Douglas County Commissioner Lora Thomas tells fellow board members: 'stop the nonsense'
A Douglas County Commissioner is speaking out after her fellow board members accused her of criminal misconduct.
Commissioner Lora Thomas called a press conference Wednesday afternoon and called-out fellow commissioners Abe Laydon and George Teal. She says they have bullied, intimidated and harassed her for more than a year. Thomas showed meeting videos where the two men not only insulted her but, in one case, Laydon dismissed the objections of a Douglas County citizen.
Thomas says she wants the "smears and slander" to stop.
"I hope that my fellow commissioners Laydon and Teal will stop with the nonsense, stop with the petty politics, stop saying things that aren't true," she said.
In the last six months, Laydon and Teal have launched two investigations into Thomas.
They paid a law firm $23,000 in taxpayer money to investigate whether she distributed an anonymous letter alleging misconduct at the Douglas County Sheriff's Office. Then - when they didn't like the findings - they asked for a criminal investigation, accusing Thomas of breaking the law by releasing the law firm's report to CBS News Colorado.
Arapahoe County Sheriff's Office, which handled the case, disagreed saying there is no probable cause to bring charges.
Thomas said, "for the second time in the past few months, a bogus investigation initiated by Laydon and Teal has resulted in nothing but a ridiculous waste of government resources."
The Sheriff's Office didn't determine whether Thomas released the report or not, but said that as a board member, she has the right to release privileged information.
In a statement to CBS News Colorado, Laydon called that "a gross misinterpretation of the law" and suggested he and Teal would take their own action saying, "I am thankful our board has adopted policies that have consequences when directors abuse their position."
Thomas challenged them to try: "I'm not going to go along with them to get along with them. I'm going to make decisions that I believe are right for the citizens of Douglas County."
Thomas says Laydon also warned her there will be problems if she doesn't stop sending a newsletter she writes each week to residents, but she says she has no intention of doing that.
Teal also sent a statement saying, "Douglas County residents rightfully demand government transparency and accountability. They deserve to know if their elected officials are operating in accordance with the law and county policy."
