AURORA | The Aurora City Council dais was notably sparse Monday night as four council members attending the council meeting did so virtually in an apparent attempt to avoid listening to a group of regular dissenters in person.
Councilmembers Danielle Jurinsky, Steven Sundberg, Stephanie Hancock and Françoise Bergan participated in an earlier study session at city hall in person, but they opted to join the “public invited to be heard” part and then the regular city council meeting virtually, apparently from inside the city building. Mayor Mike Coffman was present at all parts of the meeting.
The move was made possible by recent changes to city council attendance rules. Those changes were a response to the nearly year-long city-council protests linked to the fatal officer-involved shooting of Kilyn Lewis.
Under the new rules, council members are not obligated to be on the dais for the public comment portion of the meeting. The rules, however, require 24 hours notice if they intend to attend the rest of the city council meeting virtually.
The city clerk’s office did not immediately respond to questions from the Sentinel as to whether the missing council members provided the required notice.
Councilmembers Angela Lawson and Curtis Gardner, along with City Manager Jason Batchelor, also did not physically attend the city council meeting, but they were either virtual or absent for the study session as well.
During the public comment segment, one member of the public spoke on a topic unrelated to the Lewis shooting. Unlike virtually all city council meetings and study sessions, the “public invited to be heard” segments of the meetings are neither broadcast nor video recorded.
Lewis was fatally shot May 23, 2024 by an Aurora SWAT officer during Lewis’ arrest at an Aurora apartment complex. The arrest was linked to attempted murder charges in Denver. Arapahoe County prosecutors said SWAT Officer Michael Dieck did not break any laws during the shooting. Aurora Police Chief Todd Chamberlain said internal investigations revealed Chamberlain did not break any police policies during the shooting. As police were yelling at Lewis to surrender during the parking-lot confrontation, Dieck fired at Lewis as he was raising his arms and hands. Lewis was holding a cell phone in his hand, and Dieck told investigators he thought it was a gun.
Then, MiDian Schofner, a Lewis family representative, was called as the second person to speak. Schofner asked the members of the audience who “believed Kilyn Lewis should still be alive” to stand with her at the podium. She was joined by LaRonda Jones, Lewis’ mother, and Veronica Seabron, the mother of Jalin Seabron, who was recently killed in an officer-involved shooting in Douglas County.
Members of the group spoke throughout the public comment period, with Schofner referencing a recent, unrelated, jury trial victory by the Irwin Fraley law firm, the same firm representing Lewis’ family in their lawsuit against the City of Aurora.
With five minutes left in the public comment period, the group said they wanted to wait for the absent council members to return in person for the regular meeting, and they said they wanted the council members to make eye contact with them rather than “hide behind screens.”
When the meeting officially started, none of the council members who had been present in the building earlier returned to the dais. They continued to participate virtually, but did not return to the dais.
I don’t know what is going on here with these protests, but it seems that these people want to meet face-to-face with someone and want an independent investigation. Am I missing something? I’m not surprised that ol’ my-way-or-the-highway Jurinski is ducking accountability. All she offers is a big mouth! Since her election, she has not provided us with one reason she should stay on the council. She is a negative force and should be voted out of office!
with you 100% Citizen Kane. I’ve been saying this for years since I first heard her running and bragging about her military service. Then berates others, sometimes vulgarly, cuts programs with out finding ways to replace the funds….which is a requirement under the charter and getting away with all this because of a conservative council.
And this qualifies as a major, above-the-fold news piece because…?
This is journalism? Really?
It seems rather petty–like the Sentinel is scrapping bottom to trash conservative CMs.
I encourage these CMs to completely ignore ALL comment requests from the Sentinel until you clean up your act.
How is it not important to report that our city county elected officials are avoiding facing their constituents and presumably hiding in a back room? Also interesting that you prefer to live in a world where the press can’t report what they see. Or are barred from asking questions at events the public (again, these people’s constituents) should know about. That’s really scary. And quite un-American. Strange that you don’t want to know what is happening in your community. Or that you want filters on what you know? I do not want filters.
And how well did the Sentinel cover the actual business conducting at Monday night’s meeting?
Not one word printed on the grants received from the state for homeless services.
Not one word printed on the continuation legal services for those facing eviction.
Just when you think the Sentinel hits rock bottom, someone pulls out the propaganda shovel.
but no comments about the council not being available to their constituents or doing anything at all to address the issues other then putting ear plugs in? Really?
First time that I have heard that the Lewis Family has lawyered up. It is and was always about the money. Please Council don’t make a settlement.
I’ll not forget or forgive these Black Radicals for taking away the Public Invited to be Heard part of the Council Meetings along with related Council business, that they now interrupt whenever they can. I always looked forward to those comments. I do hope when this Black Radical strategy ends that you return to hosting these citizens. Until then, stay strong and fight to regain our Council meetings as you are doing.
In the next elections, we will tie these Black Radicals to the socialists on Council and help them to get un-re-elected until they are all gone. Be advised Council members that there are a huge number of citizens, mostly unspoken, that are in favor of everything you are doing to get back control of your meetings.
As a side note, you can see that the 24 hour notice rule will be used against you by the Radicals and the Sentinel Blog. I’d get rid of that rule right away at your next meeting.
And Council, thanks for all you do under these very strange times. You are saving me from listening to these radicals speak nonsense. I haven’t had to listen since I heard Black Radical Anderson try to speak about zoning. Every sentence ended in “Lewis”.
Hoping you get back to normal soon so I can again keep up with Council business.
Please Council don’t make a settlement? It’s really not up to them is it? The courts will decide.
As for the rest of your ‘ideas’ : we’ll see. If the Aurora Population can’t see that this conservative bunch of do nothinger’s have in fact done nothing….then we deserve what we get just like with the national election. But pendulums do swing both ways.
Interesting, the party that says the election was stolen, now runs away from constituents?
Another blatant action to avoid transparency and answers.
Why not set up a private (or public) to address the issues?
Hiding behind your Zoom screen is EXACTLY the type of representation we don’t need.
Cowards.