An alleged campaign finance complaint filed by Douglas County Commissioner Lora Thomas for political postcards claiming she was wasting taxpayer time and money has been dismissed by the Colorado Secretary of State’s Office. 

Earlier in January, Thomas filed a complaint against Vistaprint, the company that printed the postcards, because there was no indication who sent them and no paid-for-by disclaimer, which is required by law on certain political communications. 

The Secretary of State’s Office ruled the postcards did not violate campaign finance laws because there’s no evidence Vistaprint paid for the postcards and the postcards were mailed after the election. The ruling also found no evidence that the mailers cost more than $1,000, which is the threshold for requiring a paid-for-by disclaimer on election materials.

In its response to the complaint, Vistaprint’s attorney said 153 postcards were ordered for a total of $248, but didn’t provide information about who the customer was. 

Thomas told Colorado Community Media that additional postcards have come out since her complaint was filed and called the postcards despicable.

“They won’t put their name on it because they are ashamed of what they are doing,” Thomas said. “They don’t upset me.”

Though one of the postcards Thomas identified in her complaint encouraged voters to support state Sen. Kevin Van Winkle to replace her, Thomas said she confirmed with Van Winkle that he is not paying for the mailers.

Thomas said she wouldn’t accuse anyone of sending the postcards without evidence. 

“The fact that these people are so ashamed of this that they’re going to great lengths to hide their identity speaks volumes of who they are,” she said.

A recent postcard criticized Thomas’ vote against funding a school security pilot program at STEM School Highlands Ranch. Thomas voted against funding the program because of concerns about the technology’s effectiveness.

The postcards that Thomas originally filed the complaint about told voters “You’re being scrooged by Lora Thomas,” claiming she is working with Democrat state Rep. Bob Marshall to expand the Board of County Commissioners from three people to five people.

Thomas said she wouldn’t let the postcards get in the way of her job, but would continue to push back against the misinformation they contain.