Two new Arvada City Council members were sworn in last week while the two leaving seats discussed the importance of the role.

Newly elected city councilmembers Michael Griffith and Rebecka Lovisone were sworn in on Nov. 11. Councilmember Randy Moorman was also sworn in again following his re-election on Nov. 4.

The Arvada City Council includes a mayor, one councilmember for four districts and two at-large members that represent the entire community. All councilmembers are considered part-time, except for the mayor.

Michael Griffith won the at-large seat, with 62.08% of the vote, over Denis Vargas. Griffith will now replace Brad Rupert, who did not seek re-election.

“I’m just full of gratitude right now,” Griffith said after being sworn in. Griffith added that his greatest accomplishment while running was getting people that would “normally never have a conversation or have trouble having a conversation” together to discuss and support representation.

“You hear a lot of things when you are knocking on doors,” he said, pointing toward an anecdote where a man told him “you’re not our elected leaders. City councilmembers are not leaders. You’re representatives of community members who have elected you.”

Moorman won re-election in District 1 — which covers the northern central section of the city — with 69.12% over Eric Bodenstab.

The new councilmembers’ first vote after being sworn in was re-electing Moorman as mayor pro tem by a unanimous 7-0 vote. 

“I’m here to be a voice for our community,” Moorman said after being sworn in. “What we do on city council matters… We’ve filled some potholes and we have a lot more to fill.”

Moorman added that the biggest challenges that face the city are lowering homelessness, expanding multi-modal transportation systems and increasing affordable housing — all three things candidates discussed during the election cycle.

For example, the 2025 Regional Housing Needs Assessment by the Denver Regional Council of Governments said that 48.8% of Arvada renters in 2022 faced severe housing burden, meaning their rent was more than 50% of their monthly income.

The report also indicated that Arvada would require 4,990 new housing units by 2032, with 3,000 of those needing to be aimed at households earning between 0 to 50% of the area’s median income.

Lovisone won District 3 — which covers the southern central part of the city and Olde Town Arvada — with 69.46% over Aaron Skoff, replacing John Marriott, who had to give up the seat after serving on the council for 12 years.

“I grew up in a family where topics like politics and faith were always on the table,” Lovisone said. “We talked about everything, and those discussions taught me to welcome different perspectives, because that’s the only way to see the full picture, and what a gift it was to learn to listen to debate with respect and to seek understanding.”

Lovisone said her real passions come with connecting the community, finding a common agenda and improving curiosity.

“When I came on the council, I was initially, like many people, very skeptical of government and government’s abilities. One of the first things I learned was how dedicated, how qualified and how smart and how hard working all of the city employees are,” Marriott said before leaving the dais for the last time after a lengthy career. “I hope everybody in the city can understand, like I have, what a great job these civil servants are doing for them and will continue to do in the future.” 

“It’s a gift to be able to grow and serve in the community as I have,” Rupert said. “There is a place for everybody to serve. Whoever you are, you have a gift, and you simply need to find a place to contribute. All of us are part of the fabric of the community.”