Lora Thomas's SPOTLIGHT 25-22
- Stop the Power Grab
- May 31
- 9 min read
Updated: Jun 3
An excerpt from former Commissioner Lora Thomas's Newsletter dated 5-31-25, #25-22
Hello!
It's been one really WILD week, with the Board of Commissioners trying to peddle home rule to the Highlands Ranch Metro District, the Douglas County Board of Education and...FINALLY!...the first "Town Hall" (you'll see the reason for the quotation marks below) that was held for the public in the County's Hearing room on Wednesday!
Now, about the Town Hall that was held on May 28--which really was the FIRST and ONLY meeting that commissioners held for the benefit of the residents -- there were NINE THOUSAND (Miss Information just loves saying that number!) folks online and many packed into the Hearing Room in-person. Guess what? The County Attorney, the commissioners and all of the county elected officers (except for Clerk and Recorder Sheri Davis, who's running the election) spent the big lion's share of the hour "speechafying" (credit to Kyle Clark for the word) at us in the room, leaving only enough time for a whole 7 -- S-E-V-E-N citizens (some obvious home rule supporters whose side was already well-represented on the dais) to ask questions.
What citizens (or in some cases, shills) were called on? The very first citizen Laydon approached was none other than Douglas County Republican Party Secretary Amanda Budimlya, wearing her "HOME RULE" hat, clearly identifying her as a "friendly." Laydon also called on retired Douglas County Sheriff's Commander Kevin Duffy (thinking he was a friendly) but Duffy surprised by HAMMERING the county attorney for "selling" home rule instead of presenting the facts about what it legally provides. Duffy said "You all have told us is that Douglas County is the healthiest, safest and most prosperous county in the state - why are you trying to change it with home rule?" Kurt Huffman, who lost to Democrat Bob Marshall who now represents Highlands Ranch in the General Assembly and is now relegated to erecting campaign signs for the commissioners, was another obvious home rule partisan who got tapped for a question. A woman named Camille in the audience thanked the commissioners for the presentation. A couple of questions on-line were taken, for a total of seven--SEVEN measly questions out of huge audience striving to get their questions answered. But that's all we're going to get out of these commissioners, who obviously didn't want a town hall, but rather a full-length commercial program to sell this solution in search of a problem...
If you doubt my representation, know that, as the commissioners were ending the Town Hall at the appointed time of 7PM (when is Laydon ever on time, hmm?), Pete Smith from Keene Ranch stood up and demanded to know what the rush was to get home rule done so quickly. Others stood up and many joined in unison, asking what the rush was. The response? Threats from Laydon to have sheriff's deputies arrest the citizens for disrupting a public hearing!
What's the rush? Good question. But more to this point, WHAT ARE THEY TRYING TO HIDE AND RUN AWAY FROM?!
Watch the video below.
Lora Thomas
PS How does Merriam-Webster define Town Hall?
ANSWER: "an event at which a public official or political candidate addresses an audience by answering questions posed by individual members"
Maybe we should send the commissioners a dictionary? :)
Abe Laydon threatens citizens with arrest for "disrupting a public meeting"!
Why would anyone consider giving these commissioners any MORE power?
Van Winkle can be heard in the background yelling that this was the 18th (home rule) meeting commissioners have had. Ask yourself: How many emails or public postings did you get/read from Douglas County inviting YOU to an informational meeting on home rule? The county has a public affairs section that is pumping out promotional stuff about these commissioners every single day - look to see how many YOU were invited to...
I've been invited to one, and it was the hour long Town Hall held on May 28. Because that's it. That's all. And remember--NONE of the meetings organizing and planning this home rule ploy were properly noticed or held open to the public. Zero transparency...
It's true that, since the surprise announcement of the rushed special off-year election, the commissioners have campaigned before city councils, chambers, civic groups and Republican clubs. But when it comes to wide-open, public informational meetings affording comment from any/all citizens, there has been one. And they allowed a mere seven questions--many from home rule supporters.
