With Aurora’s November election rapidly approaching, city residents will have several big decisions to make in choosing the next city leaders.

Voters will choose between several candidates for mayor, at-large councilmembers and councilmembers for districts (called “wards”) IV, V and VI.

Two candidates, Angela Lawson and Chris Rhodes, are running for one Ward V council seat, currently held by Alison Coombs.

Election Day is Nov. 7 and candidates elected to office in 2023 will serve four-year terms ending in 2027. Their terms will begin at the commencement of the first regular council meeting in December following the election.

The Denver Gazette asked all of the candidates a series of questions about how they would approach their roles. Responses from the two Ward V candidates are as follows.

Candidates were asked to provide answers in 100 words or fewer. Some of the following responses have been edited to meet the requirement.

What makes you qualified for the role you’re running for and why should people vote for you?

Angela Lawson: My eight years of service and leadership on the city council and fourteen years in state government have provided me with knowledge and a deep understanding of issues facing the Aurora and its residents now and in the future. In the eight years of being an At-Large councilmember, I’ve gained knowledge of the city’s infrastructure and service budgeting processes and priorities as it relates to the needs of our communities. With the opportunity to serve as a Ward council member, I could represent the interests and concerns of the constituents while collaboratively making decisions that benefit the entire city.

Chris Rhodes: What qualifies is being a US citizen that lives in Ward 5 for more than a year before the election. People should vote for me because all my time in Aurora has been spent fighting for a better Aurora for all. I gave up $40-50,000 in income by taking a pay cut to fight for union rights alongside poverty wage workers at United Airlines Catering for four years. After that I spent a couple years listening to the concerns of Aurorans and organizing people to push their elected reps to respond to their concerns.

What are the top three challenges Aurora is facing today and how would you address them?

Lawson: 

1. Public Safety — It’s essential our residents feel safe. I would engage with residents, businesses, and community leaders to work on crime prevention efforts.

2. Affordable housing — Aurora is more affordable than many neighboring cities and is a model for affordable housing, but we still have rising costs. I would work with my colleagues to preserve existing affordable housing and consider other options like manufactured modular homes.

3. Transportation and Traffic Safety — We must develop a balanced transportation system. As the city grows, it’s important that there are various transportation options, connectivity planning, and safety of arterial roads and neighborhood roads.

Rhodes: Aurora’s top three challenges are our lack of affordable housing, increasing unhoused population, and lack of trust in our police. Addressing housing cost requires multiple approaches such as building more multi family housing, mixed use and income housing, and land banking. We need to providing housing and services to our unhoused rather than just sweep them around the city. We need to ramp up our mobile response teams, civilian officers, and PAR programs. When police break the law, we need to hold them accountable and not treat them as though they are above the law.

What is your stance on Aurora’s approach to homelessness and how would you address it?

Lawson: The causes of homelessness are a very complex issue. I would address this issue by finding ways to expand access to mental health and substance abuse by collaborating with regional partners to find solutions.

Rhodes: Our current approach to the homeless is repeating the failed policies of Denver. I would pursue a strategy proven to save the city millions by providing free housing to the unhoused. Once they are in a stable location we can connect them with the services they need to get back on track and become self sufficient. What we are doing is cost inefficient and cruel. If we repeat what didn’t work in Denver, we will end up in Denver’s situation.

As an elected official, what would you role be in bolstering public safety efforts in Aurora?

Lawson: I will continue to advocate for ordinances and legislation policies related to crime prevention and emergency preparedness. In the budgetary process, support allocated funding to our public safety agencies so they have the staffing and resources that are needed to protect our residents. I will continue to advocate for youth programs aimed at deterring gun violence and crime prevention and continue to collaborate with our public safety agencies and community to understand their safety concerns by involving them in the decision-making process and work with our public safety agencies on legislation at the state level.

Rhodes: Public safety has been decreasing in Aurora for more than a decade. All council has down is double down on failed policy that doesn’t address the root causes of crime. What we need to do is free up our police to do what they are trained to do. We need more mobile response teams so that police aren’t dealing with mental health crisis. We need more civilian officers to handle the things we can have non police officers do. And we really need to ramp up the PAR officers so that police know the community and community knows their police.

What is your stance on the Strong Mayor proposal?

Lawson: I do not support the strong mayor proposal. Under that system there would be a concentration of power to one person, who would have control over administrative functions that current councilmembers help decide on. Under a strong mayor system, the mayor would assume more responsibility for the city’s performance and operations. As 10 elected members on the Aurora City Council, all are accountable to voters for the city’s performance and operations so residents have a good quality of life. This type of proposal creates a significant change to the city structure and why community engagement should be a priority.

Rhodes: If Aurora wants to change it’s government structure to be more like what we see at the federal, state, and municipal level in Denver, that’s fine. But what is important is that voters not be lied to about what they are voting on and being deceived into signing a petition. The way our “strong mayor” reform was funding and pursued was dishonest and disrespectful to our residents.

What is one thing you would do differently than the person who currently has the role you’re running for?

Lawson: Making sure that I hear all voices of residents in Ward V, whether we agree or disagree on issues. It’s about finding solutions to make our community safe, clean, and vibrant. We all want to have a good quality of life where we live so issues addressing the homeless encampments, addressing crime and other public safety-related issues, and ensuring that our businesses flourish and stay in the ward, in addition to attracting new businesses and repurposing and revitalized dated and empty retail business centers with retail and services that meet the needs of our residents in Ward V.

Rhodes: I would have voted to have Aurora’s minimum wage match Denver’s. It doesn’t make any sense to have jobs in Denver pay more than Aurora when Aurora businesses are struggling to retain workers. If you could work the same job in Denver for a few more dollars an hour, why would you work in Aurora? A higher minimum wage hasn’t crashed businesses in Denver and it won’t crush businesses in Aurora either.

What’s the best thing about living in Aurora?

Lawson: Cultural diversity sets our city apart from any other city in Colorado, combined with numerous open spaces, parks, and recreation areas, which make Aurora an attractive place to live for current and future residents.

Rhodes: My favorite thing about Aurora is our diversity. I have lived all over the country and very few cities offer the diversity we have. My son is half Eritrean and I love that he can grow up around the cultures he comes from as well as experience many he doesn’t come from here in Aurora. We have all faiths, continents, and many ethnicities and languages in our city. No where in Colorado and few cities in America can offer such amazing cultural exposure.