Members of the Aurora City Council with Mayor Mike Coffman in the center during their weekly meeting on December 5, 2022. Photo: Helen H. Richardson/MediaNews Group/The Denver Post via Getty Images
The Aurora Democrats are coordinating efforts to regain control of the city council two years after Republicans won a 6-4 majority.
Important reasons: The conservative-dominated Aurora City Council remains one of the few Republican-led institutions in the region, pitted against an increasingly left-leaning city (Colorado’s third-largest city), reports Sentinel. I’m here.
- In 2017, Aurora voters elected three self-proclaimed progressive candidates, according to Sentinel. In 2019, he cast two more votes.
Yes, but: In 2021, voters moved in the opposite direction. Some political commentators said the city’s political shift was in response to a rise in crime in the Defend the Police movement following the 2020 George Floyd killings. increase.
- Julie Marie Shepherd Macklin, a lecturer in political science at the University of Colorado at Boulder and an Aurora native, told the Denver Post after the election that the Conservative candidate “had a very clear message about public safety. ” he said.
News promotion: A conservative overhaul faces a referendum in November as the election campaign kicks off earlier than usual. Her five seats on the city council (and mayor) are due for re-election this fall, and she’s already announced that half a dozen Democrats will run for the vacancies.
- Aurora City Councilman Juan Marcano — an American democratic socialist and frequent critic of Mayor Mike Coffman — is challenging the mayor.
- In a joint announcement with Marcano last week, five others have declared their bids for seats on the Council.
What they say: According to the Denver Gazette, Marcano said at a news briefing last week, “Despite having tremendous potential as a city, we’re more interested in doing politics than actually serving our communities.” It bothers me that cities are being wasted by some short-sighted people.
Catch up soon: Aurora conservatives have been pushing the agenda since the 2021 change of government.
- The right wing of Aurora passed a ban on homeless camps, rejected Native American land recognition, and successfully lobbied for the removal of reform-focused police chief Vanessa Wilson.
What we see: Coffman has not officially announced his plans to seek another term, reports The Sentinel.
- Coffman did not immediately respond to Axios Denver’s request for comment.
