A former Douglas County undersheriff has reached a $1.75 million settlement to end her wrongful termination lawsuit against the county and former Sheriff Tony Spurlock.
The lawsuit focused on Holly Kluth’s firing in May 2021 after working at the sheriff's office for 30 years, which she said was retaliation for political differences between herself and Spurlock.
The conflict began when Spurlock publicly endorsed a Democratic candidate for Douglas County Commissioner in September 2020. Kluth, a longtime Republican, pushed back against the sheriff’s endorsement and publicly voiced her support for GOP candidates in a Facebook post.
An internal affairs review found Kluth’s statement violated several sheriff’s office policies, which she admitted to investigators. As punishment, Kluth was demoted from undersheriff to captain after she acknowledged her statements created the appearance of a “split” between herself and Spurlock.
Kluth initially apologized to Spurlock for “betraying” his trust and said she did not plan to appeal the demotion, which cut her pay and moved her to a new department.
About four months later, in February 2021, Kluth notified Spurlock that she intended to run for Douglas County sheriff herself. Spurlock could not seek reelection due to term limitations, and Kluth publicly announced plans to enter the Republican primary soon after she notified him.
Kluth was fired that May during a meeting between herself, Spurlock and two other sheriff’s office officials. According to court documents, Spurlock told Kluth during the meeting that “she was not meeting his vision, mission, and values.” He denied her political statements played any role in his decision.
Attorneys for Kluth claimed her firing was retaliatory and violated her constitutional right to free political association. They said none of Kluth’s supervisors were consulted on her termination before it happened, arguing that showed her performance was not the core issue.
“I’m grateful for my close friends and colleagues who stood steadfastly by me during these past four years, and to the attorneys who valiantly fought for the truth to be revealed and for justice to be done in my case," Kluth said Friday in a statement announcing the settlement.
The settlement did not include any admission of wrongdoing by Spurlock or the county.
“At the direction of our outside counsel and our insurance company, Douglas County agreed to settle this matter, including the denial of any wrongdoing and the settlement amount being paid by our insurance company,” said Douglas County Attorney Jeffrey Garcia in a statement.
Spurlock’s attorney has not responded to a request for comment.