And for what perhaps is the most monumental ballot question in county history, these commissioners afforded a measly one hour--that's it! Two years ago in 2023 we held a Town Hall on Pride and Sexuality, and because there were so many people there wanting to talk, Laydon unilaterally extended the timeframe for that meeting. In other words, when there's a desire to extend the timeframe for a Town Hall, it can be done. Not this time! Again, what are they hiding and what are they running from?
The Secret, Anonymous Propaganda machine for the YES on Local Control gone into action!
As I've warned you would happen, mailboxes will be filling up with glossy flyers, telling voters how great home rule will be. These flyers are heavy on hype, slogans and buzzwords while playing fast and loose with the facts. Let's dissect their 4 reasons to support home rule found in this slickly-packaged piece:
1) SHIELD AGAINST GOVERNMENT OVERREACH: It says that Douglas County can push back when government goes too far. Just what exactly does that mean? This whole campaign for home rule has been built on frothy campaign rhetoric, and this is just more of the same. No examples. No facts. ZERO truth.
Here IS the truth: The Colorado Constitution, Article XIV, Section 16, (3) says: (3) A home rule county shall provide all mandatory county functions, services, and facilities and shall exercise all mandatory powers as may be required by statute. Colorado Revised Statute 30-11-511: A home rule county shall provide all mandatory county functions, services, and facilities and shall exercise all mandatory powers required by statute. Even the Colorado Supreme Court this year told home rule Weld County that following its 50-year old Charter on how to draw county commissioner district boundaries was wrong because it was required to follow state law in how county commissioner boundary lines must be drawn.
TRUTH: Home rule does not allow counties--including Douglas County--to OPT OUT of any state laws that are seen as "overreaching." Nobody likes many of the senseless laws coming out of the State Capitol, but home rule IS DEFINITELY NOT THE SOLUTION NO MATTER WHAT YOU'RE BEING TOLD!
2) LOCAL CONTROL: It says: Home rule will give Douglas County residents the freedom to govern ourselves, instead of one-size-fits all mandates from Denver. Again, more frothy campaign propaganda rhetoric that says nothing factual, or even explains what this means.
TRUTH: The citizens in Douglas County vote for elected officials who are duty-bound by oath to represent the residents as county elected officials as well as those elected to the state legislature. Again, see the requirements of home rule counties in the Constitution, state law and case law from the Colorado Supreme Court. Home rule does not provide a cafeteria-style government in which you pick and choose what you want or don't when it comes to state laws. Douglas County residents already govern ourselves in the manner dictated by both the U.S. and Colorado Constitutions. Home rule, dear readers, could CHANGE that situation by making current elected positions appointed ones, taking away the direct control of WE, the voters! This is a great example of how they are deliberately NOT telling you everything about home rule!
3) Lower Taxes. It says: Home rule will give Douglas County residents better standing to cut taxes and bureaucratic red tape, while also protecting our land and natural resources.
TRUTH: As a Douglas County Commissioner, I reduced property taxes 7 times for property owners in 8 years. It's simple governmental math. When commissioners are frugal and spend less of your tax dollars, more can be refunded back into your pockets. But such has not been the case under the Laydon/Teal regime. Providing millions of tax dollars to non-profits, hiring buddies for high-paying questionable government jobs (they used to call this "political patronage"), building a mega sports complex with a retractable roof to benefit a favored developer, splitting $1.4M with 24 lot owners whose unbuildable lots weren't improved as quickly as they demanded, providing land and a building to a private company to process "biochar", settling nuisance lawsuits with our friends for large sums, funding/building roads that are the responsibility of favored developers who consistently fail to meet their obligations, paid junkets to Harvard School of Government, paying for personal defamation lawsuits due to reckless disregard for the truth about citizens, building a climate-controlled helicopter building and hiring excessive numbers of helitack staff to support an unnecessary year-round helicopter, holding surprise, unnecessary $500,000 Special elections, unnecessary changing of street names for political attention, grandiose and unnecessary welcome monuments and signs are but a few of the many, many unnecessary expenditures the commissioners have wasted your tax dollars on instead of returning those tax dollars to YOU. In 2024, the property tax rebate was $38M. In 2025 it was only $11M. If our commissioners want to reduce taxes, they should QUIT wasting our tax dollars on frivolous and unnecessary personal boondoggles.
