DOUGLAS COUNTY, Colo. — As the November election inches closer, supporters of the citizen-backed initiative to increase the number of Douglas County Commissioners from tree to five say they believe the current commissioners are tipping the scales and ultimately confusing voters.
On Monday, the commissioners unanimously referred a measure to the Nov. 3 General Election ballot asking voters whether all registered Douglas County voters should continue to elect all County Commissioners if the expansion is approved.
A few days later, State Representative Bob Marshall filed a protest seeking to remove the referred measure from the ballot.
On Friday, the commissioners heard Marshall's protest, in which he laid out three main points.
- The commissioners violated open meetings law when they moved the referral from the Friday, Aug. 28 meeting agenda to Monday, Aug. 31. (that item was moved to a special business meeting on Monday, Aug. 31 after an issue was noticed before Friday's meeting, which the commissioners learned about in an executive session from County Attorney Jeff Garcia.)
- The option that was given by the commissioners were not allowed under Colorado statute.
- The option given by the commissioners is ultimately confusing.
In the end, the commissioners cited they could not rule on Marshall's first point, and while they spoke for a significant portion of the meeting regarding the second point, which during the hearing Marshall said would fix his third point, no changes were made and the referral was denied by a 2-1 vote.
Commissioner George Teal was the one vote.
"I wouldn't say I was in support of the protest. I tried to speak to it during our summation, during our discussion, but I felt like we probably could have made a couple changes to our referral to the ballot," Teal told Denver7's Douglas County Reporter Tyler Melito. "I think it demonstrated we don't always have the same opinion. We don't have to always have the same opinion, and yet the people's work still gets done."
The protest's denial, the second in as many days after the commissioners denied a protest Thursday which sought to restore the petition's original language, has 3 to 5 organizers like Angela Thomas frustrated.
"I'm not surprised, I believe that we were in the right, and I believe that they have violated the law," Thomas told Melito. "Even though 23,040 people signed a ballot petition, a petition to place a measure on the ballot that said exactly what the law said it should say, and we were overruled, and I'm not surprised."
Thomas expressing deep concern that both protest denials will create confusion for voters.
"They removed without raising taxes as unnecessary clutter," Thomas explained. "So it's unclear to voters if they're going to raise taxes, they're going to cut taxes, they're going to take money from public safety, and transportation, and essential county services. That implies that the cost of two more commissioners will take away from services, which is untrue."
Thomas acknowledged Teal's no vote.
"I hate to give George Teal any credit, but he recognized that that it is not clear, but he was overruled by his fellow commissioners, and I think that we will just have to work that much harder to make sure people understand," Thomas said.
She noted what is most frustrating in her eyes is the fact the commissioners were the ones hearing the protest, even though the protest was against their previous action.
"In [Friday's] protest hearing, they said, 'Well, we don't have the right to rule on this piece.' Well, how do you have a right to rule in another piece that directly affects you? It's very, very confusing, and I think that it gives us even more reason why we need five commissioners," Thomas shared.
Melito asked Teal about why the commissioners were allowed to hear the protest. Teal noted it is their right under Colorado law.
"The best example we can see is the state title board, where they are the ones who list how an item will be on the ballot, going through just what we did because we are the title authority here in the county under Colorado law," Teal outlined.
In our previous reporting, Commissioner Teal expressed his support for increasing the number of DougCo Commissioners, saying at the time, "It would effectively end term limits in Douglas County, Colorado."
Friday, Melito asked Teal if his opinion had changed at all.
"I was always very much support of the residents bringing it forward," Teal detailed. "For me, I got to be honest, I'm agnostic about it. I served on the Castle Rock Council in a municipal office for six-and-a-half years. I was on a seven-member council then. Now, I'm on a three-member board of county commissioners. Three, five, seven, nine. I don't know that there's a magic number there."
He acknowledged the respect he had for the petitioners, having done similar petitioning to change the town charter of Castle Rock. But said this regarding the concerns of some 3 to 5 supporters have who believe the Teal and his colleagues are tipping the scales.
"I don't want to be rude to the petitioners, I have respect for what they did, but on the other hand, this is the process allowed by law," Teal detailed. "Anything that gets referred to the ballot, we are still the title board as the board of county commissioners, and so I understand their feelings. I definitely have respect for their work, but this is the process under Colorado law."
