Home Rule Election Cost $200,000 More Than Disclosed
Failed Initiative Billed Douglas County Taxpayers $704,044
A Douglas County resident filed a Colorado Open Records Act (CORA) request asking for the precise dollar amounts in the county budget used on the Home Rule election. Doing so revealed that the Douglas County Commissioners spent a previously undisclosed $206,130 on the county white book and postcards promoting the June ballot initiative.
That initiative failed by a whopping 71%; running the special election alone cost $497,914 in taxpayer money. That brings the total cost of the failed Home Rule initiative to $704,044.
The same CORA request revealed the commissioners also signed off on $135,000 for a VIP suite at the Douglas County Fairgrounds and $52,425 for a drone show at the county fair.
The County White Book
Douglas County Commissioners authorized a county white book, similar to a state blue book, that is ostensibly meant to provide nonpartisan, unbiased analysis of ballot issues. A county-level white book was not required for the June special election because no TABOR issue or other funding-related questions were on the special election ballot.
Despite not being required by law, the commissioners used over $200,000 in taxpayer money to promote the doomed initiative. This led to accusations that the commissioners were using public resources to advocate for a political issue; akin to a mayor using city funds for a re-election campaign.
When the State of Colorado issues a blue book during general elections, voters will find neutral analysis from budget and policy experts. Opposing sides of an issue are also given the opportunity to publish their opinions. In the case of Home Rule, a lopsided view of the controversial initiative was presented to voters at taxpayer expense - a violation of longstanding norms.
Home Rule Funding Questions Persist
After the Home Rule election, final campaign finance reports revealed tens of thousands in contributions from major land developers, despite Home Rule being billed by Commissioner George Teal as a contest between the two major political parties and not as a backdoor for lucrative contracts with developers.
On May 30th, Sterling Ranch Development, the developers of the community adjacent to the proposed Zebulon site, donated $15,000 to an issue committee in support of Home Rule. It seems unlikely that major land developers would donate to a political issue committee hoping to simply further partisan bickering; it makes much more sense that the multiple land developers donating to Home Rule stood to gain something.
The Zebulon & Home Rule Thicket
The Lantern reported on increasing concerns with the Zebulon sports complex last week, and how commissioners are establishing sweetheart deals for the construction of the multimillion dollar facility in unincorporated Douglas County.
There are significant questions emerging as the public becomes more aware of the proposed Zebulon project. County commissioners arranged a lucrative land swap with Sterling Ranch developers, setting aside hundreds of acres for open space, only to go into executive session this month to begin renegotiating the deal.
Emails from county staff (below) have highlighted environmental concerns with the land adjacent to, and critical for, the construction of Zebulon. The proposed site was contaminated by Louviers chemical facilities that produced explosives and mining products.
Meanwhile, on July 22nd, the County Commissioners approved a Zebulon contract, $410,000 to Kimley-Horn for design work, despite growing public concern with the project’s transparency.
We do not yet know the full picture of how County Commissioners intended to leverage Home Rule powers to further the Zebulon project, but we do know that on the same day in March that they initiated Home Rule, they also formed a County Revitalization Authority (similar to an Urban Renewal Authority) with special tax and spending powers. The only project under the County’s purview large enough to warrant a CRA is Zebulon; and a CRA’s tax implications would allow commissioners to divert tax revenue from Douglas County Schools for up to 30 years to fund the commercial development of Zebulon.
Here are the questions we need answered:
Why did county commissioners authorize another $200,000 in public money to promote a biased view of Home Rule?
What did land developers stand to gain from Home Rule?
How did the commissioners plan to use Home Rule powers to further their Zebulon sports complex project?
Did county commissioners intend to use Home Rule to preempt state environmental protections so that they could build Zebulon on contaminated land?
Coming Up Next!
We are working on feature posts on the continuing questions with Zebulon, how commissioners funnel money through the Douglas County Economic Development Corporation, why your bluetooth disconnects near I-25 and Sky Ridge Hospital, and many more.
The Douglas County Lantern will need more support to continue diving into these issues and publishing what we find. Please subscribe to us here on Substack, you can pledge future subscriptions but we hope to keep this free for anyone who wants to read… so please consider donating to us via GoFundMe. We are all volunteers and intend to use the funds to file open records requests and setup more substantial infrastructure for our work like professional email addresses and better access to research platforms.
Sources & Reading
Board of Commissioners Meeting, July 22nd, 2025
Resolution creating the County Revitalization Authority on March 25th, 2025
Campaign Finance filings for Protect Colorado Counties, TRACER
Thank you for professional journalism … links and evidence for stated facts both necessary and appreciated!
Thanks for delving into this.