Moreover, the word "standing" in this paragraph refers to a particular "generational" (using Assessor Toby Damisch's word) situation in 2023 when property values in 2023 increased by 50%. Commissioners lowered property values across the board by 4% but the State Board of Equalization denied the change. This paragraph is referring to the ability to have "standing" to sue the state IF this once in a lifetime situation were to happen again. But keep in mind, legal standing is not merely a status, so just because a county is "home rule" does NOT necessarily guarantee any specific legal standing in an action at law. Many times, we have been told by proponents that they intend to remain in perpetual litigation with individuals, organizations and the state to assert untenable legal positions pertaining to home rule. That will be enormously expensive AND is a clear demonstration of irresponsible use of taxpayer dollars.
4) Safe Communities: It says: Home rule will help Douglas County keep our communities safe and prosperous.
Instilling fear in voters is a proven propaganda ploy to get uninformed voters to support anything that's put before them.
TRUTH: There is NOTHING that home rule can offer that can't be done already to keep Douglas County residents safe. In fact, because Douglas, Elbert and Lincoln counties are part of a new judicial district called JD23, we have a district attorney chosen by our voters with a much different philosophy on crime that is now in place in Arapahoe County. Let's not waste dollars implementing home rule, and better use current dollars to directly benefit our communities.
The Daddy-Whopper-of-'em-All is the sentence at the bottom of the page: "Home rule takes power from the elite government-class and gives it back to YOU!!"
TRUTH-- Home rule is going to consolidate power in the hands of the commissioners who developed home rule behind your back, in dark rooms with their cronies and then threatened to arrest you when you asked the government to answer questions. Home rule is a solution in search of a problem.
"When the anointed say that there is a crisis this means that something must be done--and it must be done simply because the anointed want it done. This word becomes one of many substitutes for evidence or logic." --Thomas Sowell
Take a look at the photos below to prove my point:
Hard Evidence of Campaign Collusion!
Local Issues
Local Voices
Local Governance
This is the banner that was used at the Local Leader Luncheon on March 25 before the Commissioners even spent 90 seconds putting home rule on the ballot at a $500,000 election.
Local Issues
Local Voices
Local Governance
Folks, this whole scheme for home rule was cooked up over a long period of time by our commissioners and insiders who are funding this, behind closed doors with no public view in violation of Colorado's Open Meetings laws. Notice that the same phrase, "Local Issues Local Voices Local Governance" was used on March 25 before home rule was put on the ballot, and it is being used on propaganda supporting home rule now.
What's missing, though, are the LOCAL VOICES!
Some insiders KNEW about the home rule scheme, and a non-profit corporation called YES on Local Control with a registered agent of Katie Kennedy was formed on March 25 at 1:11PM with the Colorado Secretary of State, the exact same time the commissioners spent 90 seconds putting home rule on the ballot. I believe that this is what is known as a C4, and it is a funding mechanism for campaigns that never have to identify/report the names of donors, or the amount of money contributed. The absolute DARKEST of dark money!
An Issue Committee was filed with the Secretary of State on March 25 called YES on Local Control, registered Agent Katie Kennedy. This committee has a reporting date of June 3 and we will see who has donated to this committee and how much.
Then on May 15, yet another committee called YES on Local Control IEC was formed with the Secretary of State, and guess what? The registered agent is Katie Kennedy. The reporting date to learn donors is November 3.
Notice that any opportunity to learn any facts behind these committees occur AFTER THE DAMAGE HAS BEEN DONE AND BALLOTS HAVE GONE OUT!
It is time for each and every one of you to use your LOCAL VOICE--the ones that have been ignored by the proponents behind this secretive and clandestine inside job--to let your neighbors, friends and family in Douglas County to just vote NO on Home Rule on June 24.
Read the rest of the blog here.
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