Public Comments

When I moved to Douglas County 40 years ago, it was a rural county with a population of about 27,000. Parker and Castle Rock were small towns and Highlands Ranch didn't exist. Latest estimate of 2020 population is 370,000. We are now an urban/suburban county ,where people commute to Denver and surrounding counties ,and we have very little in common with all the agricultural, rural counties of the entire eastern part of the state and therefore our congressional representative is not representing us well. We need to be included in the urban, suburban districts when the districts gets redrawn.

My comment is about former chairman Danny Moore. Please, Mr. Moore, keep your head held high and don't apologize to the mob. I am very concerned how the woke media has portrayed you in what I would consider a political takedown. Apparently, you must have posed a great threat to the leftists agenda. To be fair, maybe all the commissioners' social media posts should be scrutinized as thoroughly. Best of luck to you Mr. Moore and to all of our redistricting commissioners. Please keep the politics and lobbyists from this commission. You all have an important and difficult job ahead of you and I will keep you all in my prayers.

Dear Commission members, I have been a property owner of "little" Gilpin County for a few weeks shy of 23 years. As a full time resident I have been constantly impressed by the loyalty and support of the the county's almost entirely residents to this relatively uniform rural mountain county situated between the Continental Divide on the west and moderately inhabited foothill communities on the east. As the most of county is small and relatively uniform in geography and population, it only make sense to leave as an integral part of Colorado's Second Congressional District as now exists. I don't see what would be gained by parsing the county into some different political subdivisions as it is a great fit to the current District #2. Thanks for your consideration during your important deliberations. Lawrence Koppelman Rollinsville, Northern Gilpin County

Elbert County is a rural county on the eastern plains of Colorado, with an approximate population in 2019 of 26,000 people. We have two principal towns, Kiowa is the county seat, with Elizabeth being the largest town with an estimated population in 2019 of 1,566 and growing rapidly. Our economic base consists of small family owned and operated businesses, farms, and ranches. The town of Elizabeth has a WalMart and a Safeway. There were 2,786 jobs within the county in 2018. The majority of the people who live in Elbert County commute to the neighboring counties of ElPaso, Douglas, and Arapahoe to work, shop, receive medical care with some families sending their children to school in neighboring Douglas County. The average commute 35.9 minutes. People in our community know each other, value the plains and the farming and ranching way of life and love the environment in which we live. We love our wide open spaces and want to maintain the quality of life we enjoy, but we see unfettered growth and development to the north and west of our county. We are becoming a bedroom community to Douglas and Arapahoe counties. Many are not aware that Elbert County is the sweet spot over the aquifers which supply the water up and down the Front Range. At least 80% of Elbert County residents owning property have private wells. The continued growth and development to the north, west, and south of us and even within our own county is concerning and directly impacts Elbert County residents and their quality of life. The wide open spaces in the county are slowing fading as farmers and ranchers retire, and sell their property to developers. This growth within and outside of the county is having a direct impact on our water and the infrastructure traveling into and out of the county. Even though our county has been primarily a rural community, the continued growth and development in the neighboring counties as well as in Elbert County makes redistricting necessary. It makes sense that with the majority of residents commuting outside of Elbert County to work, shop, receive medical care, as well as educate their children that we should combine Elbert, Douglas, and Arapahoe counties and maybe even some portion of Colorado Springs. The residents of Elbert County are contributing too and impacted by the economics, the infrastructure decisions and utilize the same natural resources as our neighboring counties to the south, west and north. I appreciate and thank you for the opportunity to comment.

Commissioner Moore is a massive distraction from the overarching goal of the Colorado Independent Redistricting Commission. He is a public servant, he should have known to step down the moment this nonsense came to light and allow someone untainted by controversy to take his place. The only reason I can imagine he has remained on the commission is that he has a clear partisan goal he has been tasked to achieve. Therefore, the commission should remove him at once and replace him with a Republican who understands the weight of the humble task set upon these commissioners. I'm sure Commissioner Moore will remember from his Navy days: there is no room personal politics in serving the United States of America. The longer he remains on this commission, the less trust the public will have in EVERY commissioner and their devotion to producing nonpartisan maps for the next decade of Colorado's congressional elections.

I fully endorse Danny Moore's continued participation in the redistricting process. His long service as a member of the U.S. military make him uniquely qualified, and he has earned our trust through his dedication to his country.

DO NOT REMOVE Mr. Danny Moore from his seat on this commission. His community conscience and brilliant insights would be a tremendous loss for the political health of Colorado if he were to be removed!

This being the first time Colorado is implementing the independent commission process, was likely to find possible flaws. In order to get a better understanding of a person’s character and beliefs, a search of social media and other public information should be added to the process for future years. The result of not doing that for the initial choice of commission members resulted in the approval of Danny Moore as the new chair of the Colorado Independent Congressional Commission Committee. Danny Moore publicly proclaimed that the 2020 elections was not fair. This goes against the non-biased selection criteria; Danny Moore should therefore be strongly encouraged to resign in order adhere to the commission member criteria.

To Everyone This Message Concerns, I write you in support of Danny Moore as Chairman of the Colorado Independent Congressional Redistricting Commission. I have known Danny since 2019 where we were part of Leadership Program of the Rockies (LPR). Due to his character, integrity, successful business background, and leadership, he was not just a member of this group, he was elected overwhelmingly as President of that year's LPR class. This is a man who leads by example to ensure people and processes are treated fairly and with respect. By all means should he remain on this Commission to ensure the integrity of the redistricting process in Colorado. Sincerely, Michael A. Cummings

I fully support Danny Moore as Chair for the Colorado Independent Congressional Redistricting Commission. He is a person who is fair, listens and has integrity. He currently owns and operates a growing Colorado business clearly demonstrating his leadership skills and the ability to navigate various situations. Danny Moore’s leader skills would be extremely beneficial to this commission.