Header: Noticeable right-leaning absence on the dais Monday night
AURORA | The City Council dais during Monday‘s meeting was uniquely sparse because all of the right-leaning lawmakers, except the mayor, were gone.
They didn’t call in or attend remotely. They just weren’t there.
The left-leaning council members who did attend the meeting said it was no accident, and that the conservative caucus boycotted the meeting. All but one of the missing city lawmakers isn’t saying why they were gone.
“I’m not sure why some of the council did not attend Monday’s meetings,” Councilmember Amy Wiles said. “Progress requires showing up. Our community has been clear about the issues, and we owe it to them to work collaboratively, despite our differences, to address the challenges we have as a city.”
Missing were conservative council members Françoise Bergan, Stephanie Hancock, Curtis Gardner and Angela Lawson.
Aurora Mayor Mike Coffman said he wants answers to why the group missed the meeting.
“I was surprised and disappointed that four members, who were participating in meetings prior to the regular meeting, did not show up for the regular meeting,” Coffman said in an email to the Sentinel. “Not one of them mentioned to me that they would not be in the regular meeting.”
Records from the city clerk’s office show that all 11 members attended the executive session earlier in the evening, but only Republican Stephanie Hancock and the Democrats were in person. Hancock also attended the study session in person but was absent from the regular meeting, which is where lawmakers do the business of the council.
Council members Bergan, Gardner, and Lawson were virtual for the executive session but did not attend the study session or the regular meeting.
The apparent boycott was the latest in a long series of city council conundra between conservatives and progressives on the city council. In November, Aurora voters pulled three Republicans off the city council and gave Democrats a 6-4 majority.
The only council person to respond to the Sentinel’s requests asking why they were all absent was Gardner, who said he was recovering from a scheduled knee surgery and had planned to miss the meeting.
There have been instances in the last couple of years in which council members attended the study session and executive session in person, then attended the meeting virtually to boycott unruly protesters. There has not, however, been any recent incident in which they did not show up at all as a political group.
Multiple city lawmakers said that the boycott likely stemmed from issues discussed in the closed session, but not one single topic or issue was identified by progressive caucus members. Possible issues that sparked the boycott include controversy linked to Police Chief Todd Chamberlain, annoyance at losing the council majority and ongoing tension created by regular city council protesters.
Some council members have voiced concerns about Chamberlain’s past comments in regards to Aurora police officer-involved shootings and police reform efforts in connection with a state mandated consent decree. Others have raised questions about Chamberlain’s comments on local police cooperating with ICE and federal agents. In particular, Chamberlain took issue with a recent city council resolution rebuking ICE raids and underscoring a state law prohibiting police cooperation with ICE agents in most cases.
“Tonight, a resolution was passed by Aurora City Council,” Chamberlain said in a statement after the city council vote. “I understand there are strong political views on aspects of federal partnerships and collaboration in the law enforcement profession. I respect the autonomy of the city council. However, I believe it will come at a cost…We have and will continue to work closely with our law enforcement partners at the local, state and federal levels to hold those who victimize members of our community accountable for their criminal actions.”
Although city council members are not allowed to disclose details from closed-door meetings, they can share information about the topics discussed, or, for example, the general mood, such as whether there were arguments.
Multiple council members mentioned growing resistance from some Republican council members to cooperate, or “work together,” with the newer, more progressive members. The two factions have recently publicly butted heads on topics like the city’s position on ICE raids and immigration, and on how the city should respond to the Democratic-controlled state legislature’s handling of issues related to local control.
Whatever happened in the executive session on Monday struck a new chord, some in the meeting say. One council member reportedly became so angry during the executive session that they hung up on the virtual call and never dialed back in for the rest of the night.
A few council members said that conservative members were critical of issues discussed in the closed meeting that, in their opinion, came with insufficient prepared materials and “backup.”
One council member said the Republicans were angry because one topic was considered inappropriate altogether, which can happen, city lawmakers said, for example, when the discussion goes off topic on the agenda.
There has also been voiced concern about information being leaked to former City Councilmember Danielle Jurinsky, who lost her at-large city council seat in the Nov. 4 election.
Some city lawmakers have said that police or other city employees leaked information to Jurinsky about newly elected City Councilmember Rob Andrews being arrested in connection to drunken driving allegations. Jurinsky posted the news on her Facebook and X accounts Jan. 18, just hours after his arrest. The city lawmakers say they’re concerned that someone in the police department leaked the Andrews arrest police report without her filing an open records request.
