Week of February 9, 2023
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DOUGLAS COUNTY, COLORADO
A publication of
DouglasCountyNewsPress.net
VOLUME 121 | ISSUE 14
Thomas threatens suit over legal fees
Our in-depth look at the housing crisis
Teal, Laydon disagree BY ELLIS ARNOLD EARNOLD@COLORADOCOMMUNITYMEDIA.COM
Governor stresses more housing is key to Colorado’s economic health BY ELLIS ARNOLD EARNOLD@COLORADOCOMMUNITYMEDIA.COM
If lawmakers don’t act to make housing more affordable now, “we will soon face a spiraling point of no return.” That’s what Gov. Jared Polis said in January, during his annual State of the State Address. He noted myriad problems linked to rising housing costs. People, he said, “are being forced out of their neighborhoods with no hope of ever living close to where they work.” “That means more traffic, lost
time and money spent on long commutes, more air pollution, and greater economic and workforce challenges,” Polis said. Polis added that rising housing prices are “putting the dream of homeownership out of range for more and more Coloradans.” The governor’s assessment squares with the findings of Colorado Community Media in our four-week series exploring what many experts say is a housing crisis — one that affects practically everyone in the Denver area. Lower-income workers are seeing larger chunks of their paychecks
INSIDE: VOICES: PAGE 14 | CALENDAR: PAGE 13 | SPORTS: PAGE 26
go to landlords. Young families can’t find starter homes they can afford. Retirees don’t see any attractive options for moving and downsizing, meaning their homes stay off the market, helping keep prices high. “Just look west,” Polis said in his address. “In California, decades of poor planning has led to interruptions of drinking water and electricity for entire towns and cities, average home prices over $1 million in major cities and 16lane freeways” with “bumper-toSEE STRESSES, P16
A long-running conflict between Douglas County’s elected leaders could continue after county Commissioner Lora Thomas signaled she might take action to have her legal bills paid back if the county doesn’t decide to pay the cost. Her two fellow commissioners on the board appeared not to entertain that idea. “If you want to sue the county and cost the taxpayers more in legal fees, that is entirely up to you,” Commissioner Abe Laydon responded during a Jan. 31 meeting. Thomas accused Laydon and Commissioner George Teal of conducting a “witch hunt” investigation into whether Thomas created a hostile working environment. Thomas said the investigation “exonerated me of any wrongdoing.” Thomas under scrutiny
At the center of the conflict are multiple layers of legal wrangling that stem from an investigation Teal and Laydon initiated after accusing Thomas of circulating an anonymous letter that criticized specific employees in the Douglas County Sheriff ’s Office, allegedly creating a hostile work environment. They also accused her of emailing county legal representation with a request not authorized by the full board. The $17,000 investigation into Thomas by outside legal counsel found that while Thomas had distributed the letter, doing so did not SEE LAWSUIT, P6
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