PERRY: Nice to meet you, Denver; Please get out of the way

So what do you think, Aurora? Everybody wants to know.

That certainly wasn’t the case not very long ago. Despite the fact that Aurora has been for some time, the state’s third-largest city in population and arguably the biggest in potential land mass, the rest of the metro area has pretty much ho-hummed anything that happens out here. Ten years ago, one of the Mayor Tauers was forever whining about some Denver shenanigans: airport noise, airport high jinx, RTD arrogance, yadda, yadda, yadda. The city moved along with Denver newspaper and TV headlines focusing on who got shot here.

That was then. This is now.

Election night here in Aurora solidified Aurora’s newfound position in Colorado. Everyone running for city council seats this year, and especially those who won them, made it clear that they want everyone outside Aurora to know that the city is a force to be reckoned with and not a stooge to be toyed with. As a resident or business owner here, your stock along the Front Range just went up.

It’s hard to say when the moment was that Aurora went from “Aurora?” to “Aurora.” The city’s character and influence has been gaining momentum for some time. After the closure of Lowry and Fitzsimons, Buckley began to emerge as its own powerhouse. That Air Force base, and this city, is where presidents arrive. The transformation of Fitzsimons from forgotten Army facility to world-class hospital, research and bioscience Mecca was a milestone. University of Colorado officials, try as they did, could no longer avoid the fact that the state’s medical school, university hospital and everything that goes with it is smack dab in Aurora.

Aurora was still “Aurora?” when rumors floated about a NASCAR track out here. It was still “Aurora?” when the Gaylord hotel-a-palooza was announced. But when stories about the Western National Stock Show moving to Aurora wouldn’t go away, things started changing fast. The loss of the venerable but seriously questionable stock show to Aurora affected political powers to the West not because of the potential impact on Denver, but because it was so plausible. Aurora could attract such a thing, and capitalize on it. And Aurora didn’t need anybody’s help to do it.

If there was one moment in time that made it clear to the world that Aurora is not Denver, and that we’re calling the shots for ourselves these days, it was the moment after James Holmes opened fire in the Aurora Century Theater July 20, 2012. With terror and the world thrust upon us, Aurora rallied and moved ahead, quietly, deliberately and successfully. While everyone watched, we all learned together that Aurora has become a unique community and an influential entity. We essentially have our own seat in Congress. We have 11 seats in the state Legislature, where our reps help run the show.

None of this bodes well for Denver, which is used to making decisions for everyone in the metro area, either directly or by default. Denver created a downtown that is subsidized on many levels by regional and statewide taxpayers. Downtown business owners make out like bandits sometimes, only because of the way Denver has driven development and politics over the past few generations.

So Aurora’s relatively recent impertinence is seriously bad news for Denver, and they’re going to push back. They already are.

Downtown Denver hoteliers are as livid as Tea Party Republicans about the Gaylord Hotel project. But that’s not what really scares them. They know damned well that the Gaylord project won’t rate a blip on the hotel business in Denver. It’s what will come after Gaylord that has them worried. When Aurora pulls this off, it can wield its water, its political power and its newfound cache to do more. Much more. Right now, there isn’t a Class A office to be had here. But with lots of land and water, a new city center is possible. So is the spaceport. Likewise, Denver officials are intent on violating a pact that made Denver International Airport possible. Rather than do just as they please, as they have in the past, they’ve taken pause from what could happen if they try to walk over Aurora and its interests.

This is all new to us out here. And this new city council is the first one to drive the city under entirely new circumstances. City leaders finally get to work on what Aurora wants to do, not what it’s permitted to do. Welcome to the new Aurora. What do you think?

Reach editor Dave Perry at 303-750-7555 or dperry@aurorasentinel.com