Public Comments

Dear Commissioners, You carry much responsibility in the redistricting of Colorado. With this commitment you have the tools to create a “more perfect union”. However, in todays world there is a partisan division. Consequently, your work is to achieve compromise between varying opinions. Thank you for your work to verify this picture, creating harmony and strength. The redistricting is important. My husband and I live in Grand County, District 2. This has been our home for 38 years. We live 1.8 miles off of HWY 40 on Cty Rd. 54. This is between Granby and Winter Park. We have 6.5 acres of land and have enjoyed the peace and tranquility of mountain living. We raised three sons in this home, each attending East Grand Public Schools. I too taught in the East Grand School district for 20 years. My husband worked at the National Weather Service located in Denver/ He commuted daily. This was a small sacrifice for the luxury of raising our children in this wonderful community. The Rocky Mountain National Park was 45 miles from our front door and the head waters of the Colorado River was a tangible flow of water.Winter Park Ski Area was a short drive away. Our sons competed in competitive skiing events throughout their school sponsored actives, and also at the Winter Park Competition Center. One son qualified for the U.S. Nordic Combined Ski Team, competing in the !992, and 1994 Winter Olympics. We are grateful to Grand County for providing these exceptional opportunities as we raised our three sons. The continuity of remaining in District 2 is an important piece of the quality of life that my family values. Ten counties comprise this district. Boulder, Broomfield, Clear Creek, Eagle, Gilpin, Grand, Jefferson, Larimer,, Summit and Park each contribute to the communities of interest in Grand County. The economic ties that come from Summit and Eagle County in the form of tourism provides a healthy lifestyle for the young and old. Hotel, food service and ski ticket sales all add to the economy of Grand County. At one time Grand was. an agricultural based economy. Today, tourism leads the way. On October 14, 2020 the East Troublesome fire began in Kremmling, Colorado, Grand County. This fire destroyed much of Arapahoe and Roosevelt Forests and Pawnee Grassland. The devastation spread into Rocky Mountain National Park, enveloping 193,812 acres including both east and west side of the Rocky Mountain National Park. This whole area is within the jurisdiction of the 2nd Congressional District. The damage done continues to require much mitigation, needing the continued guidance of the leaders with past history of District 2. This storm of destruction became a common bond with the people of Grand County. There is no one in this county that does not know of someone who lost everything in the fire. We share an intense common interest in rebuilding our community, helping our neighbors in need. The third item of community interest is education. The school districts of East and West Grand Public Schools have high bars of expectation for the graduating students. Boulder and Broomfield both offer our children the opportunities to pursue high accomplishments. The University of Colorado, Boulder , and the National Center for Atmospheric Research all work with students and teachers to aid in curriculum development. Broomfield, houses the research aircraft that NCAR uses in the study of the atmosphere and is the home to firms that lead in clean energy development and leaders in solar ,wind and energy technologies. This hub for federal research is forward thinking and a tool that teachers can use in their school philosophies.. The contribution from these venues in District 2 aid our rural school district. We would hate to lose this contact that is just on the other side of the mountain. Thank you again for your efforts to create a Colorado that will continue to flourish in a changing world. Please remember…Keep Grand County in District 2.

Dear Congressional Redistricting Committee: The following map is a good map for Colorado. This map has a few splits to cities that cannot be whole based on their population. The Amendments call for competitive districts and districts 6 and 8 are very competitive. Districts 1 and 4 have minority influenced districts. District 4 is almost 36% Hispanic. Of these proposed districts, 2 of the districts are almost entirely rural, with Greeley and Pueblo being the 4th and Grand Junction anchoring the 3rd. The Western Slope is kept whole which is an important consideration for that community of interest. Southern Colorado is kept whole with the eastern plains. I would like to Thank You for your time and consideration of this map. This map makes sense for all of Colorado. Sincerely Darren Garcia https://davesredistricting.org/join/c6558bab-bfb3-4891-96de-e3563f9f0fa8

Dear Redistricting Commission. Thank you for your work. You have an important and challenging job to draw new political boundaries in a way that most fairly represents our State’s diverse and changing population. I write as a resident of Boulder City and Boulder County with some experience in understanding that, as our Front Range changes, our County boundaries increasingly do not align with the growth of our cities and towns or the preservation of our mountain communities. While Amendments Y&Z require that as much as reasonably possible your redistricting plan preserve whole communities of interest as well as whole political subdivisions, it is my understanding that you may be leaning more towards prioritizing traditional county lines. While that approach may be simpler or more politically expedient, I urge you to recognize the importance of advancing the effective political representation of communities of interest, such as our mountain regions and urban areas, particularly those of underserved communities, that may straddle county lines. Thank you for considering this comment.

Communities of interest should include geographic boundaries. I am strongly opposed to any proposed congressional districts that would divide Douglas County into two or more districts.

I just want to encourage the commission to try to make every district competitive. Ideas ought to be the driving force in every election. When districts are drawn so that ideas really don't matter, it discourages people from even thinking about the issues, let alone bothering to vote.

