DougCo News
Openings, closings, and what's changing across Douglas County.
Douglas County Election Notebook: A Train Tax on the Wrong Ballots, the State's Fix, and What Oct. 15 Brings
Week two of ballots in hand. The Front Range rail tax got printed on Douglas County ballots it did not belong on and the state has now said how it will un-count them; the Marx refund clock runs to Oct. 15; Weiser's cure deadline passed quietly; and the Parker forum happened behind a members-only door.
Every Douglas County Ballot Has a Train Tax on It. Only 5,967 Voters Were Supposed to Get One.
All 289,000 Douglas County ballots carry Ballot Issue 7A, the Front Range Passenger Rail sales tax, when only 5,967 voters in Sterling Ranch are supposed to vote on it. The clerks were never sent the district's new boundary; the district's general manager says that is on him; the state says those votes will not be counted.
Lauren Boebert Is Going to Lose
Okay, not exactly. But this is the year it happens if it is ever going to happen, and here are the reasons the people rating this race Solid Republican are missing. Our model, our arithmetic, and the case against us.
Who Is Nate Marsh? The Prosecutor Running to Take Back House District 43
A senior deputy district attorney who has spent five years in the Douglas County Family Violence Unit, grew up in Highlands Ranch, and is running on cashless bail, prison for violent offenders, TABOR and parental rights, with the police unions and the Colorado Chamber behind him and less money than the incumbent.
Who Is Bob Marshall? The Only Democrat Douglas County Has Sent to the Capitol Since 1966
A retired Marine lieutenant colonel and former IRS tax litigator who was a Republican for 30 years, holds Highlands Ranch's House seat by 405 and then 1,373 votes, voted against his own party's assault-weapons ban, and has sued the school board, his own chamber and now the county commissioners.
Colorado House District 45 Candidates 2026: Max Brooks vs Michael Clarkson
Castle Rock's House seat has a first-term Republican who is also a sitting town councilman and cannot run for both. Max Brooks, who won 62 percent in 2024, faces Democrat Michael Clarkson and Libertarian Caryn Ann Harlos. The 2022 and 2024 numbers, Brooks's council and Capitol record, Clarkson's platform, and the money.
Colorado House District 44 Candidates 2026: Anthony Hartsook vs Richard Bowness
Parker's House seat already had its fight: the Republican caucus chair beat a floor-nominated challenger in June. Now Anthony Hartsook faces Democrat Richard Bowness, who is running on the data center opening in Parker, and Libertarian John H Sutton. The 2022 and 2024 numbers, the primary result, both platforms and the money.
Colorado House District 39 Candidates 2026: Brandi Bradley vs Christian Schilder
The county's big rural House seat, from Roxborough Park and Castle Pines down to Larkspur, has a two-term Republican who won it at 58 and 59 percent and carries this year's Second Amendment Protection Act. Her Democratic challenger has filed, won his primary and raised money, and published nothing we can find.
Colorado Senate District 30 Candidates 2026: John Carson vs Kevin Leung
The Highlands Ranch, Lone Tree, Castle Pines and Roxborough seat has an incumbent who has never been on its ballot. John Carson, appointed in January 2025, faces Kevin Leung, a former school board director. The 2022 numbers, the candidates' records, where they stand on taxes, schools and growth, and the money, which is tied.
Colorado 6th Congressional District 2026: Jason Crow vs Jason Clark, and the Sliver of Douglas County That Votes in It
Only about 3,600 Douglas County voters cast a ballot in the 6th District race in 2024, against 244,000 in the 4th. If your ballot says District 6 under U.S. House, this page is for you. Four-term Democrat Jason Crow, an Army veteran from Aurora with $2.7 million in the bank, faces Republican Jason Clark, a West Point graduate and Aurora small-business owner whose committee shows no money raised. Every rating calls the seat safe for Crow.
Douglas County Halloween Events: Every Verified 2026 Date, Weekend by Weekend
Eight confirmed Halloween dates from the first Ghostly Stories walk on October 7 to Last Stop at the Mansion on October 31: a free trick-or-treat trail in Castle Rock, a pumpkin derby and $42 bonfire in Castle Pines, Parker's ticketed Trunk or Treat, costumed paddlers on Chatfield, and a candy run built for homeschoolers.
Who Is Dan Smith? The Democrat for Douglas County Treasurer
A corporate finance veteran from Charles Schwab and Morgan Stanley who has spent eight years as a citizen watchdog on the school district's money, who built his own property tax comparison tool after saying no such thing exists today, and who argues the job should not be partisan at all.
