Secession: “North Colorado” Informational Meetings Wrap Up

As the Fort Collins Coloradoan's Erin Udell reports:

Northern Colorado residents spoke both in support and opposition of a proposed split between Weld County and the state of Colorado Wednesday night — wrapping up a series of public meetings held by the Weld County commissioners to gather citizen input on the possibility of a 51st state.

About 90 people gathered at Ault-Pierce Fire Station 1 to express their opinions, commend the commissioners and offer up alternative solutions at the fourth and final meeting. The previous three took place in Evans, Fort Lupton and Longmont late last week and early this week…

Mike Danielson, a third-generation farmer from Eaton, instead of showing support, said he thinks the whole idea of a split is “nonsense.” Danielson echoed his wife Beth’s thoughts. Earlier in the meeting Beth Danielson spoke out to oppose the proposed secession, calling it an “inane and arrogant plan” adding that “not everyone in rural Weld County agrees with you.”

We've seen a steady stream of news stories on the "North Colorado" secession movement this summer, primarily the brainchild of members of the Weld County Commission but at least paid lip service to by other elected officials in rural Colorado counties. The tone of these stories is generally the same, admitting the "unlikely" success of a movement to secede from the state of Colorado but playing up the "disconnect" between rural areas and the major population center of the urbanized Front Range. Republican politicians like new House Minority Leader Brian DelGrosso point to the secessionists as a sign that Coloradans are ready for a "change in direction." Rural desires to secede from the tyrannical rule of that evil remote place known as Denver are supposed to be "taken seriously," insofar as they underscore the "frustration" the people of rural Colorado are feeling.

It's time to call this what it is: a steaming pile of embarrassing nonsense. The "plight" of rural Coloradans, the "tyranny" imposed by a few modest gun safety bills–or, heaven forbid, in increase from 10% to 20% of the mix of renewable energy in their electricity–sounds objectively ridiculous once it's explained. Rural elected officials feel like they carry "less weight" in Denver compared to counties with one hundred times the population, apparently ignorant of the fact that that's the way it should be. The proposed "alternative" solution to secession, electing legislators by county instead of by population, in addition to being unconstitutional, gets to the ugly heart of the matter: these people think rural citizens should count for more than urban citizens.

Conflicts between urban and rural areas of the state are nothing new. The new development here is irresponsibility from rural elected officials in addressing that conflict. Whether they are caught up in a reactionary craze, or exploiting it out of political ambition, the elected officials pushing these nonsensical, unworkable secession proposals are doing both their constituents and their stated goals a profound disservice.

As entertaining as it all may be, this really needs to be noted for the record.

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“North Colorado” Secession Plan Sputters, Gets Even Wackier

One of several proposed North Colorado state flags (via Progress Now).

The Denver Post's Adrian Garcia updates on the plot by a number of rural northeastern Colorado counties to secede from the state of Colorado, and form their own new state of "North Colorado." Apparently, and it's not like anybody could have predicted this, but the original plan to secede is not really working out so much:

Fervor for a plan to carve northeastern Colorado into a 51st state has been cooled by legal barriers and a lack of public support, [Pols emphasis] but commissioners from rural counties say they're not done fighting for better representation of their citizens…

[T]he counties now are contemplating the Phillips County Proposal, which would change the way state House districts are represented at the Capitol.

The plan, offered by Phillips County Administrator Randy Schafer, would have representatives elected by county, rather than by population.

That's right, folks, kind of like the U.S. Senate, rural northeast Colorado county commissioners, since outright secession isn't working out like they planned, would now like to turn the Colorado General Assembly into a body elected by county boundaries–not the precisely equal population distribution that guides the legislative reapportionment process every ten years in Colorado, most recently in 2011.

Of course, equal representation of states in the U.S. Senate is one thing, and that is itself not without controversy despite being the express constitutional intent of the Founding Fathers. The idea that Phillips County, Colorado (population 4,500) should be "equally represented" in the Colorado General Assembly with, say, Jefferson County (population 540,000), however, is ridiculous–and unconstitutional per the 1964 Supreme Court decision of Reynolds vs. Sims. If rural Colorado counties feel underrepresented today, imagine how Jefferson County residents would feel when told that a Phillips County vote should be worth ten Jefferson County votes in a legislative election.

It seems to us, folks, that proposing to devalue urban and suburban voters in order to be "fair" to rural voters is not much different from the offense rural voters claim against themselves. There's no going back: Colorado's population is changing, and it is urbanizing, and that does inevitably mean the power is shifting away from rural areas to population centers. In a society where everyone is equal, population is power and it always will be. Even most rural voters understand that, which explains the lack of public support for secession reported above. And they know that when you get down to it, Coloradans in Jefferson County aren't really that different from those in Phillips County.

That said, penny-ante rural politicians have an equal right to waste their time.

Full story: “North Colorado” Secession Plan Sputters, Gets Even Wackier

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