October 9, 2020
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DOUGLAS COUNTY, COLORADO
A publication of
ParkerChronicle.net
INSIDE: VOICES: PAGE 12 | LIFE: PAGE 36 | SPORTS: PAGE 41
VOLUME 18 | ISSUE 47
RACE FOR DOUGLAS COUNTY COMMISSIONER, DISTRICT 3
Democrat Darien Wilson is running to become one of Douglas County’s next county commissioners. PHOTO BY ELLIOTT WENZLER
Republican Lora Thomas is running for a second term as a Douglas County commissioner representing District 3. PHOTO BY ELLIOTT WENZLER
‘We need a leader who listens’
‘I can get it done’
Democratic commissioner candidate Darien Wilson says she is not driven by politics or ideology
Republican incumbent Lora Thomas says on-job experience sets her apart as commissioner
BY ELLIOTT WENZLER EWENZLER@COLORADOCOMMUNITYMEDIA.COM
A Highlands Ranch backyard buzzed with volunteers during a cool, sunny morning in September as Darien Wilson took the microphone and settled the group. The event, a meet-and-greet followed by a neighborhood “lit drop” of campaign materials, gathered multiple Democratic candidates, including Wilson — a Douglas County
LEGEND OF THE FALL
Titans secure big wins to close out the regular season P41
commissioner candidate — and their supporters. “I’m running because we need a leader who listens,” Wilson said as the crowd of about 30 volunteers cheered. “And someone who uses science, data and facts to drive decisions. Not politics or ideology.” The event, hosted by Jennifer Mitkowski, a candidate for state House District 43, was also attended by U.S. SEE WILSON, P6
BY ELLIOTT WENZLER EWENZLER@COLORADOCOMMUNITYMEDIA.COM
Lora Thomas has always loved the color red. The incumbent Douglas County commissioner’s campaign signs are red. She wears red in official photos. A wall in her office is red. Even her bedroom is red, she said. “It is a color of strength,” the Republican said in a late-September interview with Colorado Community
ELECTION 2020
Before you vote, check out our election guide, which includes Q&As with the candidates
PAGES 15-35
Media at Castle Rock Cafe. “It’s a part of my brand.” Thomas won her seat as commissioner in 2016 with about two-thirds of the vote in a traditionally red county that has long elected conservative candidates to office. Thomas, 64, is up for reelection as the District 3 representative. She hopes to secure four more years by defeating her Democratic challenger, SEE THOMAS, P7