Anyone who thinks the adage that you can’t fight City Hall still rings true in the 21st century hasn’t gone up against Dana Duggan and Kat Gayle.

Their labor for the three-year-old grassroots organization Integrity Matters — work they say they provide pro bono — has them poring over case law and filing legal paperwork, blazing through a streak of phone calls, voicing their concerns to elected officials and marching alongside clients carrying signs that promote their messages.

All in what they say is their quest to stop proposed development, save a library, protect neighborhood evacuation routes, ensure open-meetings laws are followed, oppose appointed leaders that they believe won’t act in the public’s best interests, and take up other causes in which they have claimed a laser-focused stake.

“You just live in your ‘Truman Show’ community and think all is well until something affects where you live,” Gayle said.

That’s when Duggan, a former corporate television communications executive, and Gayle, an attorney who made failed bids for a City Council seat and a Democratic seat in Colorado House District 14, step in to carry out the mission they describe as safeguarding integrity.

Supporters who side with Integrity Matters on issues view the group’s involvement as nothing short of heroic. Others say the organization’s pushback against elected officials and governing bodies crosses into mudslinging and vitriol that keep them sidelined from discussions.

“When they walk into a room, no one is happy to see them,” said Richard Skorman, a local small-business owner for 50 years who served on Colorado Springs City Council four times from 1999 to 2021. “They’ve gotten personal, and I feel that’s made whatever they’re trying to accomplish not be effective.”

Gene E. Kalesti, an Integrity Matters member, likens their efforts to “confronting Goliaths.” Kalesti is among a stable of area residents who are trying to stop Buc-ee’s travel center from building its second location in Colorado off Interstate 25 in unincorporated El Paso County.

“Integrity Matters is a group of deeply committed individuals, true civic angels, who care profoundly about the public and the protection of our constitutional rights,” he said in an email.

Duggan quotes “The Chronicles of Narnia” author and Christian theologian C.S. Lewis in defining integrity: “Doing the right thing even when no one is watching.”

“In my mind, when you’re making decisions based upon the good of the people first, and you’re using logic and reason,” she said. “Your decisions in leadership, whether public or private, should be driven by doing good and bettering others.”

For Gayle, who rebooted her bar status two years ago when she first began objecting to the plans to build Ford Amphitheater on Colorado Springs’ north side, her personal investment is about “following the rule of law.”

“If the law says a development over 40 units must have two ways in and out, that is safety, not a Republican or Democrat issue. It’s about following our ordinances and our planning code instead of having variations, exemptions and rezoning,” Gayle said.

Colorado Springs has a long history of powerful activist groups playing an outsized role in the city’s politics, such as the defunct Colorado Springs Forward, led for years by now-City Council President Lynette Crow-Iverson.

Colorado Springs Forward generated controversy with its behind-the-scenes arm twisting on issues, and faced a campaign finance complaint last year for making “illegal donations” to El Paso County Commissioners Holly Williams and Cami Bremer.

The Colorado Springs Leadership Project and Protect Colorado Springs, which are “dark money” committees that back political campaigns without having to disclose their sources, have been involved in recent City Council elections, supporting or opposing candidates, and drawing criticism about the lack of transparency on who was funding them.

Most recently, a group opposing the annexation of the Karman Line subdivision, Citizens to Stop Illogical Growth, faced a complaint about funding related to its petition effort.

Integrity Matters does not disclose donors to its legal pursuits, Duggan said, but does when it’s engaged in political activity — which is allowed under its 501c(4) status.

“We oppose dark money,” she said. “It’s a hassle to do so, but you can see that when we engaged in the 2023 municipal election where we reported every donor to that specific cause.”

Before he was elected as an El Paso County commissioner last year, Bill Wysong worked with Integrity Matters while he was the president of Westside Watch, another local citizens’ group that opposes developments that increased wildfire risk. Wysong said that Integrity Matters filled a void when it came to raising awareness of issues that were coming up for votes and public objection could affect the outcome.

“They’re not going to always win, and there is always a majority and minority opinion, but you’ve got to allow the people to be heard, which then allows the potential for a reasonable compromise instead of being railroaded,” Wysong said.

Palmer Lake recall

Integrity Matters has a mixed track record when it comes to their lawsuits and legal challenges.

