AURORA VOTE 2021: Ward II – In northeast Aurora, safety, environment rise to top issues

The Ward II seat on the Aurora City Council has been vacant since June when former member Nicole Johnston resigned to move to Colorado Springs. The remainder of council members were unable to fill the position, ultimately violating the city charter. The Ward II seat encompasses northeast Aurora where housing development is booming. The ward is also home to most of the city’s oil and gas development, Buckley Space Force Base and many of the city’s big economic investments, such as Gaylord of the Rockies convention center.

After months without a representative, Ward II residents will finally get to place a new lawmaker on the dais of the Aurora City Council.

Over the course of several meetings this summer, 10 members of the council voted more than 150 times to replace Ward II council member Nicole Johnston, who resigned her seat in June. Without any resolution, the city council was in violation of the city charter and down a lawmaker who had the potential to avoid a tied vote on controversial measures.

Lawmakers couldn’t overcome an impasse between Steve Sundberg, the local manager of a bar and grill, and Ryan Ross, a community college administrator backed by Johnston. Sundberg was supported by the conservative faction of council, while Ross garnered the liberal vote. 

Overall, there were six candidates for the appointment. Three of them opted to run for the seat this November. Jessica Giammalvo, Robert Hamilton and Sundberg all find themselves vying for the Ward II seat after unsuccessful city interviews and community meet and greets this summer. 

Hamilton is a consultant and Giammalvo is a software engineer who came to Aurora to serve at Buckley Air Force Base. Bryan Lindstrom also joins the slate of candidates. He’s an Aurora Public Schools civics teacher who has served on the Aurora Education Association board.

Issues that affect the northeastern Aurora ward include oil and gas, which due to state law is now almost entirely regulated by local government, growing suburban neighborhoods and rising housing costs, and rising crime, which has become a city-wide issue. 

Like other races and candidates, Ward II candidates have spoken frequently and candidly about a police force fraught with criticism over its pattern of abusing people of color, facing new reform measures and losing a higher-than-normal number of officers over the last year.

Sundberg said he believes that crime rates should be the city’s top public safety issue.

“I believe it will start by demonstrating value and appreciation to our police. Police departments have been devalued, demonized, and defunded around the nation,” he said in a candidate survey for the Sentinel. “Currently, officers within our agency are highly reluctant to make certain traffic stops, or intervene in some matters for fear of being sued as a result of Senate Bill 217.”

Sundberg is in favor of beefing up police funding and staffing while potentially even lobbying the state to rework SB217, he said. 

Hamilton offers a multi-faceted approach to policing in Aurora moving forward. He pitched increasing police funding, encouraging private businesses to hire private security, and reprioritize important calls APD officers take.

“I firmly believe that all government functions should be voluntarily funded. Pay for what you want, support what you believe in, or pay for the level of service you receive,” he said.

Lindstrom, on the other hand, is in favor of “proactive solutions” such as housing, education and mental health services to prevent crime altogether.

“We fund this by reallocating resources that already exist because it saves us money and is better at actually preventing crime,” he said in a candidate survey. “An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure.”

Giammalvo didn’t return requests for a survey, calls or attend the September candidate forum with other Ward II candidates.

On oil and gas, Lindstrom said he’d rate the city’s regulation a “B” while Hamilton said during a candidate forum he’d be interested in seeing what areas oil and gas is “over regulated.” Sundberg said he’s content with the current regulation model and would not impose any further regulations.

A new city council could mean a different result on Mayor Mike Coffman’s urban camping ban proposal, which would encourage sweeps of homeless camps across the city when enough shelter beds are available. 

Lindstrom says the proposal “criminalizes homelessness” and would not vote in favor of the ban, which Coffman has vowed to bring back to council after the beginning of the year. The measure died on a tied vote earlier this year and could not, by charter, be reintroduced for six months.

As written, Hamilton said in its current form, he would also not support the legislation. He advocates for more assistance from non-profit organizations and people who wish to help.

Sundberg said he would support a camping ban and go a step further and support an ordinance banning panhandling in the city.

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