On November 20, 2025 9News reported that Douglas County’s George Teal took a last-minute, pricey trip to the Dubai Air Show (in Dubai!), paid for with taxpayer dollars. In this episode, I talk about Douglas County’s government’s travel policy—what it allows and most importantly, what it prohibits. I walk through the numbers, the open records request to find Teal’s missing airfare receipts, and the $160 the county is requiring to release additional information. Stay tuned, it’s just getting started.

Email: [email protected]

Signal: @emilysuyat.87George Teal’s travel expenses per my November CORA request

Flight prices as of Feb 21, traveling Feb 24-27, via Expedia.com. These flight prices appear to be pretty consistent in off-months like Feb and Nov:

Economy from Denver to Dubai: $700-800

Economy premium: $1800

Business class: $8200

First class: $8200

The math in the best case scenario for Teal: Let’s say the travel policy allows for economy premium and that whoever traveled with George was an allowed expense. That’s two economy premium tickets for a total of $4000 (rounding up). $17,000 spent minus the $4000 allowed would mean that Teal owes the county, and taxpayers, $13,000.

Fill out the interest form for the effort moving from 3 to 5 commissioners. Three commissioners wield too much power in a county of almost 400,000.

Also pay attention to Rep Bob Marshall’s bill in the state legislature that would require 5 county commissioners in counties with more than 70,000 people.

Next county commissioner meeting: Feb 24 at 1:30pm, 100 Third Street in Castle Rock. Per George Teal’s decision, general public comment has been eliminated. Huh, wonder why? 🤔

Commissioner Kevin Van Winkle’s town hall on Feb 12 at 6pm is at Franktown Elementary School, 1384 N State Highway 83, Franktown, CO 80116. Please confirm details here before you go:

https://www.douglas.co.us/event/town-hall-hosted-by-commissioner-van-winkle/

The county’s website says “citizen engagement is the heartbeat of effective local government.” Why, then, have the county commissioners eliminated general public comment at their business meetings? Their excuses are many—and wholly unpersuasive. Listen to find out how this happened and what you can do about it.

Email me any time, I’d love to hear from you: [email protected]

* Attend the commissioner’s business meeting Feb 10, 1:30pm-2:30pm, 100 Third St, Castle Rock CO. Get details and agenda here. Email the BoCC and let them know you are a DougCo resident who wants general public comment: [email protected]

* Town Hall with Commissioner Kevin Van Winkle on Feb 12, 6-7pm at Franktown Elementary School. **PLEASE NOTE ON THE LOCATION HAS CHANGED FROM WHAT I SAID ON THE PODCAST** More details here.

* Interest survey - expand the commissioners from 3 to 5

* Follow Irene Bonham on Facebook and find out more on her website.

Find February meet and greets in DougCo for Congressional candidates seeking to replace Lauren Boebert; all candidates are Democrats. In alphabetical order: Trisha Calvarese, Eileen Laubacher, John Padora, Jenna Preston.

Sources for this episode: The county’s statement on prioritizing "real voices” and using students and the disablity community to shield themselves from criticism - coverage by Denver7”Open mic at the comedy show” quote by Commissioner George Teal - coverage by Denver7Denver Post’s coverage (gift link)Living in Parker Facebook post with over 200 comments opposing the commissioner’s decision to end public comment.Candidate Irene Bonham’s comment on Facebook in support of general public commentCandidate John Diak’s comment on FacebookNo comment from candidate Jake Bockenfeld

Last week Shrek the Musical, the show currently running at the PACE Center, had Douglas County facebook pages all stirred up. Cast members flew rainbow flags during the musical number Freak Flag and some ticket holders not happy, including one of the major sponsors of Parker Arts. August Stoten of Sasquatch Productions joins me today to talk about the producer’s side: the request to remove the flags and how the cast voted to fly the flags anyway, with one actor briefly stopping the show to deliver a powerful message of inclusion before continuing the performance.

Email me any time, I’d love to hear from you: [email protected]

Actor Lucas Barta’s Facebook post with Bekah’s speech and the performance of the song, complete with flags, starts at 7:57 but you should listen to what Lucas has to say as well.

Westword piece

Parker Arts statement on Facebook

Find tickets for Shrek the Musical, running through Feb 8.

Hi! Angela Thomas returns to answer common questions around the effort to expand the Douglas County Board of County Commissioners from three members to five. While counties like Adams, Arapahoe, and El Paso have five commissioners, none achieved it through a citizen-led petition. That means Douglas County could become the first.

Tune in to hear the very real ways residents can shape the future of Douglas County.

Email me anytime, I’d love to hear from you: [email protected]Angela’s feedback form - this is how you find out more info, volunteer, and provide feedback on exploring the effort to move to 5 commissioners.

