Colorado GOP Object To Democratic Legislative Maps

DENVER (AP) -- Colorado Republicans on Thursday urged the state Supreme Court to reject Democratic-drawn legislative maps that the GOP calls "politically vindictive" because they pair Republican incumbents in the same districts.

Republicans said in the court filing that the proposed maps don't meet constitutional criteria and were politically driven. The constitutional criteria include minimizing county splits -- which Democrats insist was their goal, not intentionally pitting Republican incumbents against each other for the same seat.

Some of the pairings include Republican leaders, most notably House Republican Leader Amy Stephens and Senate Republican Leader Bill Cadman, both of whom would be in El Paso County districts with members of their party.

State districts are redrawn every decade to reflect population changes. The process can get nasty because the maps have political implications for years.

Pairing Republican incumbents in contests next year could have major implications in Colorado's split Legislature. Democrats have a five-vote advantage in the Senate, and Republicans have a one-vote edge in the House.

The Colorado AFL-CIO submitted a brief in support of the maps, saying the process was fair and that the plans should be accepted. Mike Cerbo, the group's executive director and former Democratic state lawmakers, said it's difficult to please everyone when redrawing districts.

"There are challenges in any redistricting process, and it is a virtual certainty that there will be some who are disappointed by the outcome -- for personal, policy, or political reasons," Cerbo wrote in court documents.

In their court filing, Republicans said Democrats on an 11-member bipartisan commission charged with drawing new districts were given more time to create maps and that the panel voted to thwart GOP efforts to present amendments and maps that Republicans consider superior.

Republicans cite emails between a nonpartisan staff member and two commissioners, one from each party. The Democratic commissioner was told maps could be submitted over the weekend before the group met to discuss and vote on plans, but the Republican was given an earlier deadline.

Republicans argue that Democrats took advantage of that communication to submit plans at the last minute, although it's unknown whether the nonpartisan staffer intentionally misled the Republican commissioner.

Democrats have argued that Republicans submitted late plans, too. The commission approved maps for the state House and Senate on a 6-5 vote, with the panel's unaffiliated chair siding with Democrats.

The maps were the second set the commission has submitted to the court. The court said the previous proposals unnecessarily split too many counties.

The state Supreme Court needs to approve the maps by next week. Because of the short deadline, Republicans are asking the court to accept maps that the GOP wanted redistricting commissioners to consider.

Republicans argue that the maps the commission approved and sent to the court earlier this month include splits in the House and Senate that could have been avoided, including in Gunnison, Boulder, Weld and Arapahoe counties.

Several groups filed arguments Thursday in opposition and in support of the proposed Democratic maps. Republican commissioners submitted to the court a 243-page minority report, which the redistricting panel voted against including during its final meeting.

"The objections to the maps submitted by the Democrat majority are simply stated: these maps are ill-intentioned, hyper-partisan and constitutionally flawed," Colorado Republican Chairman Ryan Call said in a statement.

By Ivan Moreno, AP Writer (© Copyright 2011 The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.)