In the lead-up to the resignation of Palmer Lake Mayor Glant Havenar on Thursday, the Tri-Lakes area has been experiencing a social media firestorm over texts allegedly leaked in a Signal group chat. 

The texts, posted as screenshots by former Colorado state Republican Party Chair candidate and Monument resident Darcy Schoening, appear to show Havenar making derogatory comments about multiple Palmer Lake and Monument residents and elected officials. 

A lawsuit supplemental filed Monday by political nonprofit Integrity Matters along with other nonprofits and individuals claims the texts show unethical behavior on the part of the now-former mayor — namely collusion with Buc-ee’s developers.

The lawsuit supplemental claims to show correspondence with Mark Waller, a local consultant for Buc-ee’s, the Texas chain of superstores, during a meeting on a plan to build a location in Palmer Lake in December of last year was unethical. Havenar was not in attendance at the meeting.

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The lawsuit was originally filed in January and claimed the town board of trustees violated open meeting laws at the December meeting, which was a hearing to determine the eligibility of an annexation request from Buc-ee’s developers.  

Havenar did not respond to a request for comment on Thursday. She released a resignation letter the day prior without discussing a cause. 

“I leave this position with every confidence in the integrity and strength of the current Town Board,” she wrote. 

Schoening posted the texts in a group chat on Signal, an open-source, encrypted messaging platform. The group included 108 participants and was entitled “Never Surrender National.” 

Dana Duggan, who was a member, described the group chat as “clearly conservative,” with information on political news and events. She said recent discussions included an upcoming event with Rep. Lauren Boebert, a Republican for the 4th Congressional District. 

According to the lawsuit supplement, filed on June 2 in El Paso County District Court, Schoening sent a total of 55 screenshots of texts to the chat during May. One message from Schoening describes the screenshots as a “Palmer Lake corruption dump,” according to court documents. 

Schoening confirmed she sent the screenshots and said that they were accurately portrayed in the lawsuit. A former friend of Havenar, she said the two fell out over a personal dispute. 

“I just wanted people to know who their mayor is,” she said. 

The many screenshot texts included in the lawsuit appear to be communications between Havenar and Schoening. Waller, a former El Paso County Commissioner, also briefly appears in exchanges. 

Waller confirmed his part in the texts on Thursday, saying his participation did not add up to an ethical or legal violation for him or Havenar. During the December annexation meeting, Waller replies “yes” to a question from Havenar on the contiguity of the annexation request that would put the proposed Buc-ee’s within Palmer Lake town limits. 

“I got drawn into a text chain, didn’t feel super comfortable about it, and I gave a one word answer,” he said. 

Another interaction shows Waller defending his advice to Havenar not to board a private jet for the 2025 presidential inauguration, saying that to do so would be a violation of a Colorado constitution amendment on ethics in government. 

Waller and Schoening said that Havenar did not travel to the inauguration on the jet. Schoening said that she was invited on the flight by a friend in Black Forest and asked Havenar along as well. 

While Waller said he thought Havenar “did the right thing” in resigning, he said he was disappointed that personal communications were made public. 

“I think it’s unfortunate that people’s dirty laundry gets aired,” he said. 

Schoening, for her part, said she thought Havenar had breached ethics as a public official. 

“She most certainly did illegal acts,” she said. 

The messages allegedly from Havenar also included derogatory comments about multiple people, including Monument Mayor Mitch LaKind, Monument Mayor Pro Tem Steve King, Palmer Lake Trustee Shana Ball, Palmer Lake resident Nancy Jurka, Integrity Matters lawyer Kat Gayle, and others. 

Havenar also, according to the posted texts, may have created a Nextdoor account under another name to post about town news, including her own claim that nails were put behind her car tires. 

Buc-ee’s annexation dispute: Tensions flare in Palmer Lake amid recall effort, harassment claims

The content of the texts has prompted hundreds of posts and comments on local community pages on platforms like Facebook and Nextdoor. 

Walking their dogs around Palmer Lake on a sunny early afternoon Thursday, longtime town residents Caryn and Bill Fenton said they were happy about the news of the mayor’s resignation. Karyn was at an anti-Buc-ee’s meeting when she heard the news Wednesday night. 

“I want a mayor who’s going to believe in our little town, keeping our little town,” she said. 

Schoening said aside from her feud with Havenar, she did not oppose the building of a Buc-ee’s. She said she felt the texts would not harm the ongoing annexation decision process. 

“The activists probably believe it’s a notch in their belt, but it’s not,” she said. 

In a statement Thursday, the town said that considering “recent public controversy and Havenar’s decision to resign,” the board of trustees would meet on June 12 to determine how to fill the vacancy.

Three other town trustees, including Mayor Pro Tem Dennis Stern, are currently the subject of a recall campaign motivated by concerns over the December meeting and their decision to vote for Buc-ee’s annexation eligibility. 

“It is with sadness that I acknowledge and agree with Glant’s decision to step down,” Stern is quoted in the statement. “During her tenure serving as Mayor, and prior as Trustee, Glant made many contributions to our Town, and it’s clear she loves Palmer Lake.”