County commissioners approve new districts
The Weld County commissioners on Wednesday morning approved changes to the county’s three districts despite accusations the county’s process for drawing the new boundaries violated state law.
After receiving nearly 50 written comments opposing the map and just one written comment supporting it, the commissioners approved the change, which moves three precincts in Longmont and Dacono from District 2 to 3 and makes no other changes to the map.
Commissioners Mike Freeman, Scott James, Kevin Ross and Perry Buck voted to approve the proposed map, and Commissioner Lori Saine abstained, citing her potential candidacy for District 3.
Freeman represents District 1 and is term-limited. James represents District 2 and could run for a third term in 2026.
Critics of the county’s new districts said the map continues a decades-long practice of gerrymandering and violates a state law passed in 2021 that outlines the redistricting process for counties.
The law, titled “County Commissioner Districts Gerrymandering,” requires counties with commissioner districts to create a redistricting commission that must abide by certain rules of transparency and outreach as well as follow certain criteria for the new districts. The criteria include maximizing the number of competitive districts and preserving communities of interest and political subdivisions, such as cities and towns.
Weld County Attorney Bruce Barker, after public comments at Wednesday morning’s regular meeting that pointed out the county did not follow the new law, told the commissioners nothing in the law states home rule counties must comply. Barker said the county indicated to the bill’s sponsor before it became law that home rule counties weren’t included and that the bill was never adjusted to include home rule counties.
Barker said the Colorado Constitution gives home rule counties the ability to establish how the county is organized and the way it’s structured, including how districts are set up.
The law, however, doesn’t explicitly exempt home rule counties, either. In fact, the bill’s fiscal note, a statement prepared by Legislative Council Staff explaining the estimated fiscal impact, names Weld County as one of three counties affected by the legislation. A May 2020 document by Legislative Council Staff, the nonpartisan research arm of the state’s General Assembly, states home rule counties’ charters are limited regarding election provisions to “matters related to procedures for submitting ballot measures and recalling elected officials.”
Some opponents of the new map said Weld’s home rule status does not exempt it from the law. Given the dispute over whether the state law applies to the county, it’s possible someone may take the county to court over the issue. County residents who disagree with the process could also petition for a ballot measure to change the county charter’s process for redistricting, Barker noted.
Barb Whinery, a spokeswoman for the League of Women Voters Greeley-weld County, said the local league is keeping in close contact with the League of Women Voters of Colorado as they try to decide the next steps. The Greeley-weld League opposed the map, citing concerns about potential violation of state law and calling the commissioners’ voting on the map that impacts their jurisdictions “a major conflict of interest.”
“We’re certainly going to get more clarification on the state law and how it applies to home rule,” Whinery told the Greeley Tribune after the vote. “We had to take a first step someplace, and that was it.”
Greeley City Councilman Tommy Butler criticized in particular the division of Greeley into all three commissioner districts, including the Latino population in east Greeley, which falls into District 1 with the northern half of Weld County. Much of west Greeley is in District 2, which includes communities along the I-25 corridor south to Colo. 52. Southeast Greeley is in District 3, with the rest of the county.
Butler called the proposed map “plainly gerrymandering.”
The commissioners stood behind the process, including Saine, who said it was the first time she’d heard any negative feedback throughout the entire process. Ross, Buck and James argued the splitting of Greeley across three districts helps foster a good urban-rural mix for representation at the county level. Freeman said this year, his 11th as a county commissioner, is the first time less than two of the commissioners live in Greeley. Buck is a resident of Greeley.
Before the vote, James read over the county charter’s section on commissioner districts. The charter states there are three districts, that the board shall review the boundaries when necessary but not more often than every two years and that it shall revise and alter the boundaries so the districts are nearly equal in population as possible.
“That is our instructions, as per our charter, which is what we follow, and we have followed our instructions,” James said.