{"id":47645,"date":"2021-03-31T14:58:55","date_gmt":"2021-03-31T20:58:55","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/new-effort-aims-to-ensure-county-commission-districts-are-drawn-fairly\/"},"modified":"2021-03-31T20:58:55","modified_gmt":"2021-03-31T20:58:55","slug":"new-effort-aims-to-ensure-county-commission-districts-are-drawn-fairly","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/new-effort-aims-to-ensure-county-commission-districts-are-drawn-fairly\/","title":{"rendered":"New effort aims to ensure county commission districts are drawn fairly"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

\"Pikes
Pikes Peak rises above downtown Colorado Springs. Access to the mountains makes Colorado a desirable place to live.<\/span>Mark Reis\/Special to The Colorado Sun<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/p>

El Paso County isn\u2019t as Republican as it used to be.<\/p>\n

Unaffiliated voters now make up the largest share of the county\u2019s registered voters at 43%, with Republicans coming in second with 36%. And that has translated into changes at the ballot box. In November, Democrat Joe Biden won nearly 43% of El Paso\u2019s vote, compared with Hillary Clinton, who won just 33% of the county\u2019s vote in 2016.<\/p>\n

Despite the shift, all five members of the El Paso County Board of County Commissioners are Republican. A Democrat hasn\u2019t held a seat on the panel since the 1970s.<\/p>\n

Now, El Paso County Democrats are seizing on a proposal from Democratic state lawmakers that they hope will give them more control over the redistricting process, which is currently overseen by county commissioners.<\/p>\n

Democrats have gained significant ground in El Paso County in recent years, electing two Democrats to the state House and Senate, said Robert Nemanich, a Colorado Springs resident who is active in the El Paso County Democratic Party.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe numbers are starting to speak for themselves,\u201d Nemanich said.<\/p>\n

Independent boards will redraw Colorado\u2019s legislative and congressional districts this year through a public process created by two constitutional amendments \u2014 Y and Z \u2014 voters approved in 2018. State law, however, has very few rules for how county commissions draw their districts. And that, some state lawmakers argue, leaves open the possibility for voters to get shut out and for political interests to steer the process.<\/p>\n

Legislation from Democratic state lawmakers would create a new set of guidelines for how county commissioner districts are drawn. House Bill 1047 would allow for the creation of independent commissions to conduct the process and hold public hearings, and specifies the factors that commissions must consider in redrawing local boundaries. It also adds language to prohibit gerrymandering.<\/p>\n

The bill is an attempt to take the rules for redistricting approved by voters under Amendments Y and Z and apply them to counties, said state Rep. Chris Kennedy, a Lakewood Democrat and one of the bill\u2019s prime sponsors. State Sen. Pete Lee, a Democrat from El Paso County, is also a prime sponsor.<\/p>\n

\"State
State Rep. Chris Kennedy, D-Lakewood, at the Colorado State Capitol on January 8, 2020 in Denver.<\/span>Kathryn Scott\/Special to The Colorado Sun)<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/p>

It\u2019s especially important as Colorado\u2019s population grows, Kennedy said. The counties that attract the most growth may consider expanding their number of elected representatives and redraw district boundaries as part of that process.<\/p>\n

\u201cI think that this will make sure that neither political party is able to hold advantage over these redistricting processes, and that it will be done fairly to ensure that the interests of the people are put ahead of the interests of the politicians,\u201d Kennedy said in a March 4 presentation to the House State, Civic, Military and Veterans Affairs Committee.<\/p>\n

The bill would currently affect just Arapahoe, El Paso and Weld counties, the three Colorado counties with five commissioners, where some or all are elected by district. Most other counties only have three members who just live in their district and run at-large.<\/p>\n

All three counties that would be affected by House Bill 1047 have taken neutral positions on the bill after proposed changes were made by Kennedy, but have expressed concerns about the legislation. A version of the bill introduced last year would have made the creation of an independent commission mandatory, but Kennedy removed that provision after facing major opposition from counties over the potential cost of that requirement.<\/p>\n

\u201cKnowing that Democrats control the House and Senate and governorship, we were concerned if we decided to take a strictly-opposed position it would be rammed through anyway,\u201d said El Paso County Commissioner Stan VanderWerf.<\/p>\n

