Red County, Blue State

63. Your Handy Dandy Guide to the 3 to 5 Effort

The petitions to expand the county commission are out and about! Community organizer Angela Thomas [https://www.facebook.com/angelathomas4commissioner] is back to talk about what it means, why it matters, where to find a petition, and how to volunteer. I also tie this to a topic that’s been on everyone’s minds—data centers and their voracious water and energy needs. Last, a local podcast you’ll want to hear if you have a kid who’s struggling in school [https://www.dcseac.org/podcast]: SpecialEd, IEPs, 504s, Oh my! [https://www.dcseac.org/podcast] SHOW NOTES: Contact me anytime at emilysuyat@gmail.com or anonymously on signal at @emilysuyat.87 Find FAQs, signing events, and ways to volunteer: https://www.3to5dougco.com [https://www.3to5dougco.com/] Complete circulator training [https://www.3to5dougco.com/volunteer] On Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/3to5dougco [https://www.facebook.com/3to5dougco] Contact Angela at angthomas2025@gmail.com Want to know more about what the county commission does? County Commission 101 [https://esuyat.substack.com/p/the-home-rule-series-part-1] NPR piece on data centers [https://www.npr.org/2026/04/20/g-s1-117729/data-center-disputes-local-midterms] Town of Parker’s Q&A on the new data center. [https://parkerco.gov/m/faq?cat=40#question-316]Petition language: This petition is to place a measure on the November 3, 2026 general election ballot to increase the size of Douglas County Board of County commissioners from 3 to 5 members and, if passed, for voters to choose between two methods of electing, the five member board. Shall the membership of the Douglas County Board of commissioners be increased from a three member board to a five member board. If the membership of the Douglas County Board of commissioners is increased from a three member board to a five member board, by what method shall the Douglas County Board of commissioners be elected. * Five commissioners resident in districts to be elected by the voters only by the voters resident in the district, or * Three commissioners resident in districts to be elected by the voters only by the voters resident in that district and two commissioners to be elected by the voters of the whole county. Get full access to Red County, Blue State at esuyat.substack.com/subscribe [https://esuyat.substack.com/subscribe?utm_medium=podcast&utm_campaign=CTA_4]

62. Pride in Douglas County

Brooke Bernstein, president of Douglas County Pride [https://www.dougcopride.org/], joins me today to talk about Pridefest on May 17 in Parker’s Salisbury Park. We talk about what Pridefest looks like in Douglas County, why there was no Pridefest in 2025, and how allies can support Douglas County Pride (hint: show up to Pridefest!). I take a short trip to bummer town to talk about how anti-LGBTQ+ rhetoric is still alive here. Let’s show the rest of the county and state that we are not embarrassing bigots. SHOW NOTES: Contact me anytime, I’d love to hear from you: emilysuyat@gmail.com and @emilysuyat.87 on signal Right-wing extremist and white supremacist groups protests Pridefest in 2023 [https://coloradotimesrecorder.com/2023/08/the-groups-protesting-dougco-pride-fest/55817/]. Also here [https://www.cbsnews.com/colorado/news/douglas-county-pridefest-breaks-attendance-record-despite-disruptions-attacks/] and here [https://www.9news.com/article/news/local/lgbtq/protesters-douglas-county-pridefest/73-ed5ed2a7-f105-4ccd-be39-1f1be7844a3b] and here [https://www.9news.com/article/news/local/lgbtq/protesters-douglas-county-pridefest/73-ed5ed2a7-f105-4ccd-be39-1f1be7844a3b]. Pridefest 2026! [https://www.dougcopride.org/pridefest] Register for your FREE tickets here [https://www.dougcopride.org/events/douglas-county-pridefest-2026]. Code of Conduct here [https://www.dougcopride.org/code-of-conduct]. DONATE to Douglas County Pride [https://www.dougcopride.org/donate]. You can use Apple Pay! Follow Douglas County Pride on Facebook [https://www.facebook.com/CRPrideOfficial/] and Instagram [https://www.instagram.com/douglascountypride/] https://www.3to5dougco.com/ [https://www.3to5dougco.com/] to learn more about the effort to expand our county commission to 5 commissioners. You can also find out where to sign a petition and volunteer! Check out the Douglas County Lantern [https://dougcolantern.substack.com] for hyper local in-depth reporting you can’t get anywhere else!If you like this podcast, sharing it is the best way to support me! Get full access to Red County, Blue State at esuyat.substack.com/subscribe [https://esuyat.substack.com/subscribe?utm_medium=podcast&utm_campaign=CTA_4]

61. CORA 101: The Transparency Tool They Can’t Ignore

CORA class is in session! The Colorado Open Records Act is a critical law when it comes to ensuring transparent government, and it’s accessible to all of us. In this episode, my guest Jeff Roberts from the Colorado Freedom of Information Coalition (CFOIC) [https://coloradofoic.org/] explains the basics of CORA to us. What’s a public record? When can a government withhold a public record from us? Are government officials allowed to delete records? All of this and more in this episode. Share and subscribe if you like this episode. Contact me anytime with questions or feedback: emilysuyat@gmail.com or on signal: emilysuyat.87 SHOW NOTES: Visit the sunshine laws guide at https://coloradofoic.org/ [https://coloradofoic.org/] to live your sunshine law dreams and/or find out more about the hotline. From the CFOIC blog, the piece on the Douglas County open meetings law case: Court of Appeals: Disputed Douglas County commissioners’ meetings ‘clearly concerned public business or policymaking’ [https://coloradofoic.org/court-of-appeals-disputed-douglas-county-commissioners-meetings-clearly-concerned-public-business-or-policymaking/] Get full access to Red County, Blue State at esuyat.substack.com/subscribe [https://esuyat.substack.com/subscribe?utm_medium=podcast&utm_campaign=CTA_4]

