The Spot: Latino and Black politicians worry constituents will be redistricted out of a strong voice

Nothing is acceptable successful chromatic yet, but erstwhile and existent Colorado legislators are disquieted astir the statehouse’s preliminary redistricting maps, which they judge volition alteration practice and voices of communities of color.

The projected legislative boundaries volition importantly decrease Latino populations successful districts similar Democratic Rep. Serena Gonzales-Gutierrez’s, which is House District 4 successful northwest Denver. She besides believes the maps could mean losing Latino legislators astatine a clip they’re not proportional to the state’s Latino colonisation of 21%.

The country has already seen a simplification due to the fact that of gentrification, she said. And adjacent though her spot and others similar House District 5 and Senate Districts 32 and 34 are considered Democratic strongholds, Latino lawmakers volition apt look superior opponents.

Former Denver politician and ex-state legislator Wellington Webb told Colorado’s Legislative Redistricting Commission earlier this week that the preliminary maps besides dilute practice for the city’s Black communities.

“There is simply a historical assemblage of involvement that runs from the neighborhoods of North Park Hill each the mode to Welton and California Streets successful Five Points,” Webb said successful a statement. “To disagreement them is to clutter the assemblage voices successful the receptor of that legislator, and hazard marginalizing those communities for important legislative debates astir housing, gentrification, transgression justness and education.

Wellington argued that the maps dainty Denver voters arsenic “the forgotten stepchild of Colorado.”

But Montrose GOP Rep. Sen. Don Coram told The Denver Post that for “years and years and years,” it was agrarian Colorado that “got the abbreviated extremity of the stick.”

Coram said helium worked connected legislature redistricting a decennary agone and the process is overmuch amended present than it was then. He believes galore of the issues successful the preliminary maps volition beryllium worked retired done the nationalist process (which involves respective hearings), and the complaints are coming excessively early.

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Top Line

Hyoung Chang, The Denver Post

A shopper wears a disguise astatine a Denver King Soopers connected May 7, 2020. (Hyoung Chang, The Denver Post)

Mask up, the national authorities is suggesting for astir of Colorado’s counties. Delta is connected the rise. The Post’s Meg Wingerter and Jessica Seaman person more.

Capitol Diary

Just the links

• Colorado’s EMS services are underfunded and overworked, and astatine hazard of going away.
• The authorities is paying societal media influencers to advocator for COVID-19 vaccines.
• The Delta variant has prompted Colorado to alteration its rules for unvaccinated radical successful nursing homes.
• There’s a renewed propulsion to sphere the once-booming agrarian Black assemblage of Dearfield, CPR reports.

Federal authorities • By Justin Wingerter

From Seibert to Congress

A fewer months back, folks successful the Eastern Plains municipality of Seibert (population ~200) discovered their lone market store had closed overnight. Despite a run by residents, Seibert Supers remains closed. Seibert’s Republican congressman wants to bash thing astir that.

Rep. Ken Buck is cosponsoring a measure by Democratic Rep. Steve Cohen, a progressive from Memphis. It would summation taxation breaks for companies that unfastened market stores successful nutrient deserts and breaks that market stores person for hiring locals, veterans and disadvantaged workers. It would besides make a caller taxation recognition for stores that merchantability caller fruits and vegetables.

Bruce Talbott, president of the Colorado Fruit and Vegetable Growers Association, said successful a connection that “encouraging market stores to found oregon enactment successful concern successful underserved areas done taxation incentives is bully nationalist policy.” He besides supports the caller taxation recognition idea.

Cohen introduced a akin bill successful 2019 but it did not person a Republican cosponsor and ne'er made it retired of committee. (Observers of Colorado authorities mightiness retrieve Cohen for making questionable claims astir U.S. Rep. Lauren Boebert supporting the Jan. 6 rioters.)

Buck, who’s arsenic blimpish arsenic they come, has blazed a bipartisan streak recently, joining forces with Democrats connected Big Tech reform and preservation of the Amache internment site. That matters, due to the fact that precise fewer bills go instrumentality without bipartisan enactment successful Congress.

More national governmental news

• During her Denver visit, Interior Secretary Deb Haaland pledged a national effect to drought and clime change.
• Republicans privation Colorado’s U.S. senators to play hard shot and support the Bureau of Land Management office successful the state, Colorado Public Radio reports.

David Zalubowski, The Associated Press

Haze obscures the skyline arsenic motorists caput southbound connected Interstate 25 astatine the intersection with Interstate 70 connected July 26, 2021, successful Denver. Smoke from galore wildfires crossed the interior West has funneled fume into Colorado, forcing officials to contented ozone alerts. (David Zalubowski, The Associated Press)

Mile High Politics • By Erica Hunzinger

A clime note

If you’re speechmaking this aft 4 p.m. Thursday, you’ve apt gotten an alert connected your telephone astir different precocious ozone “action day.” If so, past the Front Range knocked down a grounds it’s been mounting since past Friday, making it 25 days successful a enactment of precocious ozone alerts.

Post workfellow Bruce Finley reported past week connected significant spikes successful ozone pollution successful July unsocial — from 104 parts per cardinal (34 ppb supra the national wellness limit) astatine Chatfield State Park to adjacent 76 ppb astatine Rocky Mountain National Park.

Another Post colleague, Meg Wingerter, elaborate what ozone, the levels of which summation arsenic the time gets warmer, can bash to your health.

So what tin you do? Walk alternatively of drive. Consolidate errands. Hold disconnected connected filling your state vessel until the morning, erstwhile levels are lower. And you person the state’s support and encouragement not to mow your tract (if you person a gas-powered mower) erstwhile it’s blistery and hazy.

More Denver & suburban news

• Denver Mayor Michael Hancock gave his annual State of the City speech, focusing connected homelessness, policing and his projected $450 cardinal bonding measure.
• One portion of the mayor’s petition is simply a caller arena astatine the National Western Complex. About the outgo of that …
• The fares are excessively d*mn high! At least, that’s what a caller study says astir RTD, suggesting the nationalist transit bureau little them to bring riders back.
• Nederland (and a fewer different U.S. cities) privation you to see whether nature has rights.
• The All-Star Game brought a batch of radical to Denver, and apparently immoderate COVID, too.

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