Who Is Tim Dietz? The Republican for Douglas County Treasurer
A sitting Castle Rock councilman and Navy veteran who won his primary by 22 points, who has written more detail about how the treasurer's office works than almost any candidate on this ballot, and whose campaign site never says where he works.
Victor Marx Campaign Finance Case: Hearing Officer Fines Him $57,647, More Than the State Asked
The Republican nominee for governor took 200 contributions over the legal limit from 110 donors, $82,713 in all, and conceded it. The October 2 decision doubled the base fine for aggravating conduct, orders unrefunded money to charity by October 26, and notes the state constitution allowed a penalty two to five times larger.
Douglas County Colorado Voter Guide 2026: Every Race and Measure on the November 3 Ballot
Your ballot was mailed Friday, October 2, and it is the longest this county has seen in years: a three-way governor's race, 14 statewide measures, seven county offices, a $54 million school tax, three dueling questions about expanding the commission, 13 judges, and council races in Castle Rock and Parker. Here is how to work through it, with every deadline.
Your Douglas County Ballot Is in the Mail: How to Fill It Out, Where to Drop It, and Every Deadline
Douglas County Elections started mailing ballots to every active registered voter today. Here is when yours should show up, the one line on the envelope that decides whether your vote counts, all 23 drop boxes and the 23 in-person centers, and the five dates that matter between now and Nov. 12.
How Low Can Victor Marx Go? The Douglas County Republican Floor and the 2010 Precedent
Republicans here took 59.07 percent for governor in 2014, 56.12 in 2018 and 49.46 in 2022. Extend that line once and Victor Marx posts the lowest Republican share in Douglas County since Dan Maes got 11.05 percent in 2010. Three scenarios with the arithmetic shown, and what 2010 would actually require.
Who Is Irene Bonham? The Democrat for Douglas County Commissioner District 1
A Parker nonprofit leader who built her public profile helping beat the commissioners' home rule plan, then ran unopposed for the nomination to replace a term-limited commissioner. Her biography, her six-plank platform, the endorsement the county Republican Party is running against her, and the money.
Douglas County Election Notebook: Ballots Mail Friday, a Protection Order in CD4, and Where the Marx Fine Stands
Our first weekly notebook on the November election. What actually changed this week in the races on your Douglas County ballot, with the dates the county has published and a link to the page where we track each race.
Who Is Jake Bockenfeld? The Republican for Douglas County Commissioner District 1
A concrete company executive who has never held office, who beat a sitting Parker councilman twice to get here, who opposes adding two seats to the board he is running for, and who called new arrivals from Denver and Aurora locusts before calling it a figure of speech.
Judges on the Douglas County Ballot 2026: What the Performance Commissions Said About Each One
Thirteen judges appear on the Douglas County ballot with no opponent, just a yes or no. Every one of them was found to meet performance standards, but the votes and the survey numbers behind those findings are not identical. Here is each judge, what the commission wrote, and how the new 23rd Judicial District decides who is on your ballot.
Castle Rock Town Council 2026: District 3 and District 5 Candidates
Two open seats, five names, and two campaign websites among them. Both incumbents are leaving, one because the town's term limit says so and one because he is on the same ballot for the statehouse. What we could find on each candidate, what the town says the districts cover, and how these seats voted in 2022.
Colorado Attorney General Race 2026: Griswold vs Allen From Douglas County
The attorney general is the state's lawyer, and for two years that has meant the lawyer across the table from Douglas County's own lawsuits. The seat is open. The Democrat is the secretary of state who has run here twice; the Republican is the El Paso County DA endorsed by this county's sheriff, its district attorney and its state senator.
Colorado Secretary of State Race 2026: Gonzalez vs Wiley From Douglas County
The office that runs Colorado's elections with the county clerks, and registers the state's businesses, is open. The Democrat is the Jefferson County clerk and an election lawyer who defends the mail-ballot system. The Republican is a former Libertarian Party director who wants one-day in-person voting, no machines and a re-registration of every voter. What the county's own numbers say, and what changes here.
Colorado Senate District 4 Candidates 2026: Teddy Collins vs Justin Kurth
Mark Baisley's run for U.S. Senate leaves the eight-county district open. A Colorado Springs firearms dealer with Baisley's endorsement faces a Marine veteran and former 911 dispatcher from Fremont County. What the seat covers in Douglas County, what each candidate says on water, taxes, schools and public safety, and what the county's own numbers say.
Parker Town Council 2026: Five Candidates for Three Seats
Three sitting councilmembers, a 26-year police veteran who says Parker Road fixes should come before new density, and a first-time candidate who wants lower taxes. Every Parker voter picks three, and two of the incumbents have endorsed the third.
