Colorado Reapportionment Commission (08/04/2011)

Final
STAFF SUMMARY OF MEETING

COLORADO REAPPORTIONMENT COMMISSION

Date:	08/04/2011	ATTENDANCE

Time:	06:00 PM to 07:13 PM	Atencio	E
		Berry	E
Place:	BOCC Meeting Room - Salida	Carroll	E
		Jones	E
This Meeting was called to order by		Loevy	X
	Salazar	Nicolais	E
		Salazar	X
This Report was prepared by		Tool	E
	Jessika Shipley	Witwer	X
		Webb	E
		Carrera	E
		X = Present, E = Excused, A = Absent, * = Present after roll call

Bills Addressed:		Action Taken:
Welcome and Introductions Public Testimony		- -

Note: This meeting summary is not an official record of the commission or of the meeting. It is not intended to serve as a transcript or minutes of the commission meeting. The audio recording of the meeting is the official record of the meeting. This summary may be used as a guide to the audio recording. To access the audio recording of a commission meeting, visit the Colorado Joint Legislative Library located in the State Capitol, Room 048 (basement/ground floor level). You will need to note the date, time, and location of the meeting to access the audio recording. Copies of the audio recordings may be obtained at the library if you bring with you blank, recordable compact discs or a flash drive. Librarians are on site and available to assist you with accessing an audio recording.

6:00 PM -- Welcome and Introductions

Commissioner Salazar, chair, called the commission to order. He made opening remarks about the process. Commissioners Loevy and Witwer introduced themselves.

6:02 PM

Troy Bratton, Colorado Reapportionment Commission Staff, read a prepared statement explaining the general process of redistricting (Attachment A).

6:07 PM -- Public Testimony

The following individuals testified:

6:08 PM -- Harry Kottcamp, representing himself, spoke about the redistricting of Grand County. He discussed the constitutional requirement for the preservation of communities of interest. He talked about communities of interest in Grand County and stressed that those communities share nothing in common with the communities of Boulder County. Mr. Kottcamp discussed ethnic, cultural, economic, trade, geographic, and demographic factors. He provided two letters from the Grand County Board of Commissioners to the commission regarding their dissatisfaction about the state redistricting process (Attachments B and C). He also provided copies of his written testimony (Attachment D). Commissioner Witwer indicated that the commission has received communication from a large number of Grand County residents. Mr. Kottcamp responded to questions from Commissioner Loevy regarding his opinion about creating swing districts and about the characteristics of Grand County. Commissioner Salazar asked about the inclusion of Gilpin County with Grand County. Mr. Kottcamp commented that combining Grand and Jackson counties would be acceptable. Commissioner Witwer spoke about the constitutional and Supreme Court directives to the commission. He read from the Hobbs opinion in In re Reapportionment of the Colo. Gen. Assembly, 45 P.3d 1237 (Colo. 2002), and talked about the prioritized list of factors that must be considered when redistricting.

6:29 PM

Commissioner Witwer commented extensively about the process that has been followed thus far in developing the current map. The members of the commission engaged Mr. Kottcamp in a discussion about the process and possible solutions to the issues raised by Mr. Kottcamp.

6:35 PM -- Kevin Bradley, representing himself, spoke about his desire to keep Fremont County whole. He discussed the portion of proposed House District 21 that includes the federal prison and expressed his opinion that the district lines do not make sense. Discussion ensued about the combination of a portion of Fremont County with El Paso County. Mr. Bradley further spoke about proposed Senate District 2. Further discussion ensued about logical combinations of counties and about the inability of incarcerated individuals to vote.

6:59 PM -- Dave Williams, representing himself, spoke about House District 60. He discussed the differences between the current House District 60 and the proposed House District 60. He expressed his opinion that the proposed district is preferable. He also talked about the differences between the current and proposed Senate District 5. Discussion ensued about communities of interest and competitiveness in Senate District 5.

7:13 PM

Commissioner Salazar thanked everyone for their input and adjourned the meeting.