City corrects information in Backyard newsletter regarding redistricting

COMMERCE CITY – On June 1, City Council approved a new realignment of the city’s four wards to comply with state and federal requirements. The new realignment keeps the wards compact and evenly populated.

The need for realignment came about after the city’s annexation of the northern enclave, located between the Union Pacific Railroad on the west, the Burlington Northern Railroad on the east, East 88th Avenue on the south and East 112th Avenue on the North. Since the annexation, the city clerk’s office has been working with the city’s GIS Division of the Information Technology Department to incorporate the annexed areas into the city’s wards to meet federal and state requirements.

Other than the northern enclave annexation, those areas that were unincorporated prior to the ward realignment are still outside city boundaries and considered a part of Adams County.

“The reapportionment is necessary in order for Commerce City to meet state and federal requirements,” City Clerk Laura Bauer said. “The main reason to realign the wards is to make sure the city’s population is evenly distributed between all the wards.”

The new realignment keeps each ward’s population within 10 percent of each other, Bauer added. The following lists the city’s wards and their new populations:

Ward - Council member - Est. pop.
Ward I: Jaquith 8,612
Ward II: Benson 9,240
Ward III: Drotar 8,925
Ward IV: Snyder 9,475

The realignment of the wards is based on Colorado and Supreme Court laws:

• Wards have a standard deviation of population of no more than 10 percent between the smallest and largest districts;
• No part of one district can be completely separated from another part of the same district; and,
• Each ward must consist of one or more whole general election precincts.

The city last realigned its wards in 2006, and by state law, cities can realign their districts every six years. The city’s recent annexation and de-annexation, however, compelled the city to realign the wards in 2009 to be in compliance with state law.