In The Denver Gazette, reporter Michael Braithwaite covers a brewing fight in Douglas County over something that should be basic in a free society: letting the public speak at public meetings. Two state representatives, Rep. Brandi Bradley (R, District 39) and Rep. Bob Marshall (D, District 43), published a letter raising concerns about the Douglas County Board of Commissioners removing general public comment from its meetings.
Bradley and Marshall argue the board’s move invites “constitutional and statutory” problems, calling public comment a “core component of transparent governance,” and warning that curtailing access beyond what is needed for order and efficiency is asking for legal scrutiny. The controversy also follows a tense exchange between Marshall and the board over a proposed ordinance requiring county businesses to report suspected shoplifters within 96 hours or face penalties.
The story also notes that Douglas County’s decision is drawing wider attention, with criticism dating back to last summer’s debate over a 500-acre sports complex in Sterling Ranch, when former commissioner Lora Thomas said the project was being rushed without proper processes to include public comment. Board Chairman George Teal said he was not interested in reconsidering the decision, though he quipped that if legislators were concerned, they could introduce a bill.
The Bullet Point Brief
- Two state reps, one Republican and one Democrat, teamed up to tell the Douglas County commissioners: cutting off general public comment is not “good governance,” it is a legal and political unforced error.
- Their letter warns that when you curtail public comment beyond what’s needed to keep meetings orderly, you invite constitutional and statutory headaches. Translation: lawsuits love this kind of decision.
- The timing is not random. The board and Rep. Marshall just had a public spat over a shoplifter-reporting ordinance, including a commissioner calling Marshall’s claim a “flat-out lie.” So yes, the temperature in the room is already boiling.
- This is not the first time Douglas County has been accused of steamrolling past public input. The Sterling Ranch sports complex debate included criticism that the process was being rushed without proper public comment.
- The chairman’s response was basically: I’m not interested, but hey, if a legislator cares, pass a bill. That is an incredible way to say “we shut you up, and we are not losing sleep over it.”
My Bottom Line
The right thing to do when you make mistakes is to own them. I have been there. A few years back, I made a mistake by agreeing to suspend public comment at Weld County commissioners’ meetings. At the time, one commissioner was effectively weaponizing the public comment period to try to build support for a proposal that had no merit, on an issue where the board had no authority. I agreed to suspend public comment anyway, and that was wrong.
We fixed it. The suspension lasted a few meetings, and after a very understandable public backlash, we reinstated public comment. The public was right to push back. Even when it gets messy, even when someone tries to use it as a political prop, letting people speak is part of the deal.
Here’s the key point that a lot of folks do not realize: public comment is not statutorily required. But it is still the right thing to do. Government does not exist to be comfortable. It exists to serve the people, including the ones who show up annoyed, frustrated, and ready to tell you exactly what they think.
So yes, it was wrong when Weld suspended public comment, and it is wrong when Douglas does it now. I would encourage my colleagues in Douglas County to reconsider. Let the public speak. If you cannot handle hearing from the people you govern, you are in the wrong line of work.
Source: The Denver Gazette
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