Commissioners in Arapahoe County, where the board has three Democrats and two Republicans, have also raised concerns.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe think this is unnecessary and it singles out just three counties,\u201d said Nancy Jackson, the Democratic chair of the Arapahoe Board of County Commissioners. The legislation also adds language to prohibit commissions from approving maps that aim to protect incumbents, candidates or any political party, or which deliberately box out certain communities. Commissions must also, \u201cto the extent reasonably possible,\u201d consider maps that maximize the number of politically competitive districts.<\/p>\n

As more Colorado counties are poised to grow, Kennedy said the legislation would ensure transparency for both parties, rather than \u201crolling the dice on whether the other party is in power when it comes time to redistrict.\u201d<\/p>\n

The fact that El Paso County\u2019s board has long been occupied by one party speaks to a need to change the process, Democratic activists say.<\/p>\n

\u201cAs we grow as a population, we need increasingly more government administration \u2026 and instead of a diverse and competitive board of county commissioners, we have one party that is very ideologically bound,\u201d said Stephanie Vigil, an El Paso County Democrat who ran unsuccessfully for a Colorado House seat in November. Vigil lost to Republican Rep. Andy Pico, a former Colorado Springs city councilman.<\/p>\n

\u201cIn my mind, the sustainable path forward here is not to continue to put people in charge of redistricting, who cannot possibly be unbiased about it, wait for them to maybe do something wrong and then file a lawsuit,\u201d Vigil said.<\/p>\n

That\u2019s rankling the county\u2019s GOP commissioners and top elections official, who have pushed back at claims by Democrats that the board has drawn districts to protect its majority. El Paso County\u2019s commissioners see the legislation as another attempt by Democratic state lawmakers to insert themselves in a local issue.<\/p>\n

\u201cI guess the question I have is: What\u2019s broken?\u2019\u201d Chuck Broerman, El Paso County Clerk and Recorder, asked. \u201cAre the citizens being represented? I believe so \u2026 And how many years has this statute been in place, and it\u2019s worked well? I think this has a decidedly political taint to it.\u201d<\/p>\n

Few existing rules for Colorado counties<\/div>\n

In Colorado counties with fewer than 70,000 residents, county commissions have three elected members. Counties with a population of 70,000 or more can vote to expand the board to five representatives.<\/p>\n

Kennedy said he became interested in the issue when some advocates proposed expanding Jefferson County\u2019s board to five members to increase political representation for the growing county. A proposed ballot initiative didn\u2019t get enough signatures to move forward.<\/p>\n

House Bill 1047 zeros in on counties where commissioners are elected by district, said Kennedy, because that\u2019s the structure with the most potential for gerrymandering.<\/p>\n

State law has few requirements for what counties must consider when they conduct redistricting. In addition to following the federal Voting Rights Act \u2014 which prohibits racial discrimination in voting \u2014 state statutes only specify that districts must be drawn so they are \u201cas nearly equal in population as possible\u201d based on the latest federal census, and that they can\u2019t be redrawn more frequently than every two years.<\/p>\n

House Bill 1047 would add language to:<\/p>\n

Encourage, but not require, counties to create an independent redistricting commission<\/em>Create opportunities for public input, including criteria for public hearings and the opportunities for the public to propose and present maps <\/em>Prohibit improper communications between commissioners and commission staff<\/em>Require paid lobbyists to file disclosures<\/em>Establish priorities for the commissions to consider in drawing districts, including federal Voting Rights Act requirements, preserving communities of interest and political subdivisions, and maximizing the number of competitive districts<\/em>At a House committee hearing in March, counties raised concerns that the bill would create new, unfunded mandates for local government.<\/p>\n

\u201cOur board has been, and continues to be, overwhelmed with dealing with a plethora of issues in the pandemic,\u201d said Jackson, the Arapahoe commission chair.<\/p>\n

Kennedy made a number of changes to the legislation to address opposition from Arapahoe, El Paso and Weld counties, including eliminating a requirement that maps be reviewed by a judicial panel, which counties said would be costly and time-consuming.<\/p>\n

ep. Rod Bockenfeld, a Watkins Republican who has served as an Arapahoe County commissioner, argues county governments are more focused on the nuts-and-bolts of administration and don\u2019t have the kinds of partisan battles that consume other levels of government.<\/p>\n