Douglas County Assessor Candidates 2026: Toby Damisch vs Kara Garr, and What the Assessor Actually Controls About Your Tax Bill
The assessor sets the value on your house that every tax bill starts from. The incumbent, a planner by training, ran the 2023 valuation surge and the flat 2025 cycle; the challenger, a public-administration professional, is running on making the process understandable and the appeal winnable. Neither sets your tax rate.
Sheri Davis vs Jim Oehler: The Douglas County Clerk and Recorder Race, and Why Amendment 84 Makes It Matter
The clerk runs your elections, your car registration and the county's property records. The incumbent has more than 25 years in the office and a national elections certification; the challenger is a journalist-turned-engineer who says elections should be free of political influence. Whoever wins would implement Amendment 84 if voters pass it.
What Do Propositions 132 and 133 Mean for Douglas County? The Fentanyl Ballot Measure, Life Without Parole for Trafficking, and the DA Who Would Enforce Both
Proposition 132 makes possession of any amount of fentanyl a felony and sets 8 to 32 years for distribution; Proposition 133 makes child sex trafficking a life-without-parole crime. What each does, what the state estimates they cost, and what changes in the 23rd Judicial District.
Who Is Mark Baisley? Douglas County's State Senator, Now the Republican Nominee for U.S. Senate
A NASA and Raytheon engineer turned software executive who owns a home in Roxborough Park and is registered to vote in Woodland Park, represented the county in the House for four years and in the Senate for four more, and gave up a run for governor to challenge John Hickenlooper. His record, his district, and why his own county's result matters more than the state's.
John Hickenlooper vs Mark Baisley: The U.S. Senate Race, With Douglas County's Own State Senator on the Ballot
Every rating calls it safe for the incumbent, and the money is 74 to 1. What the race means here is different: the Republican is the state senator for the county's rural edge, his run is why that seat is open, and his result in Douglas County will be read as a verdict on the county's Republican brand.
Is Douglas County, Colorado Republican or Democrat? Red or Blue in 2026, Race by Race
The Republican margin for governor here was 1,290 votes last time. The congresswoman won the county by half a point. The Democrat for commissioner drew more primary votes than the Republican. Race by race, the numbers that say Colorado's most reliably red large county could vote blue on November 3, and the numbers that say it will not.
New in Douglas County: An ER for Crystal Valley, Nova Glow Finally Picks a Date, a Parker Speakeasy for December, and the Ash Borer Has Arrived
Edition seven: AdventHealth is building a 23,600-square-foot ER and urgent care at Crystal Valley Parkway, the Juniper's Pilates studio names October 10, Black Rock Coffee opened on University, a speakeasy is coming to Parker on December 1, and the emerald ash borer has been confirmed in Parker, the first in the county.
Laura Cavey vs Amelia Thomas vs Stu Butler: Who Is Running for Castle Rock Mayor, and What Each Would Do About Water and Growth
The mayor pro tem with the firefighters' endorsement, a downtown business veteran who says he has no next campaign to protect, and a Castle Rock native running as the outsider. A three-way race for a four-year term in a town that has doubled since the first candidate moved in.
Your Douglas County Ballot, Top to Bottom: Every Line on the November 2026 Sample Ballot, in Order, With Our Page on Each
The county's sample ballot runs four pages and 60-some contests and questions, some of which you will not see because they belong to a sliver of the county. Here it is in the order it lands on your counter, with a link to what we have written on each item and a note on who actually votes on it.
Greg Lopez Is Not Splitting Douglas County's Republican Vote. He Is Giving It Somewhere to Go
Republicans are calling the former Parker mayor a spoiler. That assumes the votes were theirs. More than six in ten of the county's Republican primary voters chose someone other than Victor Marx, and half the county belongs to no party. Lopez is the option for the conservative who will not vote for Marx and will not vote left. The math on what that does to the county, and the case against our read.
What Does the 2026 Ballot Cost Your Douglas County Household? A Calculator for 5A, Amendment 87, NN and 137
Four questions on your ballot move money in or out of your house: the school override, the graduated income tax, and two measures that shrink TABOR refunds. Enter your home value and taxable income and see the total, then uncheck any measure to model it failing.
What Does Amendment 82 Mean for Douglas County? A Constitutional Right to Natural Gas, in a County Building Homes by the Thousand
Two sentences would go into the Colorado constitution: consumers have the right to buy natural gas for cooking and heating, and utilities have the right to sell it. No Douglas County town restricts gas hookups today. The amendment is about making sure none ever can, and about what else those two sentences might unlock.