This week, Jurinsky said in a Jan. 26 Facebook post, an hour after the executive session, “After watching carefully what is going on in Aurora, it is clear that the left is going after our police chief.”
Then, 15 minutes before the regular meeting began on Monday, she posted in the comments, “I can’t share further details, but they are setting the stage. Having community policing events, police oversight committee conversations, closed-door policy conversations, etc.,” according to the post. This would have been an hour after the executive session ended on Monday, and the only closed-door meeting city council is able to have is in executive session.
Lawmakers were also slated to discuss in their closed session a proposed oil lease, a T-Mobile contract and updates on three court cases involving the city. In addition, city lawmakers were slated to conduct reviews of the three city staffers they appoint: the city manager, city attorney, and chief judge.
Also on the closed meeting agenda were legal updates on two court cases involving the city. One of the court cases on the executive session agenda is a case that involved a former Aurora police officer, Douglas Harroun, who shot a civilian in the ankle.
The Aurora v. Simons Supreme Court Decision, also on the agenda, concerns the recent Colorado Supreme Court ruling that will require Aurora to reduce its “tough on crime” penalties for misdemeanors like shoplifting. City Attorney Pete Schulte recently filed a rehearing with the Supreme Court for “clarity purposes.”
Finally, the personnel meeting with the three city council-appointed officials could have caused contention between members as well.
While the missing conservative city lawmakers didn’t make public what their boycott was about, or what they hoped to accomplish, Coffman said they should have attended the meeting.
“There is never a justification for missing a meeting unless someone is physically unable to participate,” Coffman said. “In the six years that I have been the mayor, I have never missed a regular meeting of the Aurora City Council.”
On Monday, Coffman was clearly ill or recovering and kept coughing and talking with a hoarse voice during the entire meeting.
Regardless of the boycott, the newly charged progressives have enough in their group to hold the meetings, providing a needed quorum to do council business.
Whether the boycotting council members will announce their intentions is unclear, but Coffman said he won’t overlook the issue.
It’s unclear what a rebuke might look like, as there are no current laws mandating attendance. One option, former city lawmakers said, could be censure of the boycotting members.
“I plan to bring the matter up at the next regular council meeting,” Coffman said, “and from this point forward, if a member does not provide a reasonable excuse to me prior to the meeting, I will publicly state that their absence is unexcused following the roll call by the clerk.”
Every council meeting now feels like the same script: the hard-left members pack the room with a rabble-rousing crowd, then sit back and watch while their supporters shout down and insult anyone on the right. The message is clear—if you don’t toe their line, you’re a target, not a colleague.
What’s worse is the silence from the dais. The left-leaning members smirk through the abuse and almost never tell their followers to show basic decorum or respect for the institution they claim to care about. No self-respecting person would willingly sit there and be heckled and demeaned by a mob encouraged by their own peers. This breakdown in civility isn’t coming from the right side of the aisle—it’s coming from those who treat council meetings like a political rally instead of the people’s business.
Aurora deserves real debate, not organized outrage. Citizens across the spectrum should be able to watch a meeting without feeling like they’ve tuned into a partisan shouting show instead of their city government at work.
Speaking as one of the 51% who are generally moderate and who love both sides of their extended families, this stunt is just embarassing. It was also highly disrespectful to anyone who had business before council Monday night. City staff, too.
There’s $45 million/year in additional sales tax revenue just sitting on the table waiting on a City Council who can focus on delivering a serious strategy to address Aurora’s failed retail, dining and entertainment. Instead we get this childish behavior?!?!
Enough with the political theater all around, including pointless emergency resolutions that do nothing. The city needs leaders who will work together on serious solutions.
I agree with Mr. Brown! Enough theater already. We didn’t vote for people who boohooed because they are not getting their way. If you can’t stand the heat get the hell out of the kitchen. As I’m constantly reminded by MAGA, that elections have consequences. With the shenanigans imposed on public comment last year, we have to expect recalcitrant citizens frustrated that they weren’t heard. Now, it is incumbent on the council to listen, whether they like it or not. Angela Lawson is my council person. She just lost any hope of my future support. This is right out of the Trump book. That when the going gets tough, his first instinct is to take his marbles and go home to cry to his mommy. Enough! Get to the meetings and work on city problems. We’ve got to fix the $6+MM hole moron Jurinski left us with!