is over 100,000 (2021) and race and ethnicity has increased from 20% to 40% of the population. It has changed from a large rural county seat town to a busy city. Greeley is growing in population out to meet the smaller surrounding communities and at the same time they have grown to meet our boundaries. Many of these areas are becoming more suburban rather than rural in nature. The spaces between Ft. Collins, Loveland, Johnstown and Windsor are rapidly disappearing. The towns of Johnstown and Windsor are now two of the five fastest growing communities in the state. Because of this rapid growth, the communities that surround the northern I-25 corridor need to be considered as a ‘community of interest’ has similar interests and concerns especially when it comes to governmental policy. For example we share an infrastructure that include roads, water, public transportation and share emergency services. In the past 10 years there has been an on-going discussion about putting in a light rail system between Loveland, Ft. Collins and Loveland in addition to the Denver area. There are common environmental concerns that include the quality of air, water and water supply. We share a prominent healthcare network with Banner and UC Health. In terms of state post secondary education institutions that serve area include the University of Northern Colorado, Aims Community College and the private Institution of Medical and Business Careers (IMBC). Residents commute regularly between all the communities to access fitness and recreational centers or facilities, sporting and entertainment events (The Ranch). The communities surrounding in addition to the West Greeley are shop at the nearby Centerra Mall and the 25/34 shopping center. Many also work for or access a variety of business and services across area west of Greeley to I-25 in addition to Loveland and Ft. Collins. Each community is experiencing changing demographics, too. Geographically we are similar and all are within a 20 -25 minute drive of each other. As you can see, what used to be a series of small rural towns are now becoming a large complex metropolitan area and diverse community. My recommendation is that the West Greeley (from 23rd Avenue-west) and part of the south Greeley areas be combined with unincorporated parts of the county extending west to Johnstown/Milliken to create a new House and Senate Districts because this area will continue to grow especially with a the new proposed subdivision on Highway 257. Lastly, I would advocate combining neighborhoods of Greeley north of 10th Street and east of 23rd Avenue with the Evans (perhaps as far south to LaSalle) are as large immigrant and minority populations to create a Voting Rights Act-compliant House District characterized them. This should be prioritized in terms of legislative redistricting. Because of these dramatic changes in continuing population growth and demographics in the West Greeley area, a different House and Senate Districts need to be created. Thank you in advance for your consideration of this proposal. If you have any questions, please don’t hesitate to contact me.

I write to submit a public comment that relates to the representation of Adams County and its House and Senate districts during the ongoing redistricting process. I live in Adams County and believe that our State House representation is most effective when a representative is thoroughly familiar with the distinctive elements of their county (not just their district, since each district interrelates with others in their county) and can focus their attention on the established character of that county. Adams County is a populous and complex entity that deals with a multitude of different issues while having strong threads that unify it. The county encompasses a significant number of highly populated suburbs and exurbs bordering the Greater Denver area, and has been able to play host to much of the expansion, both commercial and residential, of this city in recent years. It is home to crucially valuable high-tech and supporting industries, the presence of which have played no small part in the siting of the Colorado Air and Space Port within its boundaries. Given the scope of the issues relating to a county such as Adams, it is vital that legislators must learn on a broad level in order to properly represent us. A representative cannot have as good a grasp on the educational, public health, growth or public safety issues that face two dissimilar counties as they can when they focus on only one. Besides needing a broad understanding of topics that affect living in Colorado in a larger sense, legislators need to be able to have specific knowledge and relationships within their district. Given the distinct character of Adams County, especially when contrasted with neighboring counties in all directions, I believe we need to stay separate from them where possible in order to facilitate the quality representation we deserve.

Legislative: I request that Summit County continue to be kept with Delta, Gunnison, Lake, and Pitkin and not include Eagle One of the most important factors in considering communities of interest for HD61 is the economy. Summit should not be linked to Routt and Eagle because those two counties are partly agricultural and partly tourism with a little energy in Routt. The economies look far more like each other's and also more like the economies in the Western Slope. Summit's economy is really purely tourism. It is deeply connected to the front range and not at all connected to the Western Slope. We rely on front range services for pretty much everything, from mental health to health care to I-70 infrastructure that does support our economy. Congressional: I also request that Summit County continue to be included in a congressional district affiliated with our nearby Front Range counties. Summit's economy is primarily tourism and linked to the front range through the I-70 corridor. One of the communities of interest that is unique to residents of Grand, Larimer and Boulder counties is our shared connection to Rocky Mountain National Park and adjacent federal public lands. A major concern is wild fire mitigation. Two of the largest fires in history of this region were East Troublesome fire and the Cameron Peak fire. Finally, affordable housing links Summit to front range communities that employing similar policies to confront this crisis. . Fire danger, the area was the site of the two largest fires in state history last summer: the 193,000-acre East Troublesome fire and the 209,000-acre Cameron Peak fire. The connection to federal legislation that makes this a community of interest is that the National Park Service has an outsized role in preserving and enhancing this area for all of the affected counties in the years to come.

