Editor’s note: Active voter registration numbers are current as of Sept. 25, 2024, according to the Colorado Secretary of State’s Office. The candidates’ responses have been edited for clarity and brevity. 

Two commission seats — in District 2 and District 3 — are up for grabs in Douglas County, an affluent area between Denver and Colorado Springs. Additionally, voters will decide on a $490 million bond measures, as well as a sales tax increase in Castle Rock.

The Republican-leaning county has 391,875 residents.

Voter registration: Democrats: 48,871; Republicans: 89,751; Unaffiliated: 136,350. Total active voters: 279,352

District 2

District 2 represents the central and southern parts of the county.

George Teal

Party: Republican

Website: https://www.georgefordougco.com/

Education: Bachelor’s degree in History, University of Northern Colorado.

What are the biggest issues facing your county and do you intend to solve them?

Since being elected Douglas County Commissioner in 2020, I’ve been working hard to provide solutions to the challenges our county is facing, including:

Rising property taxes — we provided our residents with $38 million in property tax relief through refund checks, but more needs to be done.

Public safety — we allocated an additional $25 million over the past two years toward the sheriff’s department, health department, school safety, justice center and the county firefighting helicopter.

Roads and infrastructure — traffic congestion impacts commerce and our quality of life. That’s why we’re investing in road projects, including $100 million toward improving the intersection C-470 & Hwy 85. We also spent $34 million to address water quality issues.

If elected, what is your top priority and how will you fund it?

Along with the additional $25 million investment in public safety, we’ve taken several proactive measures to ensure the well-being of our residents. We passed a camping ban and decreased our homeless population by 86%. Our HEART team methodology, which pairs a law enforcement officer with a homeless case worker to find and then offer assistance to homeless people in the community, has worked to take homeless off the streets of Douglas County.

We’ve also worked to protect our county from the dangers presented by the woke, sanctuary policies of Denver and the state of Colorado. We sued the state to allow local law enforcement to work with Federal immigration authorities. We also passed a public health order and county ordinance to prevent illegal immigrants from being dumped by the bus load in the county.

Following the compromise deal reached by the governor, lawmakers and two groups, how do you intend to deal with property taxes and county budgets in the future?

Too many of our residents are struggling to make ends meet and stay in their homes, so I am proud that we were able to offer our residents $38 million in much needed property tax relief. It was just a drop in the bucket, though. We actually tried to reduce all residential property values by 4% for taxation purposes, but the State Board of Equalization prevented us from doing so. Now, we must continue to seek creative solutions that provide tax relief and ensure that all of our residents, and particularly our most vulnerable neighbors, are able to remain in their homes.

Angela Thomas

Party: Democrat

Website: www.angelathomas4commissioner.com

Education: Bachelor’s in Social Work, University of Nebraska-Kearney

What are the biggest issues facing your county and do you intend to solve them?

The dysfunction, self-dealing, and lack of transparency on the current board of Douglas County Commissioners is a major issue. I am focused on wisely and transparently stewarding our resources to support our community and ensure that Douglas County continues to be a great place to live, work, and raise a family for all.

Water: Douglas County needs a sustainable water solution. I will work to create a fair plan that supports growth, and keeps costs low.

Growth: I will support efforts to update Douglas County’s master growth plan, and focus on affordable housing, new schools, improved roads, and fire mitigation while preserving our environment for generations to come.

If elected, what is your top priority and how will you fund it?

My top priority is ethical leadership and full transparency. We must rid ourselves of the dysfunction in order to move Douglas County forward. I would like to ensure that we are not spending money on lawsuits, particularly against each other or from members of the community who believe they have been treated unfairly.

Following the compromise deal reached by the governor, lawmakers and two groups, how do you intend to deal with property taxes and county budgets in the future?

Douglas County returned $38 million in tax dollars to citizens of Douglas Co in 2024. Rather than spending the funds to return this money, I am proposing that we look very carefully at the $731 million budget and determine how much is needed to meet those budgetary needs then adjust the mill levy that allows us to collect just enough to cover these costs and to avoid any debt service. In this way, we won’t be spending funds on returning money and our citizens will be able to use their own money rather than allowing the county to use their money before returning it to them.

District 3 Commissioner

The district covers the northwest corner of the county. The winner in November will replace Commissioner Lora Thomas, who is termed limited.

Kevin Van Winkle

Party: Republican

Website: www.vanwinkleforcolorado.com

Kevin Van Winkle did not respond to The Denver Gazette’s questionnaire.

Josh Smith

Party: Democrat

Website: joshsmith4commish.org

Education: Bachelor’s in Finance, University of Colorado Denver.

What are the biggest issues facing your county and do you intend to solve them?

The biggest issues facing Douglas County are intertwined tightly with each other — unchecked growth and water management. I intend to use the latter to curb the former. We have county water standards, but the current commission has been cutting deals with developers to work around those standards or allow them to be lowered, which has led to a growth rate of approximately twice the state average for the past 15 years and quadruple the national average over the same period. Standing firm on standards, even potentially raising them to protect our future water security is critical around the state, but especially in Douglas County. My neighbors and fellow residents of Douglas County are very concerned about this, as am I. We don’t need to stop growing, but we have to be wise about how we grow.

If elected, what is your top priority and how will you fund it?

My personal motivation for running has been all about community. I want to be a beacon for a return to normalcy, a return to common sense, and a move back to the middle where most of us actually are politically. We have so much more in common than we have differences between us. Most of us want the same things, we just have smaller disagreements about what policies to use to get there and how to follow up for equitable benefit from those policies.

Following the compromise deal reached by the governor, lawmakers and two groups, how do you intend to deal with property taxes and county budgets in the future?

I’m all for lower property taxes when appropriate, but this topic is incredibly complex in Douglas County as we have a wide variety of taxation districts here for parks and for water as much as anything else. Where the taxes go, what they pay for, is a part of the equation that can change all the variables. It’s not simply about how much comes in and how much goes out, but it’s about what they’re for and where they go. I would love to address this topic and questions around it more directly with my fellow residents and voters here in Douglas County. Please contact me for more on this.