Aurora Mayor Steve Hogan, whose decades in elected office have seen him shepherd the city through rapid growth and the 2012 theater shooting, announced Monday that he has cancer and will not be seeking a third term.
“As many of you may have heard, I have been dealing with some health-related issues over the last month,” Hogan wrote in a Facebook post. “What my family and I initially assumed was the flu has turned to a more serious diagnosis. I have cancer. I am working closely with health care professionals to evaluate all treatment options, which I anticipate beginning in the next week.”
Hogan, who plans to work through the end of his term, is eligible for re-election next year but said “it is time for new leadership.”
“I am thankful for the 34 years of representing Aurora,” Hogan said in the post. “I would like to thank everyone for their unwavering support and friendship in this difficult time. … But I would ask that you take any concern or any angst and turn it to service — go do something great for Aurora!”
Hogan — who a city spokeswoman said was not giving interviews — was first elected as Aurora’s mayor in 2011 and became a national voice in the aftermath of the Century 16 movie theater shooting, which left a dozen people dead and 70 others hurt.
“This horrific incident touches all of Aurora,” he said at a vigil after the massacre. “This is one of those moments that tests us.”
Hogan is in his second term as mayor after being re-elected in 2015.
The former six-term city councilman, first elected in 1979, also has helped Aurora adapt amid Denver metro growth, being an advocate for the city’s economy and public transportation options.
Hogan dreamed of splitting Aurora off into its own county — it sits between Arapahoe and Adams counties — like Denver or Broomfield. It’s an idea for decades, but which he said wouldn’t happen under his tenure.
Details of Hogan’s diagnosis and prognosis were not provided.
“It’s really hard to describe in a short sentence everything that Steve has done for this community,” said Kevin Hougen, president and chief executive officer of the Aurora Chamber of Commerce. “He is a community leader who has always looked beyond problems. He’s looking for solutions.”
On the business front, Hougen said, Hogan diversified the city’s economy, transforming it from being retail-based before the Great Recession to including health care, thanks to the University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus and aerospace from Buckley Air Force Base and Denver International Airport.
“He really has been that visionary leader to not just look at a city five years out, but really 30 to 40 years out,” Hougen said. “He will be missed, but his legacy will continue.”
Denver Mayor Michael Hancock, who clashed with Hogan a few years ago over sharing of revenue from commercial development at DIA, sung his counterpart’s praises in a statement Monday.
“Mayor Hogan is a true gentleman and a great mayor for his people,” Hancock said. “It’s now time for all of us to stand in support for a man who has supported so many, and pray for his strength and his triumph over this cancer.”
