Colorado county commissioner resigns after years of conflict with fellow commissioners: "Nothing more than harassment"
The resignation of Douglas County Commissioner Lora Thomas comes after years of infighting between Thomas and her fellow commissioners.
Thomas was term-limited and could not run for re-election this year. Her term was set to end on Jan. 14 when her successor, Kevin Van Winkle, takes office. But on Friday, Thomas chose to end her time as commissioner nearly six weeks early after she says the other two commissioners tried to "evict" her from her office.
"This is what I signed when I was sworn in," Thomas said, showing her oath of office.
That oath hung above Thomas's desk for the nearly eight years she served as a Douglas County commissioner.
"I looked at this oath of office every day, and it reminded me that I was serving the people that I promised to the best of my ability to follow the constitution," Thomas said.
Today, it sits in a box on the floor of her home, along with diplomas, photos, and other items hastily gathered from her office upon her resignation on Friday.
"It wasn't what I wanted to do, but I had no choice," Thomas said.
For years, the board of Douglas County commissioners has been marked by infighting among its three Republican members. In 2022, Thomas was suspended as commission chair. Months later, she accused her colleagues of "smears and slander."
"I have had little power to do anything for four years. They have blocked me. They have refused to allow me to nominate people to serve on boards and commissions. Basically, Teal and Laydon pick whomever they want, because they will be rubber stamps for whatever Teal and Laydon want," Thomas said. "They've stripped me off boards and commissions with no evidence. This has just been nothing more than harassment."
Lora Thomas says she was bullied by commissioners Abe Laydon and George Teal, whom she frequently disagreed with on county spending and board appointments. She also accuses the pair of making decisions behind closed doors, which Teal has denied in the past.
"I do not go along with their wasteful spending," Thomas said. "I have always been very fiscally responsible, but Teal and Laydon have been happy to spend all the money that they want. I mean, they gave a half a million dollars to Lockheed Martin so Lockheed Martin could build an incubator. People don't pay property taxes for that, and I've been very vocal about their outrageous spending. I think that's one of the reasons they have really gone after me."
The final straw came Wednesday when Thomas says Teal and Laydon told her to move out of her office to make room for her successor.
"Teal and Laydon were adamant that I needed to be evicted, and so they directed staff to meet in my office Monday morning, to move me out of my office, and I will not be humiliated that way," Thomas said.
Rather than be forced out of her office, Thomas resigned -- to the shock of her former colleagues.
Commissioner George Teal said in a Facebook comment that the plan was for Thomas to move into a nearby office as her office needed to be repainted.
Abe Laydon posted to Facebook saying it is customary for transitions to begin after an election. He also suggested Thomas violated policy and he was disappointed that she chose to announce her resignation while the county was honoring school shooting victim Kendrick Castillo.
By Monday morning, Thomas's webpage on the county commission's website had been removed.
The county attorney shared a statement with CBS News Colorado citing a state statute that "grants the County the authority to direct the use of real and personal property owned by the County when deemed by the board of county commissioners to be in the best interests of the county and its inhabitants. This would include assigning an office or vacating an office in order to make improvements for a new commissioner."
The Board of Douglas County Commissioners also shared a statement with CBS Colorado in response to Thomas's claims:
"Former County Commissioner Lora Thomas, while in office, repeatedly violated the Board's policy manual, and was censured and re-censured due to her conduct. The reasons the Board gave for the most recent censure included: 1) she states things publicly that are untrue, having a negative impact on public policy decisions; and 2) she undermines the work of the Board. When asked, the County Attorney advised that the re-censure action was legal and within the discretion of the Board."
"I have real concerns about where Douglas County's future is headed," Thomas said.
As Thomas's office becomes Van Winkle's, she urges citizens to remain engaged in county government.
"You have got to go to work sessions. You have got to go to the business meetings and the land use meetings. You have to make sure that these three elected representatives know that you are watching," Thomas said.
Thomas isn't retiring just yet, she says, but she's unsure if she'll stay in politics. For now, she'll take a break and spend time with her family.
"While I'm sad that I had no other choice than to resign last week, I have to tell you that I have slept better the last two nights than I have in months," Thomas said.
Van Winkle told CBS Colorado he was shocked to see Thomas resign. While he says he never asked to be moved into her office early and does not yet hold any county authority, he didn't think that her moving to an office next door would impact her ability to serve the people of Douglas County.
The chair of Douglas County Republicans tells CBS Colorado he expects Gov. Jared Polis to appoint Van Winkle as acting commissioner in the coming days.
