Red County, Blue State

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...

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 conference The proposed retail theft ordinance George Teal wants to work with ICE Kyle Clark and Marshall Zelenger on the shoplifting ordina...

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: emilysuyat@gmail.com Links: The commissioner hearing on youtube Colorado Tim...

Sterling Ranch has been in the news for controversies regarding Zebulon and the conservative state-run charter school John Adams Academy. Lately, the developers of Sterling Ranch have proposed a sketchy change to its planned development agreement. If approved by the county commissioners, this amendment will not only hurt Sterling Ranch residents who relied on the promise of neighborhood schools bu...

My guest today is Chris Coté of Living Liberally Douglas County (UPDATED NAME: Blue Crew Social ). Need to socialize with non-maga folks before the holidays? This is your group. Find out all about the Living Liberally Douglas County and their events here . Holiday Boycott Nov 25 - Dec 2. County Commission Meeting on Nov 25 at 2:30pm at 100 3rd Street, Castle Rock CO. This is a special meeting to d...

Are you the type of person who has been known to gasp at the drama of a local school board meeting? Me too! I’m condensing this surprising 7 hour school board meeting into 20 minutes. While our national shitshow continues to unfold, take hope at local progress and good representation. Watch the whole school board meeting here . Listen on 2x speed like I do! Kyle Clark weighs in on the last-minute...

Last night, Douglas County voters sent a clear message yet again. Let’s talk about it and revel in it before we get back to work. Also, the masterclass phone call to Boebert’s office. Email me any time: emilysuyat@gmail.com Election results The call to Boebert’s office on facebook and on tik tok . You gotta watch! Get full access to Red County, Blue State at esuyat.substack.com/subscribe

My guest today is Brad Geiger, one of the seven current members of the school board in Douglas County School District. He’s here to talk about what the pressing concerns are in regard to our schools and wow, cultural issues are nowhere on it. Elections are a week away! Get those ballots in by Nov 4 and keep talking to your friends and neighbors. I support the Community Choice slate: Kyrzia Parker,...

Today my guest Kyrzia Parker talks with us about how to make our schools safer and why people who don’t have kids in the school district play an important role in this election. Plus, some news on Kyrzia’s opponent who is into the politics of dominance. Find out more about Kyrzia Parker here: https://www.kyrziaparker4dcsd.com/ The bad-news-first time stamp: go to 17:31 Kyrzia’s tik tok “DougCo GOP...

Who’s ready to be smart? Julie Gooden has years of experience working on public education policy at the local and state level and today she joins us to explain school finance in plain language. Still have questions? Email me anytime and I’ll try to get you an answer: emilysuyat@gmail.com Colorado Public Radio on our state’s $4 billion shortage on education . What about federal funding cuts? How wi...

This is my third interview of the candidates running on the Community Choice slate that includes Clark Callahan, Kelly Denzler, Tony Ryan and Kyrzia Parker . Get those ballots in by Nov 4! Tony Ryan and I talk about the non-discrimination policy in Douglas County School District—and why a good policy, minus the politics, makes our schools safer. We also talk about the value of extracirriculars. I...

Today we’re catching up on Douglas County Zebulon news (not great!) and talking to school board candidate Clark Callahan (if you’d like to skip to that, go to 3:48). This is my second interview of the candidates running on the Community Choice slate that includes Clark Callahan, Kelly Denzler, Tony Ryan and Kyrzia Parker . Get those ballots in by Nov 4! Email me any time: emilysuyat@gmail.com Doug...

Donate, volunteer, and find out more about Kelly at https://www.kellydenzler4dcsd.com/ Kelly Denzler is running on the Community Choice slate with Kyrzia Parker, Tony Ryan and Clark Callahan. Community Choice is the pro-public education slate. Sample ballot for the November 4 election. These ballots will be mailed out on October 10. https://www.douglascountyparents.com to ask about yards signs and...

