Former Commissioner Sues Douglas County Over Secret Home Rule Meetings

Three Douglas County residents who share little politically filed a lawsuit accusing the Board of County Commissioners of violating Colorado's open meetings law more than a dozen times since December while quietly advancing a plan to convert the county to a home rule entity.

Former Commissioner Lora Thomas, a Republican who left office in December, joined State Rep. Bob Marshall of House District 43, a Democrat, and registered-unaffiliated voter Julie Gooden in filing suit against Commissioners Abe Laydon, George Teal, and Kevin Van Winkle. The lawsuit asks a district court judge to order the board to stop violating Colorado's sunshine law and to invalidate decisions the plaintiffs say were "unlawfully made in the proverbial shadows of a smoke-filled back room."

At the center of the case is a March 25 special meeting at which the board adopted two resolutions formally placing home rule questions on the ballot. The plaintiffs argue commissioners had already decided to call the election through private discussions before that meeting, submitting an invoice and a letter to the court as evidence of those closed-door deliberations. The board gave only 24 hours of public notice, convened a 10-minute meeting that was not livestreamed as other county meetings routinely are, and adopted the resolutions without taking public comment.

Colorado law requires that any gathering where a quorum of three or more members discusses public business or potentially takes formal action must be open to the public, with 24-hour advance notice when a majority is expected to attend. Plaintiffs contend the board crossed that line on more than a dozen occasions beginning in December.

"For the past several months, the Douglas County Board of Commissioners has blatantly and willfully flouted this law established to ensure transparency of government at every level," the plaintiffs said in a news release. They also noted that converting a Colorado county to home rule has happened only twice in state history, and both times it was driven by citizen initiatives supported by dozens of public meetings.

The stakes are significant. A home rule charter would give Douglas County substantial authority to govern itself and allow county ordinances to generally supersede state laws. Commissioner Laydon framed that prospect as a matter of necessity at a March 25 press conference. "We will no longer sit back while the state government dictates policies that undermine our values, jeopardize our safety, and make it harder for hardworking families to afford to live and thrive here," he said.

The commissioners issued a statement calling the lawsuit an attempt to block the democratic process. "Legal action has been filed against Douglas County Commissioners by Lora Thomas, Rep. Bob Marshall, and Julie Gooden that intends to keep voters from voting," the statement read. "Commissioners are confident that the people of Douglas County will prevail in this attack on their right to vote on issues of independence and local control."

Thomas, who previously sued two former colleagues amid ongoing public disputes within county government, resigned her seat in December about five weeks before her term was set to expire. She said she was "forced out" by Laydon and Teal to allow incoming Commissioner Van Winkle to occupy her office early.

The lawsuit arrives alongside a separate controversy involving Commissioner Teal. On June 23, Teal said on KNUS radio that the opposition to home rule represented "a nationwide effort, funded by China, funded by a communist organization that is actually trying to work against the people of Douglas County having a say on local control issues." Teal later told 9NEWS he was referring to the "No Little Kings" political committee, led by Highlands Ranch oncologist Dr. Eiko Browning, who contributed approximately $14,000 of her own money to oppose the home rule measure.

Teal told Colorado Community Media he mentioned Browning "only in her capacity as the registered agent for the 'No Little Kings' issue committee, which was filed as a statewide, not a local, issue committee." His original remarks drew sharp pushback: at a July 8 county meeting, more than a dozen residents demanded a retraction even though the agenda contained no home rule items. Former commissioner candidate Angela Thomas presented a letter signed by more than 1,300 people condemning Teal's statements as "provocative and dangerous," and Browning called in remotely to ask that the claims be retracted.

Colorado Community Media noted that Douglas County was among governments informed of a federal investigation into coordinated "No Kings" rallies potentially involving a foreign government, but added that no claim has been made linking the Colorado-based "No Little Kings" campaign to that inquiry.

The cross-partisan composition of the plaintiffs' group, a Republican, a Democrat, and an unaffiliated voter, signals that the legal challenge is being framed as a governance dispute rather than a partisan one. Whether the district court agrees that the board's process was fatally flawed could determine whether the home rule questions remain on the ballot or are pulled before Douglas County voters get to decide.