Douglas County voters weigh two county commissioner races ahead of Election Day in Colorado
Douglas County voters will choose at least one new face to join the Board of County Commissioners. There are three commissioner seats on the board.
There is no race for District 1, which includes Parker and Lone Tree. Current Republican Commissioner Abe Laydon is still serving his second term.
Republican George Teal is running for reelection in District 2, which covers Castle Rock and rural southern Douglas County. His opponent is Democrat Angela Thomas.
In District 3, which includes Highlands Ranch and Sterling Ranch, current Republican Commissioner Lora Thomas is term-limited. So Republican State Senator Kevin Van Winkle and Democrat Josh Smith are both vying for her seat.
No matter which district you live in, all county residents vote in these races.
Republican State Senator and small business owner Kevin Van Winkle has served in the state legislature for over a decade.
"We need houses to live in that are affordable, we need roads to drive on that are free from overcrowding and jamming and potholes, and we need our community to be safe and secure, and to help free our citizens from over-taxation and overregulation," said Van Winkle. "I'm running to ensure that Douglas County is free, safe, and secure and that it's a great place to live and work."
His opponent in the race for District 3 is Democrat Josh Smith, a freight broker who has a background in the mortgage industry. He is running on a platform of community.
"I am running not to represent Josh Smith, not to represent me and my friends, not even to represent the party, but the people of Douglas County," said Smith. "I'm exhausted and tired of the acrimony and the divisiveness. It's important to me to bridge that gap again and to be as centered as possible."
In District 2, incumbent Republican and former IT consultant George Teal faces Democrat Angela Thomas, a former business owner and social worker.
"It will always be an uphill battle for a Democrat to be elected in Douglas County. But I have confidence there are a lot of people out here who see the dysfunction I see," said Thomas. "We should be doing the work of the people instead of the work of the developers for the commissioners' own well-being."
Both Democrats are hoping to win in the red county by highlighting the perceived shortcomings of the current board.
Thomas said, "The suing of each other over things, wasting of taxpayer money, the lack of decorum, the lack of respect from the public's opinion."
Smith added, "George Teal and Abe Laydon have spent a few years sort of shutting out Lora Thomas, whose seat I'm running for."
Smith and Thomas would like to see the board expanded from three to five commissioners and no closed-door meetings.
Smith said, "I think the top issue facing the county is growth and water as a subset of that... I plan to use a stricter adherence to our county water standards to manage the growth that's been coming in."
The candidates weighed in on the hot-button issue of development in Douglas County.
Thomas said, "We're putting in developments for the sake of developments, not for the sake of the county."
Van Winkle responded, "There's going to be growth and development just because it is such a great place to live and people want to live here, but there's a smart way to do it and there's a smart way to protect the taxpayers that live here and make sure they don't get the bill."
Smith, Van Winkle, and Thomas have all expressed support for ensuring the pace of infrastructure growth matches development and none of the three support bringing water to Douglas County from the San Luis Valley. Teal's campaign website states, "He is committed to ensuring rural aquifers are not drained by municipal needs while local water districts and towns also receive the support they need to continue to meet their resident requirements."
Smith and Thomas both want to prioritize affordable housing.
Smith said, "Limiting growth is likely to actually drive up market prices. But that's why I think we need to seek state and federal money to assist us with more affordable housing for the right people."
Van Winkle wants to implement tax cuts, stating, "I'm going to be coming in and seeing where we can cut taxes to give relief to the people of Douglas County."
Teal declined to be interviewed but says he is proud of his work as commissioner, investing in law enforcement and transportation projects, creating the county's first water commission, leaving Tri-County Health, and refunding $38 million back to taxpayers this year. When asked a follow-up question about concerns related to transparency and self-interest on the current board, Teal said, "Virtually all meetings are open to the public and allegations of self-interest or a lack of transparency are untrue."
Teal provided a statement detailing his accomplishments as commissioner:
"I am proud of what we have done for Public Safety here in Douglas County. Amid a change in leadership in the Sheriff's Office, we have helped our new Sheriff to increase Deputies actually on patrol and we have more School Resource Officers in our schools than anyone else in the state. Our HEART Teams and Camping Ban has helped us achieve Functional Zero Homeless here in the County.
I am proud of the way we were able to shrug off the burden of Tri-County Health and create our own Douglas County Health Department. Fully staffed and pursuing national certification, the Health Department is fully functional, within budget, and tailored to Douglas County.
I am proud of the work we have done with water purity and water security. We created the County's first Water Commission, invested $36 million in Federal funds for water purity projects, and are actively working with our water districts to bring renewable water into the County.
In the last 4 years, we have invested almost $200 million in transportation projects here in the County. Whether building new interchanges, or modernizing old ones, widening roads, or just paving the ones we have, we have formed partnerships from the Federal, state, and local levels allowing us to have the best roads in the State. We have even expanded the Micro Transit Link program pioneered by Lone Tree and will be rolling out this important public service in our largest community of Highlands Ranch next year. In the years to come, we are certain our Micro Transit Link Program will be an important mobility solution for our Older Adult and Disabled Community, as well as a great transportation solution for everyone else here in the County.
But, what I am really proud of? Despite investing all of the monies detailed above, we still found $38 million in savings and refunded that back to the hard-working families of Douglas County this year, putting their tax dollars back in their pockets to help us all fight back against inflation."
Van Winkle supports many of the current commission's actions, including a lawsuit against the state over immigration policy, but has concerns about infighting on the board and says he wants to go further on tax relief.
"I want to put an end to that and put the focus back on the people of Douglas County, back on the hardworking taxpayers and on the families of Douglas County," Van Winkle said. "I'll be fully transparent and we won't make decisions behind closed doors; we have open meetings constantly."
Smith does not support the immigration lawsuit but says he will continue the efforts if the majority of constituents are in favor. "I think it's a bit of a show," he said.
Thomas believes immigration reform should happen at the federal level.
When asked about their top priority, Van Winkle said tax relief, Teal responded with public safety, Smith said addressing growth, and Thomas said transparency.