Thank you to Heidi Bonilla of the Douglas County Activism Task Force for joining me. This is part 3 of a series about finding friends and your political home in Douglas County if you have progressive values. We have so many different groups here doing such good work and each group has different flavor. This series is to show you what’s out there. When we work together with a group, we make friends...

Today my guest is Kelly Mayr, a former school teacher (we love a teacher around here!) who taught special education as well as general education in Hawaii, Texas, and Colorado. She’s the mom of 9 children , many of whom benefited from special education services. She is pro-public education and a passionate advocate for that cause. If you’ve been involved in the public education sphere here in Doug...

In the past, it’s been reform boards vs pro-public education. What does that mean, and what does it mean in the present day with Project 2025 coming for our education system? This episode provides the critical context for why the school board election on November 4 matters for our entire Douglas County community. Contact me any time at emilysuyat@gmail.com. The Community Choice candidates are pro-...

Many Douglas County students walked out today to protest gun violence. What do they want adults to know? I asked students who attend Chaparral High School in Parker. Ceasefire Colorado Moms Demand Action / Everytown for Gun Safety Giffords for Gun Safety Brady United Get full access to Red County, Blue State at esuyat.substack.com/subscribe

Being in-person with folks and taking action on issues that matter—this is the secret sauce to living as a left-leaning person in Douglas County. This series is about highlighting different local groups and causes who are getting sh*t done. Again, if you teach and/or express empathy as part of your job, if you are a teacher, a social worker/therapist, a healthcare worker, thank you. Activism is bu...

Paid subscriptions are open! No paywalls, no membership levels, just one way to support the podcast. Subscribe on substack. Do you feel confused or uninformed when it comes to school board and why it matters? This is your episode. We’re going to break it all down so we can be magnificently informed voters and citizens (the election is Nov 4!). This episode lays the foundation so that we all know t...

If you are struggling with thoughts of suicide or going through a difficult time and need support, call or text 988 . If you’re part of the LGBTQ community, go to the Trevor Project’s hotline for immediate crisis support that is free and confidential . So many of us in Douglas County have been touched in some way by suicide. The majority of all gun deaths in CO and nationwide are suicides, and tha...

Today I’m joined by Carol Sorenson, one of the leaders of Lone Tree Votes, which is an Indivisible group in Douglas County. UPDATED NAME: Democracy Now DougCo . About this series:Since the election of Trump in 2016, many of us have had to take a deep look at our friendships, change our political affiliations, or examine our religious beliefs. Maybe you’ve had to do all three. It can be lonely and...

The Douglas County Commissioners continue to shut off all avenues for Douglas County citizens to ask questions or express concerns in any meaningful way. My friends Julie and Kim join me to talk about the brick wall nature of the county commission business meetings and exactly why this is bad governance that hurts everyone. What can we do about their “I’m the daddy and you’ll do what I say” energy...

This is an episode of odds and ends because Douglas County lawmakers have once again been in the news for being shady. Today covers gross behavior by our GOP representatives at the CO Capitol ( Colorado Public Radio story , Kyle Clark chimes in too ), more confusing statements on Zebulon ( gift link to Denver Post article), and county commissioners further shutting down community voices. But also...

The planned Zebulon mega sports complex is not a rec center with a pool and treadmills—it’s a huge project with facilities for basketball, baseball/softball, volleyball, football, soccer and hockey. The area will eventually be built out to include commercial development such as hotels, restaurants, and shopping. Kim Turnage and Barrett Rothe of the Douglas County Lantern return for Part 2 of our d...

Kim Turnage and Barrett Rothe of the Douglas County Lantern join me to discuss the Zebulon mega sports complex slated to break ground in Sterling Ranch in the fall. Why does it matter? Douglas County taxpayers will join private developers in funding this 500 acre project. Our commissioners have justified this outlay of public money by claiming “this is what you asked for” and “it’ll pay for itself...