Douglas County Commissioner Lora Thomas resigns, citing mistreatment from colleagues

DENVER (KDVR) -- Douglas County Commissioner Lora Thomas resigned from her position after she was reportedly ordered out of her office early, citing continuous attacks, harassment and punishment from her colleagues as her reason for leaving.

Thomas announced her resignation on Friday, just over a month before her second and final term ends on Jan. 14, 2025, and commissioner-elect Kevin Van Winkle takes the seat.

Thomas said her resignation, effective Friday, comes after she was ordered to leave the county office space by Dec. 9, six weeks before her term was over. Thomas said Van Winkle knew and consented to this order.

"After a four-year onslaught of false accusations, slurs, defamation, harassing and baseless investigations, suppression, censorship, marginalization and outright cancellation as a duly- elected county commissioner, I am utterly unable to any longer provide the level of effective representation which I have striven to deliver to the people of Douglas County these last eight years," Thomas said in a press release.

Thomas said she was ordered out of her county office by her colleagues during a meeting on Dec. 4. when Commissioner George Teal and Commissioner Abe Laydon allegedly said that Thomas should be evicted immediately.

Thomas said in a release that she had offered to leave her office on Jan. 6.

"It was completely unnecessary to force me out of my office before my term; just more petty, spiteful harassment from Teal and Laydones unfortunate that Kevin Van Winkle has chosen to begin his first term as commissioner on such a selfish and dishonorable note," Thomas said.

Meanwhile, the Board of Douglas County Commissioners provided the following statement:

"It is tragic that our censured colleague chose to repeatedly violate our policy manual, and then host a press conference when the County was honoring the Kendrick Castillo family. It is entirely normal and customary after a November election for boxes to move, and transitions to begin. We are thankful for the peace, positivity and collaboration that Commissioner-Elect Kevin Van Winkle will bring to Douglas County," said the Board of Douglas County Commissioners.

According to the press release, this wasn't the only incident Thomas faced with the commissioners.

"For four years, Teal and Laydon have ceaselessly worked to cancel me as a commissioner because I have had the audacity to tell the people of this county exactly what they have been doing to abuse their authority and waste taxpayer money to advance their own political aggrandizement and benefit their pals and cronies," Thomas said.

Thomas was first elected county commissioner in 2016.