Public Comments

I love living near Deer Creek Canyon and Hildebrand Ranch Parks. There are beautiful trails to hike that are near my house, which my family and get to enjoy regularly. I really appreciate the open space we have in Jefferson County. It is one of the many things that connects the communities in House District 25. Our house district contains many unincorporated communities great open space parks like Lair o’ the Bear, Flying J Ranch, Centennial Cone and White Ranch, plus more. Having these open spaces in one district has ensured that our representatives has focused on key issues like wildfire mitigation. I hope you will keep these open spaces and unincorporated areas together in one house district for the next decade. Thank you, Paige Leonard, resident Littleton 80127, HD 25 (submitted by email 6/18/2021)

To whom it may concern, I would like to submit a comment regarding the legislative redistricting process, currently underway. I live in Eagle, in Eagle County. I am writing to express my support for Eagle County to remain in the same district as Routt County. Eagle and Routt are a good “fit” for a number of reasons, including having common health insurance options and school district needs. We are more rural than Summit County and share fundamental challenges more in common with Routt, like infrastructure, housing, workforce and transportation issues. We also share an easily navigable county line. Summit may as well be on the other side of the state, considering the frequent delays on Vail Pass. A state representative should be able to easily travel within his/her district. Thank you very much for serving on this important committee and for considering my comments. Sincerely, Joy Eagle, CO 81631 (submitted by email 6/18/2021)

I am writing to contribute my strongly held beliefs regarding the legislative districts that will represent Arvada and Westminster. The district lines for both House District 29 and Senate District 19 have historically run along the county line, separating the Jeffco side of Westminster and Arvada from the Adams county side. This is the best way to draw the boundaries for these legislative districts. In general, it is best to keep house and senate districts within a county for a variety of reasons. Specifically, as it pertains to Arvada and Westminster, Adams and Jefferson counties have different school districts and health departments. For districts that are dense, there is no reason to cross county lines. Please continue the historical precedence and leave the Arvada/Westminster districts within their respective counties. Thank you, Kathryn Wallace Arvada, CO 80003 (submitted by email 6/18/2021)

Dear Commission Staff, My name is Joseph Foli and I am here to make a public comment on the ongoing fight to keep La Platta and Gunnison Counties in the same house district for the upcoming election cycle and the near future. As a native of Gunnison County I personally want to make it clear that I am proud of my valley and all the Rep. Barbara McLaughlin has done for the area as our representative. That is bar and none my community of interest as I have been invested in the people and the economy of the great Gunnison Country. I want to thank the Commission staff for all their support in this fight and would love to see the two counties be represented together in one house and not see that changed. Keep up the good work and I look forward to seeing positive results in the near future. Best Regards, Joseph Foli (submitted by email 6/18/2021)

Dear Commission Staff, My name is Becky Weiss, and I’ve been a resident of downtown Manitou Springs for more than 25 years. Thank you for doing the important work of redistributing which guarantees maintaining the unique qualities of each district. I love living in Manitou Springs and the culture it nourishes. The arts, tourism, quirky culture, and natural beauty all contribute to my town’s personality. I’m writing to encourage you to continue to keep Manitou and Colorado Springs together in HD 18. Manitou, rural El Paso county, and Teller county have very little culturally in common . The city of Colorado Springs and Manitou share common interests in Pikes Peak and the Manitou Incline. Tourism in both locations is enhanced by their partnership. Highway 24 acts as an important corridor between Manitou and Colorado Springs. In fact, including parts of the Garden of the Gods to HD 18 could encourage an even more robust tourist industry in the area. About one third of students attending Manitou School District live in Colorado Springs. Finally Colorado Springs and Manitou share several utilities. Considering all of these factors, I hope you will continue to keep HD18 intact ( and in fact expanded to include parts of the Garden of the Gods). With appreciation for your important work and contributions of honest appraisal and discernment, I remain, Rebecca L. Weiss Manitou Springs (submitted by email 6/18/2021)

Dear Legislative Commission staff, My name is Debra Fortenberry and from 2006-present, I have resided on the southwest side of Colorado Springs (2106 Hercules Drive) in the same district as Manitou Springs, HD 18. Thank you for requesting comments on the districting map determinations. The west side of Colorado Springs and Manitou Springs have common priorities for land use, density and cultural focus. Access to recreational features are commonly held as high priorities for those of us who live in this area. For example, the Incline, located in Manitou and managed by the City of Colorado Springs, Section 16 and Red Rock Canyon Parks and the Intemann Trail, connect and are located in both Colorado Springs and Manitou Springs. This area supports and heavily prefers small local businesses including locally-owned stores and restaurants. This area supports arts focused venues, businesses and tax-based resourcing, home to the two creative districts in the area. With a small expansion, this area would include another tourism feature—Garden of the Gods, which inclusion would be consistent with the priorities of the residents and businesses who are located in this area. In short, the west side of Colorado Springs, in part called Old Colorado City, blends with the eastern boundary of Manitou Springs and is culturally compatible. In contrast, Manitou Springs has little in common with rural El Paso County or Teller County. It would be a disservice to the Manitou Springs community to include it with areas that do not prioritize recreation, arts and local businesses to the high degree that Manitou Springs and the westside of Colorado Springs does. For these reasons, I request that Manitou Springs and the west side of Colorado Springs continue to be included in a single legislative district. Adding the Garden of the Gods area to this district would have a recreational and tourism alignment that may be beneficial for residents and businesses in that area. Please feel free to contact me if you have questions or seek additional detail. Kindest regards, Debra Fortenberry (submitted by email 6/18/2021)