60. The Bluffs, the Ballot, and the future of Lone Tree

Ever received a local ballot and wondered what it meant and if it mattered? Tara Meekma, candidate for Lone Tree city council, joins me to talk about the election on May 5. We talk about what city councils do and why voting in these races have an outsized impact on daily life, particularly in regard to development and growth. We also hear about the status and concerns around Hillcamp, the proposed residential development near the Bluffs [https://www.taraforlonetree.com], a regional park with a hilly 2 mile hiking loop in the middle of the Lone Tree. Show notes: Contact me anytime with feedback or ideas, I’d love to hear from you: emilysuyat@gmail.com or emilysuyat.87 on signal. All info on Lone Tree elections: https://cityoflonetree.com/city-clerk/elections/ [https://cityoflonetree.com/city-clerk/elections/] Thank you to Tara Meekma for speaking with me. Find her at https://www.taraforlonetree.com [https://www.taraforlonetree.com] or email her at taraforlonetree@gmail.com and ask her how to get involved in what’s going on with Hillcamp. The Douglas County Lantern’s piece on Hillcamp from Nov 2025 where you can see a map of the proposed development [https://dougcolantern.substack.com/p/lone-tree-residents-organize-against]. Get full access to Red County, Blue State at esuyat.substack.com/subscribe [https://esuyat.substack.com/subscribe?utm_medium=podcast&utm_campaign=CTA_4]

59. It’s not just Dubai

Douglas County Commissioner George Teal’s luxury trip to Dubai isn’t the whole story, it’s the starting point. The fact that I can’t get a straight answer on something so specific and standard is a part of a bigger story of the commissioners’ disregard for rules and for the public it serves. It’s not abstract harm; it has a real cost. A pattern is there and in this episode, we connect the dots. Show notes: Contact me any time with tips or feedback. emilysuyat@gmail or on signal: emilysuyat.87 You are fully anonymous to me on signal if your screen name isn’t your real name. County employees, please know that I will protect your identity. Home rule cost $700k [https://dougcolantern.substack.com/p/home-rule-election-cost-200000-more] Commissioner Teal’s conspiracy theory that the Chinese Communist Party took down the home rule effort [https://coloradosun.com/2026/01/30/did-a-douglas-county-official-claim-the-chinese-communist-party-funded-opposition-to-home-rule/]. Commissioner Abe Laydon defended the statement in the commission business meeting after the home rule loss. Commissioner Kevin Van Winkle hasn’t said a word. Colorado Open Meetings Law case: news coverage [https://www.douglascountynewspress.com/news/article_66e28b42-9f56-4237-89d8-3445164ca0e4.html], actual opinion [https://coloradofoic.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/04/Opinion.pdf]. Read paragraphs 37-45 of the actual opinion for details on the county attorney’s mistakes. The CO Supreme Court will almost certainly not take the case on appeal because 1) the CO Court of Appeals opinion was unpublished, which means the court thinks it has insufficient precedential value and 2) all three appeals court judges agreed (i.e. there was no split decision). The Court “typically limits its discretionary review to cases raising novel or unsettled legal questions having broad impact throughout Colorado. Three votes are required to grant a certiorari petition.” [https://www.coloradojudicial.gov/supreme-court/supreme-court-protocols] Detention Center case: news coverage [https://gazette.com/2026/04/09/colorado-counties-cannot-challenge-state-law-restricting-immigration-contracts-appeals-court-says/], actual opinion [https://www.coloradojudicial.gov/system/files/opinions-2026-04/25CA0175-PD.pdf]. Read footnotes 1 and 3, which highlight bad lawyering and would haunt me forever as an attorney. County attorney Jeff Garcia’s salary [https://www.douglasco.gov/documents/2025-salary-publication.pdf/] CORA requests per year [https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/19zsFtUgdS7YLnypDyf3Gp6XcqfwOQqdUEwd-fUwO1vw/edit?usp=sharing]. This is from a CORA request to the county. I’m just now noticing that they gave me incomplete info, stay tuned. Still, there’s a noticeable jump in CORA requests since home rule. Type of law enforcement at the commissioner business meetings: Zebulon $100 million price tag [https://www.cbsnews.com/colorado/news/zebulon-sports-complex-contracts-financing-douglas-county/]. Comments in regard to Zebulon at this meeting: 20 speakers in support and 10 speakers against. I was there and I think it’s common knowledge that Teal didn’t call everyone and skipped around the list, showing preference to certain speakers. But the sign up lists that prove this were not retained despite a regular practice of retaining them. Read more about CO’s sunshine laws (CORA and Colorado Open Meetings Laws) here. [https://coloradofoic.org/] Get full access to Red County, Blue State at esuyat.substack.com/subscribe [https://esuyat.substack.com/subscribe?utm_medium=podcast&utm_campaign=CTA_4]