The message taken from last month’s election by Rob Andrews, one of four new faces sworn in Monday night on the Aurora City Council, was voters’ desire for “a reset” in how Colorado’s third-largest city is led.
“Voters made it unmistakably clear that they want a more stable, more collaborative and more solutions-focused city government,” said Andrews, the head of a nonprofit and the top vote-getter in the city’s five-person at-large race in the Nov. 4 election. “They chose leaders who campaigned on affordability, safety and opportunity, instead of division and partisan theatrics.”
Andrews, 41, is one of four progressive members joining the council for the first time. Aurora Municipal Court Presiding Judge Shawn Day swore him in Monday alongside fellow newcomers Gianina Horton, Amy Wiles and Alli Jackson.
When the new council members took their seats on the dais and affirmed they were present for the meeting, the city clerk declared: “There’s a quorum.”
The room erupted with applause and cheers.
With two more progressives already on the 11-member council — Alison Coombs, whose term isn’t up until 2027, and Ruben Medina, who was reelected to his Ward III seat last month — the body now firmly leans left.
That’s after a half-decade or more of being in conservative hands. Aurora’s elected leadership is officially nonpartisan, but politics has never been far from council proceedings in recent years.
“This is a fresh start and a chance to show that we can disagree and still be respectful, that we can collaborate and meet in the middle for the betterment of the community as a whole,” Wiles, an Aurora resident for more than a quarter-century and the owner of a photography business, told The Denver Post ahead of the swearing-in ceremony.
Wiles, 50, bested one-term incumbent Steve Sundberg in Ward II by more than 10 percentage points.
“Voters were tired of being ignored,” she said. “They want leaders who listen and engage, not leaders who run from their constituents.”
Respect and collaboration have been sorely tested at the highest levels of Aurora government in recent years, with council meetings often disrupted by protesters upset over the police killing of an unarmed Black man last year — prompting council members to meet remotely for months on end and to place restrictions on public comment.
One frequent protester in June sued the city over changes the council had made to public input, alleging it was trying to “restrict one viewpoint: the viewpoint criticizing the (Aurora Police Department’s) killing of (Kilyn) Lewis and Aurora’s inadequate response to it.”
Jackson, 30, has joined the protesters in the audience at council meetings since the May 2024 death of Lewis. Now she’s on the other side of the dais after landing second in the at-large race, which was won by the top two vote-getters. She said she hoped to follow “best practices for smoother city council meetings.”
“I am confident the new City Council can make adjustments and offer better solutions so the community will not feel the need to disrupt the meetings,” said Jackson, who works for Arapahoe Libraries and has lived in Aurora her entire life. “I am confident I can find common ground with all my new colleagues.”
Andrews, who founded and leads One Voice Coalition, a nonprofit that helps people find employment, said “public participation is not a disturbance” but rather “a cornerstone of democracy.”
“Our job is to honor that right, while ensuring the council remains a place where all voices can be heard and where the city’s work can get done,” he said. “I believe we can strike that balance with thoughtful leadership and real engagement.”
A hope for common ground was also expressed on election night by Mayor Mike Coffman as he took in the results, which he attributed in part to an off-year Trump effect that hurt conservatives. The former Republican congressman sits on the council and wasn’t up for election this year.
Later in Monday night’s meeting, the new council selected Coombs, one of the returning left-leaning members, as the mayor pro tem.
During council comment, Councilwoman Stephanie Hancock welcomed her new colleagues but warned them that any honeymoon period will likely be brief.
“Expect to get emails from people who hate everything you do,” she said to laughter.
Ahead of the meeting, Andrews cited economic opportunity, affordable housing and public safety as his top goals as he takes his seat on the council.
“A safer Aurora requires investing in proven strategies like youth programming, mental health response, violence prevention, and stronger relationships between residents and the city,” he said.
Wiles said she wanted to bring improvements to roads and other infrastructure, like recreation centers and libraries, to her ward. Ward II covers a wide swath of northeast Aurora. She also said retail development is “badly needed” in her part of the city, calling her ward a “food desert” dominated by gas stations, liquor stores and car washes.
“I had begun a strategic plan during my election to be able to attract retail, and now I will work with city staff to combine our work to get my ward the services they deserve,” Wiles said.
Restoring public comment to council meetings (it currently occurs during a separate time slot before meetings officially start) and emphasizing in-person proceedings whenever possible are other priorities for Wiles.
Horton, who easily beat two contenders in the Ward I race last month, did not respond to several questions The Post sent via email. Horton’s ward covers northwest Aurora.
From the other side of the political aisle, Councilwoman Francoise Bergan said she hoped for “civil discourse” among her new council colleagues and the chance to “work together.”
Bergan, who has been on the Aurora council for a decade, said her priorities in the new term that began Monday would include “pushing for strong public safety.”
“I’m also focused on supporting our local businesses,” she said, with plans this month to bring a resolution to the council that would help revitalize struggling retail zones in the city and fortify connections with commercial brokers and businesses.
“And housing has always been important to me — I want to make sure we’re providing quality options and more opportunities for homeownership for our residents,” she said.
In the meantime, Bergan said Wiles reached out to her for coffee ahead of Monday’s swearing-in ceremony.
“We’re working on a date,” she said.
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