AURORA — Roads, future annexations and the fate of the dilapidated are the major issues facing the 12 candidates seeking to become members of the City Council.
Those were among the topics debated at a recent candidates forum. Other topics of priority included pot bars and incentives for developers.
Five of 10 council seats are up for grabs, not including that of Mayor Steve Hogan, who is running unopposed and is seeking a second term.
In Aurora’s system, the mayor sits on the council, but only with the limited ability to vote on resolutions and to break ties on votes for proposed ordinances.
In Ward IV, mortgage banker Joe Lewis is squaring off against former Aurora City Attorney Charlie Richardson for the seat being vacated by Molly Markert, who is term-limited. Ward IV is north of Cherry Creek Reservoir.
The biggest issue facing that district is the redevelopment of the old Regatta Plaza shopping center, which has been an eyesore for years.
Lewis and Richardson said a pedestrian bridge from the light-rail station over Parker Road to Regatta Plaza is vital for whatever is developed at the site.
But they had different takes on major potential annexations in eastern Aurora.
“We are a city that depends on annexation,” said Richardson, adding that city services could not be severely impacted by annexations. “That is our future.”
But Lewis said developers need to foot the bill for infrastructure to serve communities that are annexed into the city.
“It has to pay for itself,” Lewis said.
The race for Ward V in far southwest Aurora pits incumbent Bob Roth against challengers Cheri McElhiney and Livia Payne.
Payne is retired from the military after serving as an intelligence officer. Roth is director of business development for Intermountain Electric. McElhiney has a master’s degree in social work and is on the Aurora Human Relations Commission.
Roth and Payne said they favor offering incentives to developers, such as Aurora’s Gaylord Rockies Hotel and Conference Center.
“It’s a tool in a toolbox that we need,” Roth said.
Payne said the city needs to see more returns from developers that receive incentives, such as sponsoring a park or investing in a community activity.
“I’m not sure how effective we have been in encouraging them to donate,” she said.
McElhiney said among the biggest issues facing the city are . The city should tread lightly in that area, given the ups and down of the real estate market, she said.
“It’s very scary. It needs to be a controlled growth,” she said.
The seat for Ward VI in far southeast Aurora will have a fresh face as current councilman Bob Broom is term-limited. The three seeking that position are Brian Arnold, a teacher at Montbello High School; Francoise Bergan, who has served on city boards for 18 years; and PK Kaiser, who is taking his third stab at becoming a council member and has three master’s degrees.
Kaiser and Bergan differ on the question of expanding the city’s by allowing the use of pot at private clubs or pot bars.
While there have been attempts to allow some sort of public consumption in Denver, Kaiser said, it’s “too soon to talk about pot bars” in Aurora. Bergan said she would consider a change if state law allowed such establishments. “I wouldn’t have an issue with that as long as it’s regulated.”
Arnold said he is concerned by a lack of recreational options for children in the southeast part of the city, which he represents. “I see what happens when kids don’t have the opportunity to have outlets,” he said.
Four people are seeking the two at-large seats available in the November election. Incumbents Bob LeGare and Debi Hunter Holen are facing off against newcomers Angela Lawson and Maya Wheeler.
Holen, who has served as assistant to the chief of Equity and Engagement for Aurora Public Schools, said her priorities would include supporting Buckley Air Force Base by expanding East Sixth Avenue, among other things.
“Transportation and infrastructure is paramount,” Holen said.
Lawson, who has worked for the Colorado secretary of state’s office for 10 years and is on an Aurora budget advisory committee, would work to open government and reach out to the public in her first year in office, she said. “Bridging the gap with the community,” Lawson said. “I see the at-large (seat) … over the whole city.”
LeGare, a commercial property manager, said putting more money into roads is a top issue for Aurora going forward. “It’s not glamorous to put a 2-inch (asphalt) overlay on a road,” he said.
Wheeler, a marketing and outreach director for Forest Street Compassionate Care Center, said her top priorities include having better-paying jobs and opportunities for small-business owners, and more affordable housing in the city. “Aurora shouldn’t be a city for only the wealthy to live in,” she said of the high cost of rental units in the city.
Carlos Illescas: 303-954-1175, cillescas@denverpost.com or @cillescasdp
