The 11-person panel charged with redrawing the boundaries of legislative districts will have to balance growth in northern Colorado and on the Western Slope with population declines on the Eastern Plains and in rural areas.
The process of legislative reapportionment, not to be confused with congressional redistricting, will decide the district lines for the state’s 65 House and 35 Senate seats for the next 10 years.
The commission must hold public hearings and submit maps to the Colorado Supreme Court by Oct. 7.
Population has increased rapidly along the northern Front Range, which grew by 27 percent over a decade, and on the Western Slope, which grew by 20 percent in the same period, Elizabeth Garner, the state’s demographer, told commissioners Monday. Meanwhile, population growth is slow or in decline along the Eastern Plains and in some rural counties in the state.
Many observers believe it’s likely Jefferson County will lose a House seat, while Adams, Weld and Douglas counties will pick up representation. The Eastern Plains may lose a House seat.
Garner said Colorado’s population as a whole grew 16.9 percent from 2000 to 2010, while the Latino population grew 41.2 percent, increasing its share of the overall population from 17 percent to 20 percent. However, Asians were the fastest-growing ethnic group in the state, increasing 45 percent over the decade.
Meanwhile, the white, non-Latino population decreased from 74.5 percent of the population to 70 percent.
The 11-member panel is made up of people appointed by the governor, lawmakers and the chief justice of the Colorado Supreme Court.
Gov. John Hickenlooper, a Democrat, appointed former state Rep. Gayle Berry, R-Grand Junction; former Denver Mayor Wellington Webb, a Democrat; and Arnold Salazar, a Democrat from Alamosa.
House Speaker Frank McNulty, R-Highlands Ranch, appointed former Rep. Rob Witwer, R-Evergreen, while Senate Minority Leader Mike Kopp, R-Littleton, appointed Mario Nicolais, an attorney with the Hackstaff Law Group. The Republicans’ picks were notable because, unlike prior picks, they were not sitting lawmakers.
Meanwhile, Senate President Brandon Shaffer, D-Longmont, appointed Sen. Morgan Carroll, D-Aurora, while House Minority Leader Sal Pace, D-Pueblo, appointed Rep. Matt Jones, D-Louisville.
Colorado Supreme Court Chief Justice Michael Bender’s appointments included Dolores Atencio, a Democrat from Denver and lawyer at Garcia Calderon Ruiz, LLP; Mario Carrera, an unaffiliated voter from Parker who is the vice president and general manager of Entravision Communications Corp.; Robert Loevy, a Republican from Colorado Springs and a professor of political science and American government at Colorado College; and former state Rep. Steve Tool, R-Windsor.
The commission held its second meeting Monday and next meets May 23.
Tim Hoover: 303-954-1626 or thoover@denverpost.com
