Commissioner Censured for Bullying and Intimidation Won’t Take Responsibility

Douglas County will not tolerate the intimidation and bullying of county volunteers, even when the bully is an elected commissioner.

Two Douglas County commissioners, George Teal and Abe Laydon, have taken steps to ensure that all the boards and commissions on which Commissioner Lora Thomas serves are made aware of her recent censure.

For the censure, Laydon and Teal found that Thomas recently attempted to intimidate the county's cultural council into moving allocated funds into her district and that she "employed a tone meant to negatively represent the cultural council's work," as stated in the censure resolution.

The resolution also states that council members felt publicly shamed and attacked, had their values compromised, and experienced a decrease in morale due to Thomas' comments. Former council chair James Smith attributed his resignation to Thomas' remarks.

On Monday, Teal and Laydon directed county staff to write a letter to officials from organizations such as the Chatfield Watershed Authority, Douglas County Housing Partnership, and Colorado Counties Inc.

Teal stated that the purpose of sending these letters to the boards and commissions is to request Thomas' removal and replacement with either himself or Laydon.

Thomas defended her actions by claiming that she was speaking the truth, which Laydon and Teal did not want to hear. She further suggested that their actions were motivated by a dislike for women.

Laydon responded by criticizing Thomas for not taking personal responsibility for her actions and for making gender an issue. "Your inability to take personal responsibility for your actions" prompted the move, Laydon said. "And you continue to make your gender an issue, and that's highly inappropriate. Gender is not a pass for bad behavior."

In response to the censure, Thomas described it as "orchestrated political theater" in a newsletter she sent on August 27th.