A Douglas County district judge denied a request Tuesday to prevent the county’s upcoming home-rule election after residents accused commissioners of breaking state open meetings laws to get the issue on the ballot.
Former Douglas County Commissioner Lora Thomas, county resident Julie Gooden and Colorado State Rep. Bob Marshall, a Democrat who lives in Highlands Ranch, claimed in the lawsuit filed last month, that the Board of County Commissioners met more than a dozen times in closed-door meetings to discuss the home-rule election before holding a public meeting March 25 to “rubber stamp” the resolutions.
Not all meetings held by public officials are required to be open to the public, under Colorado’s open meeting laws, but the public must be informed if any policy, resolution or formal decision is made. The law requires that notice of the meeting be posted in a designated public place at least 24 hours before the meeting.
But District Judge Robert Raymond Lung said there was insufficient evidence to support their claims that the commissioners violated open meetings laws and that issuing an injunction to stop the election, set for June 24, would be a disservice to the public, according to the order released by county officials.
“In general, it is difficult to imagine how letting the citizens decide an issue is not well within the public interest and the Court has seen no evidence to suggest that delaying the vote is consistent with any public interest,” Lung wrote. “Plaintiffs have offered no evidence of how public interests is better served by delaying this Home Rule vote and the burden is theirs to prove.
Lung said that the commissioners’ meetings were held to discuss administrative planning and legal issues, not policymaking.
“The court recognized the lawsuit for what it truly was: a frivolous attempt to undermine our democracy, driven by petty political grievances and personal vendettas,” Douglas County Commissioner George Teal said in a statement. Teal is one of three registered Republicans who serve on the nonpartisan commission.
“This victory is not just about today; it is about safeguarding our future. It sends a clear message that we will not tolerate any efforts to manipulate or suppress the democratic process,” Teal said.
In a special election in June, voters in Douglas County will decide whether to make the first step in establishing a home rule charter, by creating a 21-member charter commission.
The commission will be responsible for writing a charter, which will be presented to voters in November. The draft charter must be posted within 60 days of the election for public review.
If passed by voters, Douglas County would join Weld and Pitkin counties as the only counties in the state with a home rule structure. In a home rule county, its governing system is defined by its own charter rather than state statutes on certain topics.
The home rule charter would give more local control on issues like tax, the use of parks and open space and government structure, the county said, though the commission would ultimately decide what issues it would govern.
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