State Sen. Kevin Van Winkle, R-Highlands Ranch, plans to move up his resignation from the state Senate from Jan. 9 to Dec. 16, a source told Colorado Politics Friday.

That will allow Gov. Jared Polis to appoint him to the District 3 Douglas County Board of County Commissioners seat recently vacated by eight-year commissioner Lora Thomas.

Lora Thomas resigned on Dec. 6, claiming harassment and abuse from the other sitting commissioners George Teal and Abe Laydon. Thomas, who was term-limited but had another five weeks to go before her term expired on Jan. 14, said the final straw was moving her out of her office and turning it over to Van Winkle. 

In a statement, Laydon and Teal said moving boxes and transitioning after a November election is normal. The county confirmed moving Thomas out of her office but added that her “governing environment included a same-sized office, with the same view, adjacent to the office from which she had served for nearly eight years.”  

Van Winkle won the Nov. 5 election to succeed Thomas. He submitted a letter to the Secretary of the Senate on Nov. 22, announcing he would step down effective Jan. 9. But Thomas’ resignation means he will rescind that original letter and submit a new one that will go into effect on Monday. Polis will issue an executive order, naming Van Winkle to the Douglas Count seat, after that.

Polis, a Democrat, has the authority to appoint a successor because the Douglas County GOP Chair, Steve Peck, decided not to hold a vacancy election to choose a successor. 

Under state law, a vacancy committee would have to meet with 10 days of the vacancy. If that does not happen, the governor has the authority to appoint a successor within 30 days. He’s done that once already. In November 2022, he appointed Republican Don Wilson to the House District 19 seat when an El Paso vacancy committee could not come up with a quorum to pick a successor to Rep. Tim Geitner, who resigned. 

Peck’s decision drew anger from Colorado GOP Chair Dave Williams. He blasted Peck in a Dec. 11 letter, stating Peck was allowing the governor to appoint Thomas’ replacement, although acknowledging that Van Winkle, a Williams ally, would be Polis’ pick. But “it’s beyond the pale to witness the Douglas County Republican Chairman abdicate his authority and responsibility to our political rivals,” Williams wrote.

Williams was joined in the criticism of Peck by Douglas County Second Vice-Chair Edward Hairfield, who called the refusal to hold a vacancy election an abdication of party power.

The back-and-forth between Williams and other Republicans included what Williams called a death threat that he reported to the state police.

A vacancy committee will meet in January to pick a replacement for Van Winkle in the state Senate.

The names being mentioned for the seat included current Rep. Brandi Bradley, R-Roxborough Park, former state Rep. Kim Ransom of Lone Tree, former University of Colorado Regent John Carson and Priscilla Rahn, who ran for and lost the primary to Van Winkle for the commission seat in June.

Two other vacancy committees will meet in January to replace Democratic Sens. Janet Buckner of Aurora and Chris Hansen of Denver. Both handily won re-election to their senate seats in November but announced within weeks of the election they would step down.

Seven candidates have already announced for Hansen’s seat, including Rep. Steven Woodrow and Rep.-elect Sean Camacho. Rep. Iman Jodeh of Aurora has announced she will vie for Buckner’s seat. Jodeh was elected co-majority whip in House elections in November, and that’s already led to several people angling for the co-majority whip position. Among the names mentioned: Reps. Sheila Lieder of Lakewood, Regina English of Colorado Springs and 

If the vacancy elections choose current lawmakers, that will set off a domino effect for more vacancies and more vacancy elections. Currently, 20 of the incoming 2025 legislative class have gained their seats at some point through the vacancy process.

The resignations are prompting calls for reform of the vacancy process.