Judge declines to block Douglas County’s home-rule election, says commissioners didn’t violate open meetings law
A district judge struck down a request Tuesday to halt Douglas County s pending home-rule electoral contest amid a lawsuit accusing county representatives of violating Colorado s open meetings law to get the measure on the ballot Colorado state Rep Bob Marshall former Douglas County Commissioner Lora Thomas and county resident Julie Gooden filed the lawsuit against the current Board of Commissioners in April alleging the board met more than a dozen times without issuing proper notification to the residents They alleged the commissioners made the decision to move forward with the home-rule poll in those meetings between January and March before holding an official law-abiding meeting to rubber stamp the home-rule resolutions on March Under Colorado s open meetings law meetings that are convened for the purpose of policy-making including when resolutions are adopted are declared to be population meetings open to the general and shall be held only after full and timely notice However Douglas County District Judge Robert Raymond Lung commented he didn t see evidence that the board violated open meetings law and ruled that issuing a preliminary injunction to stop the balloting would sacrifice the populace s right to vote according to court documents published by county agents The meetings that Marshall Thomas and Gooden claimed violated the law were limited to administrative or legal matters and didn t discuss policymaking Lung wrote in his Tuesday ruling In a very real sense the only decision that has been made is a decision to let the voters participate in an polling Lung wrote The two resolutions passed by the county commissioners on March launched a nearly year-long process to increase Douglas County s independence from the state Home-rule authority grants local governments in Colorado specific powers to run their own affairs and exempts them from certain state laws 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 reported in a news release Marshall Thomas and Gooden did not respond to requests for comment Wednesday morning Douglas County residents will vote on the first step of establishing home-rule confirming a -member charter commission in a June special voting That commission will draw up the county s home-rule charter which will then make its way onto the November ballot Related Articles After reports of deportations to South Sudan US says it s removed people convicted of crimes House GOP grinding ahead with Trump s big tax cuts bill but new summary says it will add to deficit US immigration agents appear to have begun deporting refugees to South Sudan attorneys say Gov Jared Polis signs law prohibiting repeated auto thieves from having guns Colorado s new transgender rights law already has a legal challenge If the charter is passed Douglas County would join Weld and Pitkin counties as one of only three Colorado counties to possess home-rule authority Denver and Broomfield both have home-rule powers because of their status as municipalities and operate as dual city-and-county governments Colorado s leadership would maintain authority over statewide concerns but proponents say Douglas County would have increased local control over issues like taxation land use zoning and governance structure The county has clashed multiple times with the state in new years over issues of property tax valuations state immigration laws and citizens wellbeing orders like mask mandates Get more Colorado news by signing up for our daily Your Morning Dozen email newsletter
