Background Information On The Preliminary Legislative Redistricting Maps in Colorado:
Every ten years, it’s time to reapportion Congressional and State legislative districts to reflect population growth. 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. The purpose of Amendments X and Y was to ensure fairer and more effective representation by taking redistricting out of the hands of a partisan legislature and unelected judges. The Colorado General Assembly has had a sordid history of failing to meet the constitutional requirements for redistricting, resulting in the Courts having to determine the final maps. We are experiencing history in Colorado with an Independent Redistricting Commission. Let’s make sure the North Fork Valley doesn’t get gerrymandered!
The Preliminary State House District 55 Map, Which Does Not Include Gunnison County
Submit written comments to the Independent Redistricting Commission via their online comment portal here.
Even though no deadline has been officially set for receipt of written comments, we encourage you to submit them by August 20th to give the Commissioners ample time to review them while they are still conducting their listening tours across the state.
No public comments from Delta County or the North Fork Valley were submitted supporting the preliminary maps for House District 53 and 55 or Senate Districts 6 and 7. You can make a difference!
The Preliminary State Senate District 6 Map, Which Splits Delta County and Does Not Include Gunnison County
We’ve had experience not having political representation for our interests. The North Fork Valley has actively worked to diversity its economy away from extractive industry for over two decades, which is not the direction that the counties we have been lumped with in the proposed maps have taken. In addition, given the 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 district has included Gunnison County where the North Fork Valley watershed originates. Additionally, Paonia Reservoir is located within Gunnison County. This is your opportunity to share with the Independent Redistricting Commission the specific geographic, water, transportation, infrastructure, environmental, and economic interests that merit cohesive representation in one district.
Here are the links to the interactive preliminary maps:
With the interactive map you can click on the layer icon, on the left side of the screen. Click on either Current House or Senate Districts, depending on the map you are looking at, to see the Current Districts overlaid on the proposed districts and spot the differences between proposed and current maps. Also if the county lines are not clearly visible click on the Counties layer tab, then on Opacity, and move opacity to 100% to make them visible.
Current State House and Senate District maps for comparison:
For more information on the Independent Redistricting Commission, Preliminary, Current and Historical Maps, and more click here.
For more information on redistricting visit:
–Colorado Common Cause–Demand Fair Maps
Additionally, the Commission encourages the public to share examples of maps that reflect the representation of their communities of interest. You can do so view mapping tools managed by Dave’s Redistricting or Representable.
You can also design your own map using the Commission’s mapping portal, linked HERE