La Plata County commissioners approved redrawn district boundaries in a unanimous vote Tuesday.
The new commissioner districts do not affect representation; all three commissioners serve at-large, meaning eligible electors can vote across districts and the commissioners represent all of the county. But candidates must reside in the district corresponding to the seat for which they are running.
The new district lines, approved at the recommendation of County Clerk and Recorder Tiffany Lee, extend the southern third of District 3’s western boundary – everything south of County Road 300 – west to align with U.S. Highway 550.
This means that some residents who resided in the affected area will now find themselves in District 1, rather than District 3. District 1 is represented by Clyde Church, who was elected to his second and final four-year term in November 2022.
District 3 is represented by Matt Salka, who was first elected in November 2020.
Redistricting became necessary because Colorado law states that there may be no more than a 5% deviation between districts and the population difference between Districts 1 and 3 was 7.56%.
Only 569 voters are affected by the change.
The new lines also change the boundary of one voter precinct and create one new precinct.
Although Lee performed more public outreach than was required, input was scant.
She held three public events on the redistricting, two of which had one attendee each. Nobody attended a third event.
BOCC chair Marsha Porter-Norton applauded Lee’s excessive outreach to the public and said the process “has been very thorough.”
Lee will make adjustments in the county’s voter roles before notifying the Secretary of State and sending notices to the affected voters.
rschafir@durangoherald.com
