Douglas County Commissioner Sues Her Second Government Employer- Claims to Still Be a Victim

In a recent Denver Post article dated September 2nd, its author concludes with a rather flamboyant statement made by the recently censured Douglas County Commissioner Lora Thomas. Her declaration, "These bullies will not get rid of me," raises eyebrows and goes unquestioned in the media.

It's peculiar for Thomas to make such a statement, considering she herself was found guilty of bullying and attempting to intimidate SCFD volunteers into diverting allocated tax dollars to her district—hence her censure. During her relentless attempts, Thomas even resorted to publicizing volunteers' personal information and their pictures, taken without their knowledge, in an effort to intimidate them.

Lora Thomas has proven to be a relentless bully, willing to go to any lengths to have her way.

Now, she is suing Douglas County, its citizens, and her colleagues—whom she has been at odds with since losing the 2021 Sheriff's elections. Thomas says she wishes to recover legal fees incurred for hiring an attorney to defend her unethical actions during that campaign. It is Thomas, who made all these decisions unilaterally, now playing the victim and expecting us to subsidize her reprehensible behavior with a check for $5,715.50.

"I was elected by 129,000 people," Thomas told The Denver Post in a recent interview. "And the tyranny of the majority continues to marginalize my ability to govern. They need to pay my legal bills, and we can all move on."

However, few in DougCo believe that Lora Thomas is capable of "moving on." From suing her former employer, the Colorado State Patrol, to maintaining files on her adversaries, Thomas has shown no inclination to let go of any perceived grievances.

"Lora Thomas expecting the people of this county to foot the bill for her own misconduct, which has already come at a great cost to our community, is a testament to her consistently poor judgment," stated Commissioner Abe Laydon in response to Thomas's lawsuit. "I sincerely hope that our colleague will redirect her focus from herself to serving the people during her final months on the board of county commissioners."

Regarding Thomas's decision to sue her second government employer, Commissioner George Teal emphasized that she is misrepresenting the lawsuit as an act of free speech and whistleblowing.

"It should be made abundantly clear that Commissioner Thomas is, in fact, suing the people of Douglas County," Teal wrote in an email to The Post. "Regardless of the outcome of this lawsuit, it will be the people of Douglas County who bear the financial burden of Commissioner Thomas's immature and vindictive legal action."

Teal further explained to The Denver Post in an interview that Thomas's legal fees stem from misconduct allegations during her failed sheriff campaign last year. "In simple terms, Lora's unsuccessful run for sheriff falls outside the scope of her employment as a county commissioner," Teal remarked.

We challenge Commissioner Thomas to cease playing the victim in the media and in her weekly newsletters. It's time for Thomas to own up to her ruthlessness and stop pretending. Instead, she should campaign for her next position as a paid bully, a role that we all know she has exemplified all along.