Letters, April 29: Say no to home rule; Transparency talk rings hollow

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Letters to the editor at Colorado Community Media, April 29, 2025

Douglas County is at a crossroads, and the push for home rule presents a serious risk to transparent, balanced, and representative government. While the idea of home rule may sound like a chance for “local control,” the reality is far more troubling — especially given the rushed and opaque process being led by our current commissioners.

Home rule would allow our county to write its own charter — essentially a local constitution — and reshape everything from how elections are run to how taxes are managed. But the issue isn’t just what could change; it’s how it’s being done.

Commissioners George Teal, Kevin Van Winkle, and Abe Laydon are barreling ahead without public input, committing $500,000 in taxpayer dollars to push a plan most residents haven’t even been consulted about. They’re using less than half the legally allotted time — from July to October — to draft an entirely new government system that could fundamentally alter how Douglas County operates for decades. All of this is being done behind closed doors, with a charter commission made up of handpicked allies.

Out of 64 counties in Colorado, only two adopted home rule — and that was back in the 1970s. Why the sudden rush now? What’s the emergency?

The proposed charter could concentrate power in the hands of a few, weaken public oversight, and leave room for vague legal language that strips citizens of accountability and recourse. Imagine a future where commissioners appoint themselves or their allies to boards, eliminate independent oversight, and consolidate departments without checks or balances — all while reducing transparency and public input.

This is not hypothetical. We’ve already seen attempts to override normal appointment processes, like with the county library board. Home rule could make such overreach permanent.

Douglas County is already functioning well under our current system. This effort appears more like a political maneuver than a genuine attempt at better governance. A new charter could be written to serve a narrow agenda, not the broad interests of a rapidly growing community.

If home rule passes without a deliberate, transparent, and community-led process, we risk handing over far too much power to too few people — with no easy way to take it back.

Let’s not gamble with our future. Vote no on home rule in the June 24 election.

Constance Ingram

Highlands Ranch

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The Cabal of Douglas County Commissioners and their entourage have repeatedly shown all the cards … standing tall next to Donald Trump and kowtowing to his MAGAn tribalism and ideology.

Just as soon as The CABAL returned from D.C. and the inauguration (on the taxpayers’ dime, of course), they latched onto Trump’s tribal patterns and gish-gallop governance tactics as their own.

The local redirection wasn’t a surprise, but it was an unnatural development, nonetheless.

The Cabal’s combination of arrogance and testosterone set the path to the Trumpistanian method — operating away from the light of day, making self-interested decisions, and snuggling up to those invited into the cocoon.

Has the Cabal overstretched its stubby wings? Seems so.

Sidling up to Trump’s dog whistles is turning out to be an ethical and moral dead end, even in a red county, carrying the political equivalent of a boat anchor.

More importantly, when The Cabal blows the official horn of transparency and engagement … it sounds like a solitary toot in the wind.

Lloyd Guthrie

Roxborough Park