{"id":45295,"date":"2021-08-07T18:56:00","date_gmt":"2021-08-08T00:56:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/statewide-redistricting-commission-holds-hearing-in-durango\/"},"modified":"2021-08-08T00:56:00","modified_gmt":"2021-08-08T00:56:00","slug":"statewide-redistricting-commission-holds-hearing-in-durango","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/statewide-redistricting-commission-holds-hearing-in-durango\/","title":{"rendered":"Statewide redistricting commission holds hearing in Durango"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"About
About 100 people attended Saturday's Statewide Redistricting Commission meeting at the Durango Public Library. (Jerry McBride\/Durango Herald)<\/span>Jerry McBride<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/p>\n

The Joint Colorado Independent Redistricting Commission held a public hearing about preliminary maps for the state\u2019s now-eight congressional districts, 65 state House and 35 state Senate districts Saturday in Durango.<\/p>\n

About 100 residents of La Plata and the surrounding counties were in attendance, with more joining over Zoom.<\/p>\n

\"About
About 100 people attended Saturday's statewide redistricting commission meeting at the Durango Public Library. (Jerry McBride\/Durango Herald)<\/span>Jerry McBride<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/p>

Amendments Y and Z, which were approved in 2018, transferred responsibility for redrawing congressional and legislative districts to two newly created independent commissions instead of the Colorado Legislature and politically appointed Reapportionment Commission.<\/p>\n

The Independent Congressional Redistricting Commission and the Independent Legislative Redistricting Commission are each made up of 12 members \u2013 four unaffiliated, four Republicans, and four Democrats. Colorado is one of the first states to use independent commissions to redraw its districts.<\/p>\n

According to a presentation prepared by the commissions, the preliminary maps were created based on criteria including population, contiguousness, preservation of communities of interest and maximizing the number of politically competitive districts.<\/p>\n

Nonpartisan legislative staff members drew the preliminary redistricting maps and presented them to the two commissions in June. The commissioners are now holding hearings, such as the one on Saturday, on the preliminary maps around the state to gather public comments.<\/p>\n

The legislative staff members will then use information gathered from public comments and census data to redraw the maps again and present them to the commissions. The commissions will then present the new maps at another round of public hearings before they are approved and submitted to the Colorado Supreme Court.<\/p>\n

\"Lori
Lori Schell, representing Durango and the 3rd Congressional District on the Independent Congressional Redistricting Commission, speaks during Saturday's statewide redistricting commission meeting at the Durango Public Library. (Jerry McBride\/Durango Herald)<\/span>Jerry McBride<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/p>

Lori Schell, who represents Durango and the 3rd Congressional District on the Independent Congressional Redistricting Commission said one of the main issues the commissions have been hearing about at public hearings is water rights, as well as which direction large swaths of the state should be split up.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe big issue we\u2019re right now considering is is it east-west or north-south,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

While the idea was unpopular among those who chose to speak at the La Plata County hearing, commissioners said the idea of a congressional district spreading across the southern half of the state \u2013 much of which is comprised of agricultural land \u2013 was advanced at a hearing in Alamosa on Friday.<\/p>\n

Several changes to the preliminary legislative redistricting maps drew heavy support at the Durango hearing.<\/p>\n