Colorado Redistricting Proposal: A Temporary Power Grab

The Colorado Sun reports on a new redistricting ballot proposal from a group calling itself Coloradans for a Level Playing Field, and the whole thing screams “national political operation in a local costume.” The proposal would ask voters to temporarily override Colorado’s independent congressional redistricting commission for the 2028 and 2030 elections, then return to the commission process in 2032.

Paul is very clear about what’s going on: the group’s funders are unclear, it will take millions just to gather signatures, and the group is already rolling out maps designed to shove Colorado into the national gerrymandering knife fight. Their spokesperson even admits independent redistricting is “the ideal,” but then says Trump and MAGA Republicans are “rigging” elections, so Colorado must “take action.” Translation: independent redistricting is the gold standard until it isn’t convenient.

The Bullet Point Brief

This proposal would override the independent commission voters enshrined in the constitution in 2018, but only for two election cycles. Temporary power grabs are still power grabs.
The group’s donors are unknown for now. The article says they formed Feb. 4 as a state issue committee and won’t have to report donors until May. Trust us, they say, while hiding the checkbook.
The proposed map would put Democrats in position to win seven of eight seats in 2028 and 2030, up from the four they hold now, by making it easier for Democrats to flip the 3rd, 5th, and 8th districts.
The article ties the group to Democratic interests through names and firms: the registered agent is Rachel Gordon, described as a Democratic political operative, and Hilltop Public Solutions, a Democratic political firm, is working on the measures.
The pitch is shamelessly national: House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries is quoted discussing a “redistricting war” and being willing to spend whatever it takes, after Trump urged GOP-led states to redraw maps and after California Democrats redrew their map via a ballot measure. This is not Colorado’s grassroots. This is the national arms race coming to your front door.

My Bottom Line

This. Just. Reeks.

“Coloradans for a Level Playing Field” is the kind of name you pick when you want to sound wholesome while you do something very not-wholesome. And the Sun is blunt: the funders are unclear, the money required is massive, and the operation is clearly tied to Democratic interests.

Here’s what makes me want to throw up a little. For years, the same crowd under the Gold Dome has told counties like Weld, “Sit down. Shut up, Commissioner. We know better than the people. Independent commissions are the gold standard.” I’ve been fighting to defend Weld County’s Home Rule Charter and what our voters have said about redistricting. And the posture from Denver is always the same: your local decision-making is quaint, now let the grown-ups handle it.

Now suddenly, independent redistricting is not the gold standard anymore. Why? Trump. That’s what the group’s spokesman says out loud in the article. Independent redistricting is “ideal,” but when national politics gets spicy, the constitution can take a back seat.

That is hypocrisy with a smile. A moral center that spins like a weather vane.

And yes, I’m open-minded about reforms. But if Weld County citizens want to change how we handle our own redistricting, they should decide that through our home rule process, not because a pile of outside money cooked up a “temporary” constitutional end-run to grab seats for two cycles. The whole point of home rule is local control. The whole point of an independent commission is to get politicians’ fingers off the scale. This proposal is literally asking voters to put the fingers back on, just for the “right” team.

Be aware: the article itself says it will take millions just to gather signatures, and that’s before the real spending begins. This is where the dark money comes in. This is where the glossy mailers show up. This is where they try to convince regular Coloradans that a blatant power play is actually “fairness.”

Play stupid games, win stupid prizes. If Colorado keeps letting national operatives use our constitution like a scratch-off ticket, we are going to get exactly what we deserve: more division, more cynicism, and a state run by people who believe rules are sacred only when the rules help them win.

Source: The Colorado Sun