It is my honor to have been appointed and to serve on the 2021 Colorado Legislative Redistricting Commission. It is a pleasure to serve with my fellow Commissioners and with the Legislative Redistricting Commission Staff.  The non-partisan Commission Staff are tasked with the responsibility of creating the Preliminary Maps.  In order to produce the fairest Preliminary Maps possible,  it is my position that the most critical responsibility of the non- partisan Commission Staff is that they follow the rank order of the criteria outlined in the language of Amendment Z, in their rank order. Amendment Z ranks the Map requirements in the following order:  *Must have equal population, as required by the U.S. Constitution, with a population deviation of no more than 5% between the most populous and the least populous district in each chamber; *Must be composed of contiguous geographic areas; *Must comply with the federal "Voting Rights Act of 1965," as amended. Under the federal Voting Rights Act of 1965, the state cannot change voting standards, practices, or procedures in a way that denies or limits the right to vote based on race or color or membership in a language minority group. In particular, the act requires that a minority group’s voting strength not be diluted under a redistricting map.     *As much as is reasonably possible,  preserve whole communities of interest and whole political subdivisions, such as counties, cities, and towns; however, a division of a county, city, city and county, or town is permitted where a community of interest's legislative issues are more essential to the fair and effective representation of residents of the district. When the commission divides a county, city, city and county, or town, it shall minimize the number of divisions of that county, city, city and county, or town; *Be as compact as is reasonably possible; and  *After the above criteria are considered, Amendment Z requires the commission to maximize the number of politically competitive districts, which are defined as having the reasonable potential for the party affiliation of the district's representative to change at least once over the decade, to the extent possible. Maps cannot be drawn for the purpose of protecting incumbents, candidates, or political parties. It is because of the Independent Legislative Redistricting Commission's non-partisan staff's integrity, experience and skill that I trust they will follow the provisions of the Colorado Constitution and the requirements of Amendment Z in rank order as they were listed for the work of the Independent Legislative Redistricting Commission while drawing the Preliminary Maps.  Blanca Uzeta O'Leary    Commissioner, Colorado Independent Legislative Redistricting Commission 

Hi, my name is Casey Christiansen - firstly, thank you to the Commission for your efforts and for receiving comment. I live in eastern Greeley, and have learned it is possible Greeley and Evans will be split into different legislative districts. I strongly advise against that course of action. Greeley is very diverse socioeconomically at large, but there is a clear difference between east and west. The eastern side is far more industrial and we share that characteristic with much of Evans. Students attending University of Northern Colorado in Greeley live in the many affordable apartments in Evans, so splitting the district would create confusion. The line between our two cities is not a clear nor straight distinction, so adults will also likely be confused. The most important right we have in our country is using our direct voice via voting. That is not something that should be made more difficult with confusing (illogical the common citizen) district lines. I trust this Commission will consider the damage that could be caused by dividing the two sister cities. Thank you for your time. -Casey Christiansen

I believe it is important to include Evans, Garden City and as much of Greeley as possible in one district for the following reasons: they share common borders on two or more sides; connecting streets run in both directions through each of the cities; they share the same school district (District 6) and several schools serve students from each city; each are served by the High Plains Library District; all three went together to be certified by the AARP Network of Age Friendly Communities as a group; each are serviced by the GET (Greeley Evans Transit system; the retail base is very similar and many stores have locations in two or all three cities; both Greeley and Evans have industrial/manufacturing zoned districts, inter-connecting trail systems, agriculture related production and distribution sites, services for the homeless population, and are constructing neighborhoods of low-income housing. The cities work closely together on many projects and exchanged life saving services to each other during the 2013 flood, especially in clean-up, reconstruction of necessary services, and rebuilding efforts. The 2000 and 2010 Census legislative redistricting process made only minor changes in the district so they have a long history of cooperation and working together. As the minority population in this area continues to grow it has been dispersed between the cities. This district has rivers on both the south and north sides to further separate it from other towns in the area.

See attached. Thank you.

I am asking the legislative redistricting commissioners to please keep district boundaries at the Adams County line with respect to our neighbors in Jefferson and Broomfield Counties. As a resident of western Adams County, I’m very aware of the different issues that we face compared to the communities near us. Housing development and growth is rising considerably faster in Adams than Jefferson County. We have several smaller school districts that have distinct needs and fewer financial resources than a larger district such as JeffCo. These districts all stop at the county line, and I believe that our representative will have their hands full advocating for the educational needs of Adams County kids without having to worry about another district in another county. As a board member of a local Westminster non-profit organization, I know that the community members we help rely on us for programs and services which we are able to provide, in large part, due to the partnerships and funding sources within Adams County. Additionally, our location within HD35 has given me the opportunity to be represented by Representative Shannon Bird, who has been very responsive to the needs of our less affluent community here in southwest Adams County. Please keep the boundaries as they are! The pandemic has shown how important it is for all facets of government to work together in order to be efficient. An unclear or mixed response to a public health emergency endangers lives, and a representative who is giving out information to their constituents should not have to ask which county someone lives in before informing them of what guidelines they should be following.

Hello - I am writing today to support keeping House District 26 exactly as it is with Eagle and Routt counties during the redistricting process. As mountain resort communities, in addition to geographical similarities, we have the same challenges and opportunities across the board, particularly in relation to water access and rights, land use, climate change, employment, health care, and education. If Eagle were to be realigned with any other of our neighboring counties, I fear our representative would have to split their attention and focus on other issues that don't align with similar needs. Thank you for your time and consideration.