Southwest Colorado voters will get their only chance to sound off on the shape of their state legislative districts Friday evening when the Colorado Reapportionment Commission visits Durango for a public hearing.
Testimony from residents will be used to draw the map that will be used for the next 10 years.
In June, the commission adopted a draft map that mostly follows the current one, with Archuleta, La Plata and San Juan counties joining the most populous parts on Montezuma County in State House District 59.
But the panel could change its decision, and Democrats are urging it to split Durango away from Cortez to create a district for Durango, Telluride and Pagosa Springs. Cortez would join the Montrose-centered House District 58.
The change would mean trouble for freshman Rep. J. Paul Brown, R-Ignacio, who would have to fight to hold District 59 if it traded Republican-heavy Cortez for Democratic Telluride.
Panel members have also discussed whether the two Ute tribes should be in the same district. Currently, they are in separate districts, but the Republican plan that the commission favored in June puts both reservations in District 59.
There was less controversy in June over the regions Senate District 6, currently held by Ellen Roberts, R-Durango. The eight-county district stretches from Pagosa Springs to Cortez to Montrose, and commissioners voted in June to leave it unchanged.
The Colorado Reapportionment Commission will take testimony from the public on the shape of Southwest Colorados legislative districts at 6 p.m. Friday at Fort Lewis College Noble Hall, Room 130, 1000 Rim Drive, Durango.
Reach Joe Hanel at joeh@cortezjournal.com.