What Does Proposition 137 Mean for Douglas County? $175 Million a Year in Sporting-Goods Tax for Water, Land and Wildfire, Paid Out of Your TABOR Refund
Proposition 137 redirects the sales tax Colorado already collects on bikes, boats, skis and camping gear to conservation and wildfire mitigation. No new tax, but a smaller refund. For a county that spent August under fire restrictions and is building a helitack base, the trade is unusually concrete.
What Does Proposition 135 Mean for Douglas County? The Ban on Sex-Altering Surgery for Minors, and What It Would Actually Stop Here
Proposition 135 would prohibit surgeries on Coloradans under 18 to alter sex characteristics and bar public money and insurance from paying for them. Children's Hospital Colorado, which has a campus in Highlands Ranch, says it has never performed one. What the measure does, what it leaves alone, and what it changes in Douglas County.
What Does Proposition 134 Mean for Douglas County? School Sports by Sex, and What Changes at DCSD
Proposition 134 would require every school and college team in Colorado to be designated male, female or coed, with participation set by biological sex. What the current rules are at Douglas County schools, what the measure changes, who is funding each side, and what nobody can tell you: how many students it affects.
Bob Marshall vs Nate Marsh: Highlands Ranch's House District 43, the Closest Legislative Seat in Douglas County
A retired Marine lieutenant colonel who was a Republican for 30 years and now holds the seat as a Democrat, against a Douglas County prosecutor who says it is one of the most winnable Republican pickups in the state. Marshall won by 400 votes in 2022 and 1,373 in 2024. He is also the man suing the county commissioners over your ballot.
What Does Amendment 81 Mean for Douglas County? Immigration Reporting, in the County That Keeps Suing the State Over It
Amendment 81 would require police, sheriffs, jailers and prosecutors to determine whether people charged with violent crimes, or any crime after a felony, are lawfully present, and to tell Homeland Security within three days if they are not or if nobody can tell. Douglas County's government sued the state over this exact ground in 2024 and lost, with the Court of Appeals affirming the dismissal this April. What the amendment would change here.
What Does Amendment 84 Mean for Douglas County? ID Numbers on Your Mail Ballot, and the Clerk Who Would Have to Run It
Amendment 84 would add the last four digits of your Social Security number or your REAL ID driver's license or ID number to Colorado mail ballots, on top of the signature match. What changes at the drop box, what it costs, who is for and against it, and why the Douglas County clerk's race on the same ballot suddenly matters more.
What Does Proposition NN Mean for Douglas County? Smaller TABOR Refunds, More School Money, and How It Stacks With 5A
The legislature's only referral asks you to let the state keep money it would otherwise refund, and send the first slice to K-12. What it costs a Douglas County taxpayer in refunds, roughly what DCSD would get, and why it is not the same question as the district's own $54 million ask on the same ballot.
What Does Proposition 136 Mean for Douglas County? The 4.4 Percent Income Tax Cap, and What Happens If Amendment 87 Passes Too
Proposition 136 exists for one reason: to stop Amendment 87. It caps Colorado's income tax at today's 4.4 percent. What it does on its own, what it does in a collision with 87, and why the pair matters more in Douglas County than anywhere else.
What Does Amendment 87 Mean for Douglas County? The Graduated Income Tax, by Household Income
Colorado's richest county has more to gain and more to lose from Amendment 87 than any other. The math at $75,000, $150,000, $250,000, $600,000 and $1.5 million, who is paying for each side, the lawsuit that could pull it from the ballot, and what happens if Proposition 136 passes too.
What Do the 14 Colorado Ballot Measures Mean for Douglas County?
Seven constitutional amendments and seven propositions, thirteen of them from citizen petitions, which has not happened since 1974. Each one in plain English, who is behind it, what it takes to pass, and what changes in Douglas County if it does.
Douglas County Ballot Drop Off Locations 2026: All 23 Drop Boxes, by Town, With Hours and the Deadline
Twenty-three boxes, open around the clock from October 2 until 7 p.m. on November 3. Addresses for Castle Rock, Parker, Highlands Ranch, Lone Tree, Castle Pines, Larkspur, Roxborough and Sterling Ranch, plus what to do if yours never arrives.
DCSD Ballot Issue 5A: What the $54 Million Mill Levy Override Costs Your House, and Where the Money Goes
About $33.70 a year per $100,000 of home value, starting with 2027 tax bills. The math for a $500,000, $700,000 and $1 million house, the four things the district says it will buy, the pay gap it is trying to close, and the honest case against.