All but one complaint has been dismissed in a case the group filed in December to save Rockrimmon Library, which the Pikes Peak Library District closed last year citing financial considerations that Integrity Matters argued were not valid. On May 7, District Court Judge Gregory Werner limited the complaint to a claim the library board violated open-meeting laws, with no remedy to reopen the branch.

A lawsuit to stop construction of The Launchpad, a new 50-unit apartment complex for young adults who have been homeless, was dismissed. So was a recent attempt to prevent construction of OneVela, the proposed 27-story apartment building in downtown Colorado Springs that has been a target for Integrity Matters.

Under successes, Integrity Matters helped drive the likely recall elections of three members of Palmer Lake’s Board of Trustees over their support of an annexation request for Buc-ee’s. Opponents have raised concerns about possible impacts on the area’s water supply, traffic flow and wildlife migration. Proponents cite increased tax revenue and job opportunities as benefits.

The conflict also includes a lawsuit filed by Integrity Matters and a few other nonprofits with several allegations of wrongdoing, a restraining order over the recall petition drive and last week’s resignation of Palmer Lake Mayor Glant Havenar, amid claims of controversial text messages that Integrity Matters included as evidence in the lawsuit.

Duggan and Gayle believe they’ve helped make voters in Colorado Springs aware of how much money developers donate to candidates and have financially boosted candidates who don’t have strong developer backing.

During the 2023 City Council elections, when Gayle unsuccessfully ran for an at-large council seat, all four candidates endorsed by the Housing & Building Association of Colorado Springs were elected. In the council election in April, only three of the industry group’s seven endorsed candidates won.

Wayne Williams, a Republican lawyer who has served as Colorado secretary of state, an El Paso County commissioner, a Colorado Springs City Council member and a 2023 candidate for mayor, doesn’t credit Integrity Matters for that shift.

“I think that’s more due to candidates and efforts than anything of their organization,” he said. “Individuals worked hard and ran solid campaigns; (Colorado Springs City Councilmember) Dave Donelson won before they showed up, and he won after they showed up. To say they’re responsible for that is like tracking the sun rising in the East.”

Duggan and Gayle instituted a recall drive against Williams in 2022, claiming inappropriate use of taxpayer money in a television ad and decrying a vote that decreased the amount of land property developers were required to set aside for parks in residential projects. They fell short in collecting a needed amount of voters’ signatures to trigger a recall election, and Williams went on to run for mayor. They contributed to his opponent’s campaign, and Williams lost in a runoff election in 2023.

“87% of his donations were coming from developers,” Duggan said. “That matters when you can see that kind of behavior. It’s not super personal. It’s about the actions.”

‘Like they’re trying to take revenge’

It’s not that Integrity Matters’ work isn’t valuable in some cases, said Skorman.

He sided with Duggan when she, as part of another civic advocacy group, protested a proposal to close a segment of Cheyenne Mountain Boulevard to enable golf course expansion at The Broadmoor. Likewise with blocking attempts to develop an area known as Strawberry Fields and preserving neighborhood evacuation routes.

But when he was on City Council, Skorman said he received angry and aggressive emails from Integrity Matters about several topics, many that invoked name-calling, “demonizing,” bullying and what he considered to be “inappropriate researching” of people’s personal lives.

“It’s like they’re trying to take revenge. There’s no place for that in local politics,” Skorman said. “Some issues can get very passionate, but they choose their enemies and attack.”

Williams said the group was more focused on deriding decisions than trying to work with the City Council to come up with a compromise solution.

“I don’t think that’s effective in helping our community move forward. I don’t see a core philosophical consistency in this particular group, other than the usual target of their attacks mostly being on Republicans,” Williams said.

Democrats have not escaped scrutiny, though. Skorman, who says he was berated by Integrity Matters a few years ago, along with another former City Council member, Michelle Talarico, whose application came into question and who chose not to rerun for her seat in the April election, lean left.

Integrity Matters identifies as nonpartisan, saying on its website: “We welcome people of all flavors as long as integrity, principles and values matter to them.”

However, as a 501c(4) nonprofit and not a charitable 501c(3), it’s considered a social welfare entity and can get political by supporting or opposing candidates, making independent expenditures to influence elections and donating to political action committees. But donations are not tax deductible to organizations under that structure.

