Embattled Douglas County Commissioner Lora Thomas resigned Friday, just weeks before the end of her last term in office, blaming years of friction with fellow commissioners who she says “evicted” her from her office space.
In a social media post, Thomas wrote that she’d put up with “4 years of hell” while working alongside commissioners Abe Laydon and George Teal, including “harassment, suppression, censorship, marginalization and outright cancellation.”
Thomas’ term would have expired in January, when state Sen. Kevin Van Winkle is scheduled to take over the seat.
Thomas was first elected in 2016 and reelected in 2020. Commissioners are limited to two terms in office, and Van Winkle prevailed over Democrat Josh Smith in the race to represent northwest Douglas County last month.
Thomas wrote that Laydon and Teal on Wednesday ordered county staffers to clear out her office space to allow Van Winkle to move in.
“There was already a vacant exec office for Van Winkle’s use, but he was just fine with Laydon/Teal kicking me out,” she wrote. “This personal petty harassment was the last straw.”
The three have sparred for years over Thomas’ conduct as commissioner, with Laydon and Teal censuring her, stripping her of her position as board chair and ordering two investigations that failed to turn up proof of wrongdoing.
