Two Douglas County commissioners’ vendetta against their fellow commissioner, Lora Thomas, has crossed the line into obsession. Incredibly, Laydon and Teal refuse to release the investigative report into Thomas’ behavior for which taxpayers paid $17,000, because, as CBS news revealed, the report found her actions were “not only legal but harmless.” Laydon and Teal, incensed that taxpaying citizens are demanding they release the report exonerating Thomas, have stooped to ordering another investigation — this time into whether Thomas gave the report to CBS reporter Shaun Boyd.

This is outrageous. Laydon read portions of the report at the Aug. 2 board meeting. According to the county attorney, the fact that a media outlet has the report, coupled with Laydon’s reading part of it, could cancel his and Teal’s claim of attorney-client privilege that they’re using as an excuse to keep the report secret.

Secrecy seems to be a specialty of Laydon and Teal. The two also voted to keep secret a report by water expert and attorney Stephen Leonhardt against the scheme from the Renewable Water Resources (RWR) investor group to pipe water from the parched San Luis Valley to Douglas County. Thomas opposed the plan that would cost the county millions and spend years in water court, and Teal supported it — incidentally, his wife works for the largest developer in Colorado, Richmond American Homes.

Laydon and Teal now are preventing the citizens they claim to serve from seeing the Lora Thomas report. July 27, the two released a summary that absurdly tried to condemn Thomas for her actions that the report concluded were lawful and not harmful. One was her asking attorney Leonhardt to collect names and affiliations of individuals attending a meeting Laydon had arranged in the San Luis Valley without Commissioner Thomas. All three commissioners have every right to ask who is attending such meetings; however, Laydon and Teal voted to keep that information secret because, said Laydon, farmers there feared retaliation for supporting the RWR project. But of the six attending, three were major RWR players and investors who would make millions if the RWR project was approved, including former governor Bill Owens and Sean Tonner.

I ask citizens to email Laydon (alaydon@douglas.co.us) and Teal (gteal@douglas.co.us) urging them to release the Thomas report and reinstate her as chair. Their baseless attacks are infuriating citizens who feel like fools for electing them and damaging the reputation of Douglas County.

Joy Overbeck, Parker