Red County, Blue State

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...

The commissioners persist in the dangerous and racist lie about a local doctor and blame everyone but themselves for the crushing home rule loss. When you gaslight folks, they’re going to respond. Edited 7/10/25 to add: Kyle Clark and 9News coverage of this meeting after this episode was published . Types of meetings that the commissioners have . Commissioner calendar Interested in giving the invo...

The Democrats are marching in the Highlands Ranch 4th of July parade tomorrow (short notice from me! I know!). Meet at the Kaiser Permanente in HR, 9285 Hepburn St, Highlands Ranch, CO 80129 at 8am. County Commissioners meeting—their first business meeting since their home rule defeat. July 8 at 1:30pm, 100 Third Street. If you can’t make it in person, stream here . Abe Laydon’ Pride post . A Bit...

We did it! Over 70% of voters voted no on home rule under these commissioners and Stop the Power Grab candidates dominated the at-large and district races. Community organizer Angela Thomas was the one to educate us on this issue, and she’s the one who’s going to break down the election with me—and answer some pressing questions. Commissioner Teal’s comments about putting home rule on the ballot a...

Get full access to Red County, Blue State at esuyat.substack.com/subscribe

Election Day is June 24! Get your ballot in and if you already have, keep talking to your neighbors and posting on social media. Go team! Kyle Clark and Marshall Zelinger of 9NEWS weighed in on home rule and came to the same conclusion that the Vote No side has been saying all along: “those claims [about opting out of certain state laws] by Republican county commissioners don't check out.” The com...

Today my guest is Kim Turnage, Ph. D. A 16-year DougCo resident and unaffiliated voter, Kim Turnage spent 20 years advising business and nonprofit leaders on how to get better results through people and data and currently freelances as an organizational strategist and executive coach. This episode is a deeper dive into the citizen survey results and it begs the question: why did Douglas County com...

What would a good faith effort at home rule look like? What would a bad faith effort look like, and why does it look like Douglas County? Who (or what) is behind the Yes on Local Control efforts? I would say this is my closing argument but you know there is going to be more news. You can reach me at emilysuyat@gmail.com Filling out your ballot? The home rule ballot explained Don’t know what home r...

Here’s a review and fact check of the one hour town hall on home rule in Douglas County. One whole hour! With some casual electioneering from the dais. Cool cool. Link to recording of town hall: Proposed Douglas County timeline above. ABOUT THE CHARTER TIMELINE: I recorded this late late at night and I misspoke in the podcast, I said August 8 is when the public meetings end but it’s August 12. I h...

Update on the county commissioner’s citizen survey on home rule and how I shifted from being a Republican to a Democrat in Douglas County. It’s all connected. Douglas County Citizen 2023 Survey Results: https://www.douglas.co.us/documents/2023-citizen-survey-results.pdf/ Douglas County Citizen 2025 Survey as reported on DougCo website: https://www.douglas.co.us/view-full-results-of-the-douglas-cou...