The preliminary maps for the future boundaries of the Colorado Legislature’s 35 Senate and 65 House districts could lead to contests between incumbents sharing several of that draft plan’s proposed legislative districts covering parts of Boulder, southwest Weld and Broomfield counties.
However, the rough draft maps the Colorado Independent Redistricting Commissions’ nonpartisan staff presented this past Tuesday to members of Colorado Independent Legislative Redistricting Commission are just that — preliminary — and are certain to change, the commission’s staff and members emphasized.
As initially reported by the Colorado Sun on Tuesday, the preliminary map would put both Democratic Sen. Sonya Jaquez Lewis, who lives in unincorporated Boulder County south of Longmont, and Republican Sen. Barbara Kirkmeyer, who lives in the Brighton area of Weld County, into a new Senate District 32. Both are serving their first four-year Senate terms and both would normally be eligible to run for reelection in 2024.
Jacquez Lewis currently represents the Legislature’s present Senate District 17, which represents most of eastern Boulder County, including Longmont, Lafayette and Louisville. Kirkmeyer currently represents Senate District 23, which now extends from the Fort Collins area through southwest Weld County into Broomfield.
Jaquez Lewis said in a text message to the Times-Call: “As the redistricting staff made clear, these maps are going to change significantly. Those changes will be driven by public comment over the next two months and final census data expected in mid-August. I think commissioners are right to be focusing now on public engagement and I’m eager to see how the process plays out.”
“It changed my district quite a lot,” Kirkmeyer said in an interview. “The old district, to me, made a lot of sense.”
However, Kirkmeyer emphasized that the commission’s staff-prepared preliminary reapportionment plan is only the starting point in the reapportionment process and she predicted that “they’re going to have to make changes” that include consideration of keeping “communities of interest” intact. She suggested that should include the fact that many Weld County voters disagree with Boulder County voters on issues such as oil and gas development.
She argued that it would be illegal to adopt a final plan that would have two sitting senators simultaneously representing the same district before the next election to that seat.
The preliminary draft map would put Democratic Reps. Edie Hooton and Judy Amabile, both of whom are Boulder Democrats, into a new House District 37. Hooton is serving in her third two-year term; Amabile is in her first term, and both would be eligible to seek re-election in 2022.
Amabile currently represents the Legislature’s House District 13, a multiple-county district that now includes part of Boulder, Jamestown, Nederland and Ward: Hooton currently represents House District 10, which now includes part of Boulder and Valmont and Gunbarrel.
“It’s a first draft that will probably be changed significantly, not just for this district but across the board” statewide, Amabile said in an interview.
Amabile, whose current district includes Gilpin, Clear Creek and Grand counties as well as western Boulder County, said she’s confident that the Independent Commission, whose charges include preserving “communities of interest,” will “respond to that.”
In the meantime, “no matter what happens” with the final map lines to be the basis of the 2022 House elections, when the Legislature convenes its 2022 session in January, “I will be representing all those communities.”
Hooton said in one email that she was “reluctant to comment before I know what the final district boundaries will be” but said in a second email that “considering the uncertainty around how the district’s lines will eventually be drawn, let me say that I love serving my constituents and believe I’ve served them well, and I intend to run for a fourth term.”
Hooton said in a text message that after she’d taken a closer look at the statewide legislative maps being proposed, she concluded that urban areas would be isolated from rural areas, which she said “further exacerbates the rural-urban divide” and is “a big issue at the Capitol.”
The preliminary draft map would put Democratic Rep. Tracey Bernett, who lives in unincorporated eastern Boulder County, and Republican Dan Woog, who lives in the Weld County portion of Erie, into a new House District 38. Both are now serving their first two-year terms and could run for re-election in 2022.
Bernett currently represents House District 12, which now includes most of Louisville and Lafayette and part of Longmont; Woog currently represents House District 63, which now includes Dacono, Firestone, Frederick, Mead and the Weld County portions of Erie and Longmont.
Woog said in an email: “I would lose a large portion of my current district 63 which leans very conservative. However, I would keep the Tri-Town area and Fort Lupton which were also key areas for me in 2020. Running against Representative Bernett would present a challenge for me but I do feel the preliminary new boundaries still favor a conservative candidate.”
He said, “The addition of a portion of Boulder County could make it a tighter race than I had in 2020 but I am confident that my message and voting record will — should I choose to run — resonate with Coloradans who value good jobs, a safe place to live and freedom from an overreaching government. We will not have a final map until later this fall so I’m not relying on these current lines too heavily.”
Bernett could not be reached for comment.
The preliminary draft map would put two Democratic Colorado House incumbents, Matt Gray of Broomfield and Shannon Bird of Westminster, into the preliminary plan’s House District 27. Bird is in her second two-year term and could seek re-election in 2022. Gray is in his third two-year term and could also seek re-election next year.
Gray’s current House District 33 extends from Broomfield into Superior, parts of Louisville and Lafayette and the Boulder County portion of Erie: Bird’s current House District 35 is now an Adams County-based seat.
Bird said in an email that she was proud to have supported the state constitutional amendment that voters approved to move to the new legislative reapportionment system , and that she knew “that these maps are the initial stage of a long and important process. The Independent Redistricting Committee now has the responsibility to go and listen to Coloradans across the state as they give input on the proposed maps.
“I am hopeful that the final maps will accurately represent all Coloradans and the amazing diversity that exists in our state,” Bird said.
Gray could not be reached for comment.
Boulder County Republican Party Chairwoman Theresa Watson said in an email: “The important thing is the equitable representation of the people and keeping our communities intact. That is the imperative work that the Redistricting Committee is tasked with. Elections belong to the people and we the people want to be represented by legislators who understand our personal needs and those of our community.”
Boulder County Democratic Party Chairman Raffi Mercuri said in a text message that he “just can’t comment right now” about the preliminary legislative districts map.
This content was originally published here.
