Debate over home rule in Douglas County is heating up, with residents set to vote on the matter in less than two weeks.

A special election will ask voters if they want the county to create their own home rule charter and who should serve on a charter commission. If voters say yes to home rule in the special election, the commission will craft a charter that will be voted on in November.

County leaders say that charter could free the county from strict state laws and increase local control over things such as taxes, gun laws and immigration enforcement.

Douglas County residents should already have received their special election ballots. That June 24 election is costing the county about $500,000, and many are asking why it needed to happen so quickly.

“I’ve never seen such backlash across party lines in the county,” said Barrett Roth, a Douglas County resident. “If you rush, we don’t have time to ask questions of the people that matter and can influence our votes.”

When Barrett Roth first heard about home rule, he wasn’t sure how to feel.

“I think, like everyone else, I was kind of shocked, and had to learn a lot about it,” Roth said.

And learn more he did. Reading through campaign finance reports, Roth found the “Yes on Local Control” campaign had received $110,000 in donations.

Westside Property Investment Company, the developer behind Dawson Trails, contributed $10,000.

Ventana Capital, which has numerous projects underway in the county, contributed $50,000, far surpassing any previously recorded donation under their name.

Ventana is also involved in litigation with the city of Castle Pines over the city council’s denial of a proposed McDonald’s.

“Why would a land developer be interested in home rule? If it’s for all these liberal versus conservative policies, it’s clearly for a land grab,” Roth said.

CBS Colorado reached out to both companies to ask why they supported the campaign. Westside had “no comment,” and Ventana did not respond.

“There are four committees that are set up in favor of home rule. I actually don’t know all these people. So I don’t know,” County Commissioner George Teal told CBS Colorado. “We will have greater control of how we set the tax base for businesses under home rule. Maybe that’s their interest.”

Teal says he doesn’t know why the developers support home rule, but that the charter could give the county more local control over zoning and exempt them from some state development statutes.

“We’re pursuing home rule to put ourselves in a legal position here, as a legal entity of the state of Colorado, to have more local control,” Teal said. “When you talk about public safety, you talk about having more control over our taxes and being able to lower taxes when we want to as we need to. And then when it comes to being able to work with other government agencies, home rule gives us far greater control with how we interact with other levels of government here in America.”

Other donors to the pro home rule campaign include “The Cundy Harbor Irrevocable Trust,” which contributed $50,000, Teal’s wife Laura Teal, who contributed $100, and Laura Tonner, who contributed $100. Tonner is married to Sean Tonner of Renewable Water Resources, the water developer behind a controversial plan to bring water from the San Luis Valley to Douglas County.

On the other side, “Stop the Power Grab”, a group opposing home rule, has received a total of $30,000 from hundreds of donors, including local Democratic politicians.

Roth is a member of the group. He feels the promises being made about home rule are misleading. Metropolitan State University of Denver professor Dr. Robert Preuhs previously told CBS Colorado home rule does grant more policy-making authority to counties, but it may not be so easy to disregard state laws. Legal battles may ensue after controversial decisions to determine whether the matter is truly a local or a state concern.

“The county commissioners will tell you that home rule will allow them to supersede state law,” Roth said. “They’ve talked about how they can pass laws on gun safety, on abortion rights, on plastic bag fees, and try to battle the state. Well, the battles will take place in court.”

“As long as it is not a matter dealt with in state law, the home rule county does have the ability to legislate,” Teal said.

Roth feels home rule will waste taxpayer money on legal battles and the special election.

“We’re going to have an election in November 2025, so just in a few months, they could have placed it on the ballot for free in just a few months,” Roth said. “But, instead, they’re rushing it over the summer to the tune of $500,000 of taxpayer money. That’s real money.”

“Right now, the cost of the election is coming in at just under $500,000,” Teal said. “Average cost of a home in Douglas County is $800,000, so for less than the average cost of a home here in the county, we get to chart our own course and have that legal mechanism under the state constitution for complete local control.”

Roth was also upset to receive a white book from the county on the home rule measure that did not include an opposing viewpoint.

“They’re essentially putting out campaign literature on taxpayer dime,” Roth said.

The county says they have pro-con statements on their home rule webpage.

“I do think home rule is the right thing to do, and I certainly encourage everyone to vote yes,” Teal said.

As the election draws near, tensions are running high over the county’s future.

“Often, the community feels very divided. If you talk to people, they feel pretty united that this is being rushed,” Roth said. “It’s a waste of money. It’s something no one asked for, and I do think it’s going to fail pretty substantially.”

One week before the special election, the county will hold one last town hall to answer any remaining questions. The town hall will be online at 6 p.m. June 17.

Saturday, a “No Kings” protest held in Castle Rock will also protest the home rule initiative locally.

• The June full moon, nicknamed the strawberry moon, will be at its fullest on June 10 and 11.
• This year’s strawberry moon will be the lowest in the sky since 2006 due to a “major lunar standstill.”
• Partly cloudy skies are forecast for June 10 in Fort Collins, while June 11 has a chance of showers and thunderstorms.

June’s full moon is coming with a strawberry on top, and bottom, and is one not to be missed — unless the weather doesn’t cooperate.

Here’s what you need to know to enjoy this celestial show:

Best times to see the June strawberry full moon

The moon will be fullest the nights of June 10 and 11.

This June’s full moon is special in that while all June full moons ride low in the sky, this June’s full moon will be the lowest full moon since 2006, according to EarthSky. More on that later.

While the moon will shine on these nights, there are two special times to view this full moon. The moon will appear plump hanging low in the eastern horizon just after sunset, which is 8:30 p.m. MT in Fort Collins both evenings.

The strawberry moon is the most colorful of the year because it takes a low, shallow path across the sky, Bob Bonadurer, director of the Milwaukee Public Museum’s planetarium, told USA TODAY.

Another optimal viewing time is when the moon crests, the point at which it appears fullest and brightest. That will occur at 1:44 a.m. MT on June 11 and the moon will hang low in the west opposite the sunrise on June 11, which is at 5:29 a.m. in Fort Collins.

Why Tuesday might make for better full moon viewing than Wednesday in Fort Collins

The Fort Collins forecast calls for partly cloudy skies the night of June 10, according to the National Weather Service.

The forecast for the night of June 11 calls for mostly cloudy skies with a 20% chance of showers and thunderstorms before 9 p.m. and a slight chance of showers between 9 p.m. and midnight.

Why the June moon is called the strawberry moon? Will it appear that color?

All full moons have names.

Some Native American tribes called the June full moon by this name because June is the time of year many berries ripen, especially strawberries, according to EarthSky.

Despite the name, don’t think of the color of this moon as a ripe strawberry. However, the moon’s low arc means more moonlight in the Earth’s atmosphere might add a hint of color.

“So there’s a chance it will actually look a little bit reddish or pink, and so that may also be part of the origin of the name,” Chris Palma, professor of astronomy and astrophysics at Penn State University, told AccuWeather.

Why this strawberry moon is special

This June’s full moon will ride the lowest since 2006 because of what’s called a “major lunar standstill,” according to EarthSky.

All June moons ride low in the sky and the sun rides high in the sky this time of year. The summer solstice is June 20.

“It’s all about the inclination of the moon’s orbit, which undergoes an 18.6-year cycle,” EarthSky’s John Jardine Goss told USA TODAY. “The cycle happens because the moon’s orbit is being slowly dragged around — mostly due to the pull of the sun — every 18.6 years.”

This year’s major lunar standstill culminated in January 2025. And we’re still close enough to it that the standstill is affecting the path of this June full moon, EarthSky said.

Reporting by USA TODAY reporter Doyle Rice contributed to this report.