Douglas County voters overwhelmingly rejected the county’s proposed home rule charter Tuesday night, with initial results showing that 71% of ballots cast oppose the measure in the third round of returns.
On one side of town, County Commissioners George Teal, Abe Laydon and Kevin Van Winkle addressed the media at a press conference in Castle Rock, acknowledging the defeat, even as they stood by their support for the change.
“We heard from the people of Douglas County that this vote came too fast, that they needed more information and a more deliberate debate,” Teal said. “I remain an ardent advocate of home rule and am committed to providing that debate to the people of Douglas County.”
Home rule would have allowed Douglas County to craft its own charter and operate with expanded local authority, rather than remaining governed by powers explicitly granted under state statute. The commissioners called for the special election in late March to pursue the change — sparking months of debate over process, transparency and the legal scope of local power.
Roughly 10 miles away, in Lone Tree, the mood was far more celebratory. About 50 opponents of the measure, including candidates running for the charter commission, gathered for a watch party hosted by Stop the Power Grab, a group that formed in response to the initiative. The room erupted in cheers as early results were announced.
“Excited,” “ecstatic,” “amped up,” “absolutely pumped,” and similar adjectives were all used to describe their sentiments after the initial vote count was announced.
Several attendees told Colorado Community Media they viewed the result as a statement on how the home rule process was handled.
“This really reflects how the citizens felt about the way this whole process was handled, and how the citizens were left out of the whole situation,” said one Lone Tree resident, who identified as a lifelong Republican. “This was definitely a top down initiative by a handful of GOP leaders, and there was a huge silent group that really let their voices be spoken at the ballot.”
Angela Thomas, a candidate for the charter commission and a former county commissioner candidate, said, “I feel like we have shown the Douglas County commissioners that the people have more of a voice than they want us to have, and that they need to begin to listen to the people.”
Rep. Bob Marshall (D-Highlands Ranch), a vocal opponent of the charter, called the result “the biggest victory I’ve been involved in since I was in politics.”
Marshall added that the unity across Republican, unaffiliated and Democratic voters on this issue indicated that the result was mostly about “good governance and not about secrecy, transparency.”
Jenna Preston, a precinct organizer who helped mobilize opposition to the charter, said if the initiative was proposed with a year or two of public input and foresight, the prospect of home rule might have been “exciting… and interesting, and exhausting work.”
“But doing this behind closed doors and having no shame about it,” Preston added. “I mean, people just can see right through that.”
As of 10:10 p.m., the unofficial tally stood at 71.16% voting no to form a charter commission. The official outcome will not be certified until July 8, allowing time for military and overseas ballots to be received and counted. According to the county clerk, there are 2,584 active UOCAVA voters in Douglas County.