Rep Bob Marshall’s statewide bill to expand to 5 commissioners if a certain population is reached: https://leg.colorado.gov/bills/HB25-1265Contact Rep Marshall’s office here: [email protected]Not sure who represents you at the state capitol? Come on, you smart and engaged voter, let’s get after it! https://leg.colorado.gov/find-my-legislatorCheck out Christian Schilder, Democrat running for HD39. Christian Schilder’s campaign launch: Feb 1, 3-5pm at Lone Tree Brewing, 8200 Park Meadows Dr #8222, Lone Tree, CO 80124Cuckoo bonkers bill re repealing state gun laws introduced by Rep Brandi Bradley (HD39) and Rep Max Brooks (HD45)

On this Martin Luther King Day, the Minneapolis communities who are showing up for their neighbors peacefully and firmly are inspiring me. If you want to join local resistance movements and find your people, connect with groups such as Democracy Now DougCo (you can also go to Indivisible.org to find more events, protests, and groups) and Douglas County Activism Task Force. If meeting in-person doesn’t work for you, sign up for their emails which are full of good info. I interviewed the leaders of these groups in Episode 25 and Episode 32.Today I am joined by community organizer Angela Thomas to discuss a long-term, democratic solution to better county governance: expanding the Douglas County commission to five members. In Part 1 of this conversation, Angela talks about why structural reform is a better option than a recall, how five commissioners would improve representation and transparency, what it would cost, and what it would take to get the measure on the 2026 ballot. Part 2 comes tomorrow!

Show your interest in the 5 commissioner effort by filling out Angela’s form.

What does a county commission even do? Listen to Episode 4 of this podcast, County Commission 101.

Email me anytime, I’d love to hear from you: [email protected]

Sources:

Denver Post: Douglas County sheriff, DA sue Colorado over visa process for crime victims (Gift link)

9News: DougCo postpones votes on theft ordinance that would fine businesses that don’t track shoplifting, DA George Brauchler removes support

New VIP area? Velvet ropes for the commissioners on the dais.

We can’t not talk about Renee Nicole Good. So we will. If you want to skip it, fast forward about 2 minutes.

Peaceful protest and participation are how we fight for accountability. Learn about caucus and assembly, the statutorily mandated process by which the two major political parties organize and select candidates for the primaries. Meg Furlow, the chair of the Douglas County Democrats, is here to educate us.

Email me any time, I’d love to hear from you: [email protected]Find all peaceful protests here: https://www.mobilize.us/ and filter the results with your city.

Here are the results, for example, for Highlands Ranch, Castle Rock, and Parker. Parker ICE Out for Good on Sunday, January 11 at 1-3pm. Get details here, you do not have to sign up to participate. Go to https://www.dougcodems.org/ to find out more about caucus and assembly. Caucus is March 5 and County Assembly is March 14. If you are a Democrat, you can register for caucus here.Learn about being an election judge here.

Check your voter affiliation and voter registration at the CO Secretary of State’s office.

Phil Weiser event on January 20 at 5:30pm in Sterling Ranch, RSVP here. Read Renee Nicole Good’s poetry and learn about her life thought her art and the people who knew her.

It’s the new year! Flex those muscles, local muscles that is. When you learn about an issue and put your voice on the record, it makes a difference. Amendment 13 in its original form would have effectively blocked Douglas County School District from building new schools in Sterling Ranch, and the decision about new schools would have defaulted to the developer. With unhappy residents and a lawsuit from the school district looming, the Sterling Ranch developer came back to re-negotiate Amendment 13 for a much better outcome for Douglas County students and their families. Thank you to Lori Wright for the update.

Read more about amendment 13 here:

Episode 42 and Episode 43Episode 10 on John Adams Academy

What aspect of Douglas County government and politics are you curious about? Let me know, I’d love to look into it. Email me at [email protected] sincere thank you for supporting the podcast this year. I truly appreciate it!

Let’s talk about Douglas County’s proposed retail theft ordinance and why it’s more performative tough-on-crime theater than effective policy. Plus, school board accountability after the election, and a few bright-spot local recommendations Retail theft press conferenceThe proposed retail theft ordinanceGeorge Teal wants to work with ICE

Kyle Clark and Marshall Zelenger on the shoplifting ordinance. Since the commissioners have turned of FB comments, you can see the comments under the 9News story here (hint, they’re not supportive).SUBMIT FEEDBACK on retail theft ordinance here. Douglas County Lantern on the new county ordinance around construction building defects: Breaking: Commissioners Plan to Weaken Homeowners Rights, Critics Say

Incoming School Board Members Sworn In Privately Before Public Meeting Douglas County Watch’s fb post on newly elected directors’ comments about early swearing in

School board meeting where Susan Meek explains the situation around early swearing in.

Get free tickets to CD4 candidate forum for the four Dems vying for Lauren Boebert’s seat. Hurry, this will be sold out. Books are Awesome in ParkerOpa - Greek food in ParkerWhat are your favorite small businesses and restaurants in Douglas County? Comment or email me at [email protected], I want to hear!

In this episode I break down the November 25 public hearing on Amendment 13, the provision that prevents Douglas County School District from building schools in Sterling Ranch. I also address a false statement made about me during this meeting. It’s more commissioner chaos and cronyism in Douglas County.

Email me anytime: [email protected]

Links:

The commissioner hearing on youtube

Colorado Times Recorder reporting on this meeting (thorough yet simplified)

Ellie Reynold’s comments about me

Douglas County Parents response to false allegations (it’s on Angela Thomas’s page, not DCP’s like I said in the podcast)

George Teal’s false statements about home rule here and here.

Marshall Zelleger in Truth Be Told