UPDATE: Weld commissioners approve new district map, setting up likely legal fight

Emailed public comments were overwhelmingly against commissioner approval

The Board of Weld County Commissioners on Wednesday morning approved on a 4-0 vote a map altering three commissioners’ district boundaries despite a multitude of complaints from residents. Commissioner Lori Saine, who represents District 3, abstained from the vote.

The approval of the map likely paves the way for a legal fight with the state of Colorado.

Commissioners approved and adopted the map despite a slew of emailed public comments opposed to it; the board received 50 emailed comments opposed to the map and just one emailed comment in favor. The balance of in-person speakers Wednesday could not be determined by the Gadfly on Wednesday afternoon, as a recording of the meeting has not yet made its way to the county website.

The Board of Weld County Commissioners on Wednesday approved this map for changes to commissioner district boundaries. | Courtesy Weld County

As the Gadfly has previously reported, the board arguably failed to adhere to several requirements in state law while drawing up the map, including having to:

• Prepare three maps for public comment;

• Host meetings for public comment in all three districts;

• Maximize political competitiveness;

• Consider communities of interest like minority and geographic groups.

State Rep. Chris Kennedy, D-Lakewood, who co-sponsored House Bill 21-1047, which placed these requirements into state law, has previously said the state is prepared to sue counties that don’t comply.

A spokesperson for Colorado Attorney General Phil Weiser on Thursday morning said his office “has no comment at this time.”

Many of the emailed public comments the board received about the map allege commissioners engaged in gerrymandering to protect Republican dominance and commissioner incumbents. Many also claim the now-approved map dilutes Latino votes within the county.

The vast majority, however, complained about a lack of transparency in the process and a lack of opportunities for public input on how the district boundaries should be drawn. Those were particularly acute sticking points for the League of Women Voters of Greeley-Weld County, a non-partisan voter advocacy group, according to spokeswoman Barbara Whinery’s emailed comments.

Dissemination of information about the development process for the proposed redistricting map was not widely publicized nor were Weld County citizens educated about the map and adoption process. It was difficult to find any information on the county website, and Weld County citizens were not adequately informed regarding the process for providing input and submitting proposed redistricting maps for consideration.

…

We recommend a new map for Weld County residents be drawn using the state law (HB21-1047) as well as standards and best practices for redistricting with a transparent process to produce a map that is more competitive, equitable and fair for all voters. Every person deserves to be part of the process and know their vote counts; this is the right thing to do for the citizens of Weld County.

The only public official who submitted input by email was Greeley City Councilman Tommy Butler, who represents Ward I, which covers the city’s northern and eastern regions. Butler made clear his input “does not constitute the opinion of the city of Greeley or the Greeley City Council.”

At this time, all five county commissioners could live outside the most populous city in Weld County — the same would be true if the proposed map stands. We are roughly one-third of Weld County’s population and roughly one-half of the county’s tax base. We deserve elected representation. We deserve a representative that has our interests top of mind. We deserve a commissioner who lives in and understands the issues that matter to this community.

Besides being part of a geographic community of interest as a city, East Greeley has a Latino population that is nearly 50% of its total population. As a community of interest, they deserve fair representation. As it stands now, folks that live in East Greeley are spread across all three of the newly proposed districts. In gerrymandering terms, that is fundamentally “cracking.” This important community is clearly being divided in the proposed maps. I certainly hope that has not been intentional. However, if that is not your intention, new maps will need to be drawn.