He also questioned Democrats\u2019 claims of gerrymandering in El Paso County, given that the party hasn\u2019t filed any lawsuits challenging district maps.<\/p>\n

\u201cMy question is, in El Paso, if there is a concern why they didn\u2019t file a lawsuit or openly challenge those particular maps,\u201d Bockenfeld wondered.<\/p>\n

\u201cI don\u2019t like making laws for people who have the ability to challenge the law on their own,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n

Because existing law has few requirements for counties, it\u2019s difficult for parties to find grounds for a lawsuit, Kennedy said.<\/p>\n

Courts have also given commissions broad deference in redistricting, so long as they follow a transparent process and take in public input, said Scott Martinez, an elections attorney with Democratic ties.<\/p>\n

\u201cIf a commission follows an open and transparent process in drawing districts, then it\u2019s unlikely any lawsuit would be successful,\u201d Martinez said, \u201cbecause they would have taken in community testimony to really understand what the interests of the community are.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"Adams
Adams County Commissioner Steve O&#x2019;Dorisio wipes his brow during a lengthy public hearing about strengthened oil and gas regulations.<\/span>Amanda K. Clark\/Special to The Colorado Sun<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/p>

Broerman, the El Paso Clerk and Recorder, said his county has an open and transparent process that follows the state\u2019s requirements. In addition to equal population, local officials prioritize drawing districts that are easy to identify on a map and that have as little impact on voters as possible, such as big shifts that would change what district many voters cast a ballot in or what years they cast a ballot, he said.<\/p>\n

Maps proposed by the local Democratic Party in 2017 would have moved 22 precincts, which Broerman called \u201cpretty radical.\u201d<\/p>\n

He also argued that the county\u2019s demographics make it hard to find pockets of Democrats.<\/p>\n

\u201cI think it\u2019s going to be extremely hard to maximize competitiveness in El Paso County, much like it would be in Boulder or Denver. It\u2019s extremely difficult and creates, for the sake of that, wildly different looking districts,\u201d Broerman said. \u201cYou will move people from one district to another, they\u2019ll have to wait additional years to vote. \u2026 I think people don\u2019t like that type of stuff.\u201d<\/p>\n

The number of registered Republicans in El Paso County fell to 36% in January from 44% in January 2010, with unaffiliated voters growing to 43% of all voters over that same time period, a 10% gain.<\/p>\n

Nemanich, with the El Paso Democratic Party, said even if more voters are registering as unaffiliated, they\u2019re casting ballots for Democrats. He also pointed to a number of concentrated El Paso County communities that are majority Democratic, such as Manitou Springs and some Colorado Springs neighborhoods, such as Old Colorado City and parts of downtown.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe have more and more people moving into Colorado Springs and El Paso, they\u2019re registering as unaffiliated, and they\u2019re tending to vote six to four for Democrats,\u201d Nemanich said.<\/p>\n

Martinez, the election attorney, said the bill might be inconvenient for counties, but it puts the public\u2019s interests front and center.<\/p>\n

\u201cI think of this bill as a proactive bill to evolve the audience for redistricting to be the people, not the politicians,\u201d Martinez said.<\/p>\n

House Bill 1047 passed the Colorado House on a party-line vote. It\u2019s now under consideration in the state Senate, with its first hearing in the State, Veterans and Military Affairs committee on April 6.<\/p>\n

Read more at The Colorado Sun<\/em><\/p>\n

The Colorado Sun is a reader-supported, nonpartisan news organization dedicated to covering Colorado issues. To learn more, go to coloradosun.com.<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n

Read more at The Colorado Sun<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Dems: Protect process that could be vulnerable to political influence<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":47646,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[],"tags":[28],"naviga_topic":[],"class_list":["post-47645","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","tag-headlines"],"acf":[],"author_name":"dh_admin","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/47645","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=47645"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/47645\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/47646"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=47645"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=47645"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=47645"},{"taxonomy":"naviga_topic","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/naviga_topic?post=47645"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}