Hello, please find attached my public comment. Thank you

Thank you vey much to the Colorado Congressional Commission and staff for including public comments as part of the decision making process when drawing new lines for the Colorado Congressional Districts. I would like to comment on my “community of interest’ and how much it has changed in the last 10 years and its implications for drawing a new congressional district. 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 changed from 20% to 40% of the population. It has changed from a large rural town to a busy city. Greeley is growing out to meet the smaller surrounding communities and at the same time they have grown to meet our boundaries. The spaces between Ft. Collins, Loveland, Johnstown and Windsor are rapidly disappearing. As a matter of fact, Fredrick, Firestone, Johnstown and Windsor are the fastest growing communities in the state. Because of this rapid growth, the communities that surround the northern corridor need to be considered as a ‘community of interest’ especially when it comes to policy concerns. 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. Also, there is now a discussion on how a direct route to Denver International Airport could be constructed using Hwy 14 and Hwy 49 to serve this 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. Two state universities and two community colleges serve the area. Residents commute regularly between all the communities to access fitness and recreational centers, sporting and entertainment events (The Ranch), and to work for or access a variety of business and services. 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 community. Because of these dramatic changes in the northern Colorado I-25 corridor, a different type of congressional district needs to be created. Please see the attached proposed new Congressional District (light blue) to be created along the northern I-25 corridor to represent this new ‘Community of Interest” (This map was drawn using 2019 ACS 5-year estimates, that will show unbalanced in DistrictR, that sill has 2010 census data.). Although the demographics of this area are not shown I feel that it would also be a very competitive district. Thank you in advance for your consideration of this proposal. If you have any questions, please don’t hesitate to contact me.

As a 50+ year resident of Greeley, Weld County, Colorado, and as a witness to the tremendous growth of the whole state and particularly this area where I live, I write to express my redistricting preferences for the state and especially Northern Colorado. In creating an 8th Congressional District, my suggestions to your Commission and my strong support go for a district out of the eight that would extend from north of Denver to the Wyoming state line along the I-25 corridor to include, East-West, Weld and Larimer Counties and the part of Boulder County (Longmont) that is currently in CD 4. Here are some logical and reasonable justifications for creating such a CD along the northern I-25 corridor. 1) Population growth is creating a unified metropolitan community, and changing geographics reflect greater diversity throughout the area with regard to culture, race, and social groups. 2) Weld and Larimer Counties share environmental concerns: air, water, land use. 3) Weld and Larimer Counties share land development concerns: industry, electricity, housing, broadband, infrastructure. 4) Weld and Larimer Counties share many services and resources across the area: healthcare (UC Health, Banner Health), fire and rescue, entertainment and the arts (The Ranch, UCCC, the Lincoln Center, museums), shopping and restaurants, transport present and future (buses, shuttles, possible rail). 5) Weld and Larimer Counties share continuous provision of educational opportunities (CSU, UNC, Aims, Front Range, charter schools). 6) Weld and Larimer Counties communicate and cooperate on major policy decisions, such as roads, industry, housing, retail centers (which more and more approach one another, e.g. Timnath, Johnstown). 7) East-West highways directly connect (growing busier by the day) the two counties: Hwy 14, Hwy 392, Hwy 34, Hwy 52. Please NOTE: a likely and needed future direct route Fort Collins to DIA would go Hwy 14 to Hwy 49 south just east of Greeley, making Hwy 49 a logical eastern border to the CD. 8) It is also very important to note that this proposed Congressional District well reflects voter distribution and competitiveness: voter registration is fairly equal between the two major political parties; the largest voting bloc is independents, as in the state at large. I honestly think these reasons make a compelling argument for creating the CD I propose. Likewise, they respond to the redistricting criteria with which your Commission is challenged: contiguity, compliance with the Voting Act of 1965, preservation of communities of interest, compactness, maximized competitive districts in the state. I might add that there is apparently a proposed CD which would run the eastern length of the state and include Weld and Pueblo. In my opinion, that would be ludicrous and can only originate from a political bias that runs contrary to the above-cited redistricting criteria. Please refer to the proposed-district maps that I have attached. And please accept my appreciation for the difficult task which you undertake in creating eight fair congressional districts for our great state of Colorado. Respectfully, Kathleen Ensz kyensz@comcast.net 1611 21st Ave. Greeley 80631

Douglas County more closely aligns with the other metro counties than we do with the Eastern plains, with large segments involved in technology and finance, while enjoying easy access to sports and entertainment downtown. We should be reunited in our representation at both the State and Federal level to better reflect our interests in common with the Metro area such as traffic, access to quality health care, and public safety services. Douglas County is more a Metro/Suburban county than it is agricultural as is reflected in the occupations and population densities.

My name is Ed Brewer and I live in un-incorporated Douglas County. I would ask the Colorado Independent Redistricting Commission to place Douglas County entirely within one Congressional District. We have been divided between CD6 and CD4 for too long. Having our county split between two districts does not unite our shared community interests. We need to be placed back into one district. Next, there are 380,000 people that live in Douglas County, and 315,000 of those people live within city limits or urban areas. Yes, we are blessed with a lot of open space here in Douglas County, but that's not where the people live. When it comes to population, we are an urban county. Our Congressional District should be tied to the Denver Metropolitan Area and not the eastern plains. We work, shop, and socialize in the Denver Metro Area and so that is where are shared interests lie. Please include all of Douglas County within a Congressional District comprised of Denver Metro Area residents and not Eastern Plains residents. Thank you for your consideration. Ed Brewer