First, allow me to say thank you to the Legislative Redistricting Commission staff members for affording the citizens of Southeast Colorado Springs to comment. My name is Woodrow “Woody” Longmire. I have lived, worked, and educated our two children (Harrison School District 2) in the southeast area of Colorado Springs. As African Americans, my wife and I chose to purchase property in the southeast part of the Springs because we wanted to rear our children in a community where the majority of children their age, look like them. We also wanted to have our children educated in a school District that was diverse and inclusive. House District 17 was and still is, highly populated by African American and Hispanic citizens. Our current representative and those before him, have always fought for equity, regarding infrastructure, public safety, education, affordable housing, and healthcare. Not withstanding gentrification, our community has been making continual improvements; and we owe that progress to the focus that our HD 17 representatives over the years, have placed on community engagement by our citizenry. The City of Colorado Springs recognizes that the minority community of Southeast Colorado Springs and its unincorporated areas to the south, which is one of the largest in the state and is a strong community of interest, so much so that the city’s new Comprehensive Plan (PlanCOS) recommended the creation of a Community Planning program, in order to implement the vision of PlanCos. The first plan under this program is the “Southeast Community Plan”. I believe that this area was selected by the city as the kickoff for PlanCOS, because of its geographical location and its demographics; especially, its strong minority population. I am deeply concerned that the redistricting that would result in expanding HD 17 boundaries north, would be tantamount to turning our community over to the more affluent, high voting HD 18; thus, flipping HD 17 seat RED, which in essence, will be like annihilation without representation for those of us who live, work, and play in the place we call our community. (submitted by email 6/17/2021)

As you consider how to organize the rural areas of Colorado into congressional districts, I hope you will consider that being "rural" is not itself the definition of "community." Life in rural areas in Southern Colorado, particularly the San Luis and Arkansas Valleys, have less in common with rural areas in Mesa County or in NE Colorado than they have with those in more populated areas such as Pueblo County. Pueblo County and all of Southern Colorado share a common history and common culture. We also share common economies, regional medical and educational resources (e.g., Pueblo Community College serves Durango, Mancos and the far SW Colorado corner) as well as similar infrastructure and resource management challenges (e.g., water use and water rights). A single congressional district across the southern region would help establish a voice for our needs in Congress and help ensure fair and effective representation. Moreover, Pueblo County has little in common with Weld county - historically, economically, educationally, or culturally. A decision to create a district in which Pueblo County is divorced from much of Southern Colorado and grouped with Northern and Northeastern Colorado would remove Pueblo from its natural community of interest.

To The Legislative Commission: My name is Robert Searns and I am a voter residing in Ken Caryl Ranch. I am interested in quality governance, equitable representation of interests and maintaining the quality of our communities in the unincorporated portions of Jefferson County. I believe I also speak for many of my neighbors who share this sentiment. I am writing to strongly urge keeping the portions of unincorporated Jefferson County intact representing them rather than combining these areas with municipalities. I believe our communities and the people in our district as currently mapped have distinct goals and concerns such as addressing concerns of wildfire, protecting our legacy open spaces and helping meet the needs of my neighbors and me who do not have municipal or incorporated municipality representational benefits. I ask that this be reflected in the Preliminary Map. Thank you for your thoughtful considerations of our concerns Best Regards, Robert Searns Ken Caryl Ranch, CO 80127 (submitted by email 6/17/2021)

Thank you for valuing the voices of Coloradans who love their communities across this state by seeking public comment. As a transplant from the Midwest who has lived in Pueblo for over 22 years, I have come to truly value the diversity and character of Southern Colorado and the amazing connections that we have to our culture and our joint history. A vital part of that shared experience is through our Latino communities in the San Luis Valley and portions of the city and county of Pueblo. Our city respects all parts of our wonderful state, but we have far less in common with places such as Fremont or Otero Counties than the generational bonds we share with the San Luis Valley. I hope that you will not rearrange the current State House district that represents the San Luis Valley and Pueblo more than is necessary to account for population shifts, and that we can continue to have the kind of representation that our community has appreciated for many years.