Public meeting crowd takes issue with county commissioners’ conduct

Residents voice concern

BY ELLIS ARNOLD EARNOLD@COLORADOCOMMUNITYMEDIA.COM

In a public meeting punctuated by loud interruptions from the audience, several area residents spoke against what they say is unjust treatment of one of Douglas County’s elected leaders by her two colleagues, pointing to a rift accentuated by personal attacks.

“Today, I was told I was bananas and told I needed to stop standing on my soapbox and stop yelling into the abyss,” Lora omas, a Douglas County commissioner, said during the March 14 meeting.

Much of the crowd consisted of people who support omas and took issue with the other two commissioners launching investigations against her, removing her from serving on outside leadership boards in the community and opposing her preference for whom to appoint to the county Planning Commission, a body of citizens who give input on property development decisions. About a dozen speakers criticized the commissioners’ conduct, with many taking issue speci cally with Commissioners Abe Laydon and George Teal.

A couple of attendees oated the idea of a recall election, where residents would vote on whether to remove an o cial from o ce, a suggestion that garnered applause from the crowd.

And while the meeting didn’t see evidence of gender-based comments from Laydon and Teal speci cally, several speakers said their actions amounted to mistreating omas because she is a woman.

Kay Michelsen, of Highlands Ranch, described the treatment toward omas as “misogynistic, caustic cocktails of meanness.”

Laydon told the audience he supports strong leaders, “especially

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