Douglas County residents flooded a July 8 Board of Commissioners meeting to ask for apologies from Commissioner George Teal, following his suggestion that opposition to the county’s failed home rule initiative might have been backed by the Chinese Communist Party.
During a KNUS radio interview ahead of the June home rule special election, Teal said he and fellow commissioners Abe Laydon and Kevin Van Winkle had been briefed on an ongoing federal investigation concerning the communist party’s alleged funding toward nationwide “No Kings” protests, and suggested those influences could have filtered down to a local anti-home rule campaign.
“Here’s a nationwide (effort), funded by China, funded by a communist organization that is actually trying to work against the people of Douglas County having a say on local control issues,” Teal said on KNUS on June 23.
Teal later told 9NEWS he was referring specifically to the political committee “No Little Kings” in Douglas County, an opposition group led by Highlands Ranch resident Dr. Eiko Browning, who Teal named specifically. Browning, a Japanese-American oncologist, contributed about $14,000 of her own money to oppose the home rule measure.
Teal told Colorado Community Media he referenced Browning “only in her capacity as the registered agent for the “No Little Kings” issue committee, which was filed as a statewide, not a local, issue committee.”
Some are concerned that Teal’s claims about Browning have deeper implications. Though the July 8 meeting agenda included no items related to the home rule ballot measure, over a dozen residents showed up to ask that Teal retract and apologize for his statements concerning Browning.
“Recently, we’ve seen misleading and inflammatory claims made by a member of this body, specifically false allegations about a local resident, Dr. Eiko Browning,” said former commissioner candidate Angela Thomas.
She presented a letter signed by more than 1,300 people from across Colorado condemning Teal’s remarks as “provocative and dangerous.”
Browning, calling into the meeting remotely, asked for Teal’s claims to be retracted.
“Commissioner Teal, I call on you to withdraw your claims that there was foreign influence in the June 2024 election,” she said. “Commissioner Laydon and Commissioner Van Winkle, I call on you to denounce Commissioner Teal’s statements, to censure him and to strip him of his committee assignments. Silence is complicit.”
Other residents echoed her concerns.
Among them, Parker resident Kim Carroll said, “The cruel lies of Commissioner Teal about Dr. Eiko Browning should not be tolerated and should have consequences.”
Meanwhile, Commerce City Council Member Craig Kim drove 45 minutes to Castle Rock to testify.
“This allegation … reveals a disturbing trend of stereotyping based on appearances,” Kim said. “The individual leading the opposition is a U.S. citizen of Japanese descent … It is imperative that this commission and any public official … lead by example and uphold the values of dignity, respect and unity.”
During the meeting, Laydon referenced the briefings that allegedly indicated a federal investigation into foreign interference in the “No Kings” campaign.
“Now I don’t know if that’s true, but we did hear that information, and that investigation is pending,” Laydon said. “Obviously, the local campaign was also called something very similar. So there might have been a connection there that Commissioner Teal drew.”
Teal’s response during the meeting was brief, requesting that public comments from residents be “factual and informed.” However, a longer statement that Teal issued to Colorado Community Media on July 9 read in part:
“It’s absolutely outrageous to have my integrity attacked by these ridiculous, unfounded claims. It’s infuriating to see such blatant lies being thrown around with no basis in reality.
“So let’s be clear: those making these untrue allegations have conflated two separate issues — an ongoing federal investigation into the anti-Trump ‘No Kings’ rallies and the similarly-named ‘No Little Kings’ campaign opposing home rule.
“While many governments, including Douglas County, were informed of a federal investigation into the coordinated ‘No Kings’ rallies potentially involving a foreign government, there has been no claim that the Colorado-based ‘No Little Kings’ campaign is part of that federal inquiry.
“The truth is, the factions aligned against home rule have spent months pushing division within our county, spreading misinformation and often lies. This is more than just a political maneuver; it’s a manufactured outrage meant to sabotage the good work we continue to do for our Douglas County communities.”
Commissioner Van Winkle also started to issue a response during the meeting, but was interrupted by outbursts from the audience.
“This meeting has reached a point of absurdity, and they’re just yelling,” Van Winkle said, as Laydon called for order.
The home rule initiative — which would have given the county greater control over its local government structure — was overwhelmingly rejected in late June, with more than 71% of voters opposed. On the eve of the special election, Rep. Bob Marshall (D-Highlands Ranch) called Teal’s claims about foreign interference “just freaking insane.”
“In Douglas County, whether (voters are) conservative Republicans or progressive Democrats, they don’t like seeing people smeared for no good reason,” Marshall told Colorado Community Media in June.