In a blow to Colorado Republicans that could affect election outcomes for the next decade, a judge has ruled in favor of a Democratic map that redraws congressional district lines.
In a ruling issued late Thursday, Denver District Judge Robert Hyatt said the “Moreno/South” Democratic map submitted at trial “most accurately reflected and preserved current communities of interest in 2011.”
Hyatt wrote that “the Moreno approach to redistricting Colorado will also produce the maximum amount of competition of any of the realistically proffered maps in at least three districts — the 3rd, the 6th and the 7th.”
“Each of those districts contains significant Latino populations, giving that group a major role in the decision about who will represent them in Congress,” Hyatt wrote. “Thus, not only does the Moreno mapping approach reflect Colorado’s current communities of interest, it holds the real possibility that voters will be as engaged in the electoral process as possible.”
Republicans can appeal the ruling to the state Supreme Court, and a final ruling is expected before Dec. 15 to allow county clerks time to redraw precincts. State GOP chairman Ryan Call said the party would decide today whether to appeal.
He faulted the Democratic map for dividing Douglas County and putting Larimer County in the 2nd Congressional District with Boulder.
“Time and time again, the courts continue to rule in favor of the Democrats in the context of redistricting,” Call said. “While Republicans in the state legislature attempted to forge a reasonable compromise to allow the legislature to fulfill its duty, Democrats blocked all attempts and bet that the court would give them yet another win. And the Democrats’ bet paid off.”
Attorney Mark Grueskin, who argued for Democrats, said Republican maps did not resemble the Colorado of 2011.
“The other plans reflected districts that were drawn 10 years ago,” Grueskin said. “So you had these amalgamations of voters that didn’t have a lot in common with one another. Now they do.”
Under the new congressional map, Larimer County — where active voter registration is 37 percent Republican, 28 percent Democrat and 33 percent unaffiliated — goes from the 4th Congressional District, now represented by Republican Cory Gardner, to the 2nd, represented by Democrat Jared Polis. Douglas County — where the voter tally is 51 percent GOP, 20 percent Democrat and 28 percent unaffiliated — would go from Republican Mike Coffman’s 6th to the 4th.
Meanwhile, rural areas of Adams and Arapahoe counties would move from Democrat Ed Perlmutter’s 7th and 6th congressional districts to the 4th. The mix of Adams County voters is about 36 percent Democrat, 31 percent Republican and 31 percent unaffiliated. In Arapahoe, it’s 33 percent Democrat, 37 percent Republican and 28 percent unaffiliated.
State Senate President Brandon Shaffer, D-Longmont, is running for the 4th Congressional District against Gardner. Shaffer would get to stay in the 4th under the new map, though one Democratic map at one point had placed him in the 2nd.
Congressional candidates do not have to live in the districts they represent, but living elsewhere would be a significant handicap in a campaign.
In the 6th Congressional District, Coffman had enjoyed a safe GOP district that now would be competitive. U.S. Rep. Scott Tipton, a Republican from Cortez, represents the 3rd Congressional District, which would remain competitive.
The legislature must redraw congressional boundaries every 10 years to reflect population shifts over the past decade. The 2011 legislature was unable to come to agreement.
In his ruling, Hyatt recognized the difficulty of the legislature’s task, saying, “It is small wonder that consensus was elusive.”
“Redrawing any district lines necessarily means disappointing citizens and interest groups no matter how those lines are drawn,” Hyatt wrote. “That is a regrettable fact of any redistricting process. It is just plain hard, in terms of labor and consequences.”
Tim Hoover: 303-954-1626 or thoover@denverpost.com
