The two-member majority of Douglas County’s elected leaders has removed the third commissioner from several boards that oversee community organizations, a move she called “personal political retribution.”

“For nearly two years now, (Abe) Laydon and (George) Teal have conspired and collaborated to silence my voice and prohibit me from executing my fiduciary duty to act in the interests of the residents of Douglas County, including the almost 129,000 voters who re-elected me in November 2020 by an 18-point margin,” Commissioner Lora Thomas wrote in a February newsletter.

The removals come amid what Thomas called “constant personal attacks and antagonism, including being investigated twice with absolutely no findings of any wrongdoing,” she wrote in another recent newsletter. The changes in power raise issues for her ability to represent her area of Douglas County, the newsletter argued.

County commissioner District III is the only district with a lack of city- or town-level elected officials to represent their interests, such as overseeing property development or other roles, the newsletter argued. That’s Thomas’ area, largely made up of Highlands Ranch. 

Laydon, the commissioner for District I, or northeast Douglas County, said the concerns are “wildly inaccurate,” noting the commissioners are all elected at large.

In Douglas County, the commissioners are required to reside in different districts, but voters throughout the entire county cast ballots for each seat.

“Each of us represents the entire county, and each of us is intimately familiar through decades of living and working here with the needs of our local boards,” Laydon said.

Several leadership seats change

In the early February newsletter, Thomas pointed to “the fourth time in just a few weeks that I have been replaced on boards” on which she says she has long served.

Laydon and Teal recently voted to remove her from leadership on entities including the following, Laydon told Colorado Community Media.

• The Northwest Douglas County Chamber and Economic Development Corporation, a group that represents the local business community;

• The Mile High Flood District, which oversees matters such as flood management, stream mitigation and stormwater around the Denver region;

• And the 18th Judicial District Forfeiture Board. (“Forfeiture” relates to property involved in a criminal or legal matter, according to an explainer on the U.S. Treasury Department website.)

The Douglas County commissioners collectively sit on about 40 boards, according to Laydon.

Usually in January each year, the county commissioners decide which of their colleagues to appoint to boards that oversee outside entities, Laydon said.

“I was … removed from the Northwest Douglas County EDC, which is wholly within my Commissioner District,” Thomas wrote in a newsletter. “Teal will also take my place on this board despite the fact that he does not live nor work in NW Douglas County.”

Teal has not responded to Colorado Community Media callss for comments asking why he vote in favor of  removing Thomas from serving on boards.

For more specifics about the investigations Thomas is referring to, see Colorado Community Media’s previous story at tinyurl.com/legaldisputes.