SPEAK UP TO ENSURE NORTH FORK VALLEY REPRESENTATION

Every ten years, Congressional and State legislative districts are redrawn to reflect population changes. In 2018, Colorado voters approved Amendments Y and Z, which transferred the responsibility for redrawing congressional and legislative districts from the Colorado legislature and the Reapportionment Commission to newly created independent commissions. Colorado is one of the first states to conduct redistricting in this way.

Do you see the North Fork Valley as part of communities of common interest in these proposed maps?

As you can see from the map, the proposed districts carve out and split the North Fork Valley with some significant effort.  No public comments from Delta County or the North Fork Valley were submitted supporting this new map. However, Delta County did support the Club 20 proposed Congressional district map.

The North Fork Valley has actively moved to diversify its economy away from extractive industry in numerous ways. Yet, the proposed map lumps us in with counties that continue to pursue oil and gas extraction as the primary economic development pathway. Additionally, given the worsening drought and climate crisis, it would be advantageous for us to have representation as part of a cohesive watershed. To date, our House and Senate districts have included Gunnison County, with which we share both a watershed, and a community of interest in the process of successfully transitioning away from extractive industry. If we speak up as a community, we can ensure representative district maps that make sense geographically, economically, and culturally. 

Your voice is needed to help defeat this ill-conceived proposal. The Independent Redistricting Commission is holding listening sessions this Friday, July 30 in Montrose and Grand Junction at 11 am and 7pm, respectively, and on Saturday, July 31 in Carbondale at 11 am. 

The Commission needs to hear from you about the North Fork Valley:

• Tell them why the North Fork Valley is special.
• What shared interests unite our community?
• What are the NFV’s public policy concerns?
• What geographic areas or features are important to the NFV?
• How do the proposed maps impact our common interests?

Here’s what you can do right now:

1. 1. Sign up to speak at one of the listening sessions here. You can attend the meeting in person or via Zoom. You must sign up in advance to attend remotely. If you go in person, you can sign in onsite, but it’s recommended that you sign up in advance to speak in person at the meeting. You will have 3 minutes to deliver your oral testimony.
   2. Submit written comments to the Commission via their online comment portal here. There is no deadline on the Commission website for submission of written comments, however it is advisable to submit them by mid-August.

For more information on the Redistricting process, maps and templates for written and oral comments:

• Colorado Independent Redistricting Commission
• Proposed Congressional, State House and Senate Redistricting Maps
• Common Cause Resources including comment templates.

More Opportunities for Action:

The Commission encourages the public to share examples of maps that reflect the representation of their communities of interest.

• You can design your own map using the Commission redistricting mapping portal here. This requires you to set up an online account.
• You can recommend alternative maps available at Dave’s Redistricting, linked below. 
• You can prepare a map of your community using a free web program and submit it as an attachment or link on the web form.  (The Commission recommends Representable and Dave’s Redistricting.)

Thank you for acting on this VERY important issue. Please contact info@natashal1.sg-host.com if you need to carpool to attend the meetings or have any questions.