“We knew we had a hybrid of things we want to address and have the ability to do so, primarily education on issues,” Duggan said. “If there is something like a recall, as a 501c(3) you can’t engage in those activities.”

Wysong said what can come across as public hostility arises from voters’ frustration at not having other options to hold officials accountable outside of elections. None of Wysong’s votes as a county commissioner has been opposed by Integrity Matters this year, but he invited them to hold him accountable if he went against his previous statements.

Kalesti, the resident involved with opposing Buc-ee’s development, blasts the idea of anyone speaking negatively about Integrity Matters. After he and some others heard that The Gazette was writing about the organization, they sent emails expressing their displeasure and saying the article was going to be negative long before its publication.

“It’s incredibly disheartening to see efforts that aim to discredit them (Integrity Matters), particularly when they’ve stood up for so many with nothing to gain and everything to lose.” Kalesti said in an email. “The Gazette should reflect the voices of the people, not become an echo chamber that mirrors the very powers being questioned.”

Without assistance from Integrity Matters, townsfolk could never have gone up against the private Texas-based chain Buc-ee’s, said Matthew Beverly, who grew up on El Paso County’s north side, near the proposed development.

“They’re very willing to take on tough challenges and have the tenacity and expertise to go after the issue,” he said. “I don’t know where we’d be now without them.”

The ‘Screw-O-Meter’

Integrity Matters selects the issues it works on in an organic way, Duggan and Gayle say. Their assistance can depend on whether a group can raise enough money to pay court costs and other legal fees, which start at $3,000 to $5,000.

While the organization does not charge for its legal services — which Gayle said would run $30,000 to $100,000 or so if handled by a traditional attorney’s office — there are expenses involved.

With “gross receipts not greater than $50,000,” according to the organization’s IRS tax filings, Integrity Matters leaders say they cannot foot legal bills.

That’s how the Buc-ee’s annexation dispute unfolded, as residents asked the organization for help and then raised enough money to launch an opposition.

“Palmer Lake (residents) said, ‘Can you help us? Our town is not listening to us,’” Gayle said. People living in El Paso County, Woodmoor and Monument also joined in, she said, and formed a separate nonprofit, Tri Lakes Preservation, which also has raised money for the legal battle.

Former Palmer Lake Trustee Karen Stuth said in an email that regardless of the contentious nature of the debates, she’s found Integrity Matters to be “balanced, fair, professional and above all consistent in their advocacy for us.”

The biggest case on the organization’s plate right now takes the fight to the state government. Integrity Matters is one of six plaintiffs in a federal lawsuit challenging a bill the legislature passed last year regarding judicial review of local land-use decisions.

The new law means Integrity Matters would be required to pay attorney’s fees to a city if they should lose a lawsuit like their challenges to The Launchpad or ArrowsWest Apartments, for example.

Gayle said the types of land-use cases the statute covers are already tough for plaintiffs to win, and the fee shifting would add another element of difficulty.

“We believe it’s taking away our First Amendment right and freedom of speech to do this,” she said. “There’s the government, the developer and the citizens trying to protect their safety and way of life. The government stands to make money from increased tax revenue; the only people who don’t make money are the citizens. If they sue and lose, they have to pay attorney fees.”

The divide between advocates and critics could widen when Integrity Matters soon debuts a new feature, CouncilWatch, on its website.

The online tool will include video clips of testimony from City Council work sessions and meetings, an artificial intelligence-generated rating called the “Screw-O-Meter” and vote analysis.

The scorecard will track how members voted “against their constituents” on 15 “established principles of good government,” involving property rights, public safety, civil rights, free speech and others, Duggan said.

“Most people don’t have time or interest to sit and watch eight-hour meetings,” she said. “The informed voter is a better voter.”

The new service will cost users $10 a month. Duggan says the Screw-O-Meter is not personal, since it’s AI-produced and based on what the organization believes are objective standards.

Duggan and Gayle say it’s OK if not all their lawsuits are victorious or the changes they want come to fruition, because it’s all in the spirit of doing the right thing.

“Even if we lose in the court, we win in our government,” Gayle said. “We’ll continue the fight until the government listens to the people over out-of-state developers.”

Editor’s note: This article has been clarified to define Richard Skorman as leaning left. While he worked for U.S. Democrat Sen. Ken Salazar, Skorman is registered as an Independent voter.