Three Douglas County residents and former political rivals filed a lawsuit on Tuesday against the Board of Douglas County Commissioners claiming it violated state open meeting laws on more than a dozen occasions since December.

Teaming up to file the lawsuit are former Douglas County Commissioner Lora Thomas, a Republican, House District 43 Rep. Bob Marshall, a Democrat, and Julie Gooden, a Douglas County resident and registered unaffiliated voter.

Attorneys from Zansberg Beylkin law firm are pursuing the lawsuit, which claims commissioners engaged in over a dozen meetings since December that violated the Colorado Sunshine Act law, arguing they held unlawful public meetings either discussing policy in private or not providing enough public notice prior.

“During these meetings the Commissioners not only discussed public business, they made unlawful decisions, of great import to and impact on the citizens of Douglas County,” the lawsuit said.

The lawsuit requests the court force the county to forfeit two adopted resolutions for residents to begin the process of becoming a home rule county, which voters get the final say in. Plaintiffs argue the county approved the resolutions in a meeting that violated the Colorado Sunshine Act.

Colorado law outlines what constitutes an open meeting: If a quorum or three or more members of a body discusses public business or potentially takes a formal action, it must be open to the public.

A 24-hour notice to the public is required if the body might adopt a policy, take a formal action or when a majority or quorum is attending or is expected to attend the meeting.

“For the past several months, the Douglas County Board of Commissioners has blatantly and willfully flouted this law established to ensure transparency of government at every level,” plaintiffs said in a news release.

In its news release and lawsuit, the three plaintiffs blamed commissioners for “meeting in secret” and discussing efforts to become a home rule county — a move the three Republican commissioners hope grants more local control and gives the county the ability to reject complying with state laws and policies it doesn’t agree with.

Plaintiffs argue Douglas County commissioners violated open meeting laws when they approved two resolutions to establish a home rule vote during a 10-minute meeting on March 25. Because of this, the plaintiffs requested that the court set aside those two resolutions.

“The institution of a home rule for a Colorado county is something that has only been done twice in Colorado history, and both times through a citizen initiative with dozens of public meetings with the ultimate goal to reign and control a county government that had lost the trust of the citizens,” plaintiffs said in the news release.

The lawsuit notes Douglas County commissioners “rubber stamped” and rushed a resolution approving two home rule elections at its special meeting on March 25, which plaintiffs argue didn’t give enough time for constituents to learn about the move.

“There had not been any prior discussion by the commissioners of the home rule initiative at any public meeting,” plaintiffs said in the lawsuit. “They rubber-stamped their earlier decisions to adopt those resolutions, with practically no discussion by the commissioners of their merits, and without hearing a single word from the public.”

Plaintiffs in the lawsuit pointed to an April 2 meeting, when all three commissioners took part in a Parker Conservative’s meeting that the group advertised as a private meeting, with media not welcome (in fact, stating any member of the media would be escorted out of the building) in its invite. There, commissioners discussed home rule efforts, according to officials.

Douglas County officials have since denied they unlawfully took part in closed public meetings, but could not verify 24-hour public notice was given of the Parker Conservative’s April 2 meeting.

“More often than not we have disagreed and been on the opposite sides of political issues over the years,” the three plaintiffs said in its news release on Tuesday. “But on one issue we are united: Public policy is public business and may not be conducted in secret.”

In a collective statement responding to the lawsuit, Douglas County commissioners told The Denver Gazette the action against them “intends to keep voters from voting.”

Commissioners said the board is “confident that the people of Douglas County will prevail in this attack on their right to vote on issues of independence and local control.”

Attorney Steven D. Zansberg represents The Denver Gazette and the Clarity Media family of newspapers.