When I asked a friend to the Taste of Ethiopia festival this summer in Aurora, she was nervous. That抖阴ap what watching Fox News will do — scare a person away from the world鈥檚 best coffee.
We encountered nary a gang member and instead enjoyed the hospitality of the city鈥檚 Ethiopian community. On the way home, I introduced her to my food utopia, the grocery store H-Mart, again without incident.
Aurora has more than 200 restaurants serving food from around the globe and hosts several fantastic festivals. It truly is the World in a City. I worked in the city for years and ate well. Equally important, I never once feared for my safety.
Aurora鈥檚 affable Mayor Mike Coffman, who moved to the city when he was a kid, is a strong and consistent advocate for his city and its unique, international flavor. Too bad that can鈥檛 be said of all the city鈥檚 elected representatives. One city councilwoman in particular, Danielle Jurinsky, has lately generated much negative press for the city and contributed to the false narrative spread by former President Donald Trump.
Jurinsky continues to say that the Venezuelan gang Tren de Aragua has taken over several Aurora apartment complexes. Trump echoes these claims, most recently declaring the gang is 鈥渦nleashing a violent killing spree all over America, especially in Aurora, Colorado.鈥� He promised to liberate the 鈥渃onquered鈥� city.
At a recent town hall, Coffman corrected the record. 鈥淭here was a probable but there was a law enforcement response to that problem.鈥� Aurora Police Chief Todd Chamberlain said, 鈥淭his city is not overrun by TDA. This city is not controlled by TDA. I鈥檓 going to stand up in front you right now and say that is an incredibly false narrative. It is a narrative that is not validated or back up by any statistics, any data, any information.鈥�
Records show that nine gang members were charged with around a dozen criminal incidents over 10 months including shootings, assaults, thefts, and menacing people with guns. While these are serious crimes, Aurora, a city of 400,000 people, is not living under gang rule.
More negative press ensued after the to conservative colleagues over a proposal to reinstate an employee tax Jurinsky had worked to rescind. 鈥淎nd I hear you鈥檙e a co sponsor, [Councilwoman Fran莽oise Bergan]. You can definitely go (expletive) yourself! You鈥檝e never owned a business or a (expletive) thing in your life you pretentious (expletive)!鈥� reads one such text. The other texts are similarly rated R for language.
Jurinsky鈥檚 colorful umbrage is apparently not unusual. It was successful in getting the measure tabled. Bullying colleagues might work but it doesn鈥檛 garner goodwill or positive press exposure for the councilwoman or the council itself.
Of the state鈥檚 largest cities, Aurora alone is headed by a Republican mayor and council majority. Overall they have governed well, bringing investment into the city, pioneering a work first-based approach to homelessness, and tackling the issues endemic to any large city such as crime and traffic. Bad press for unstatesmanlike behavior by an elected official or fear-mongering over crime by the same casts a shadow over the good work of the elected officials and the city they represent. Aurorans deserve better.
Krista L. Kafer is a weekly Denver Post columnist. Follow her on Twitter: .
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