AURORA | The public listening session during city council meetings is back, but city council meetings will remain virtual until the Kilyn Lewis wrongful death lawsuit with Lewis’ family is closed.
“We have seen folks coming, staying within their time limits in our recent meetings, abiding by the decorum rules, at least for members of the public, once we agreed to reinstate the public comment listening session, and so I think that it would be appropriate to give folks a chance to continue that in person,” Councilmember Alison Coombs said.
The change was made after months of protests during city council meetings linked to the death of Lewis, an unarmed Black man who an Aurora SWAT officer killed during his arrest in May 2024. Lewis was accused of a shooting earlier that month in Denver. Some of the protesting spilled over into public hearings during agenda items in the meeting when the city council attempted to cancel the public listening session that happens before the meeting.
“The truth is, the people of Aurora are far wiser than you’re willing to acknowledge,” said activist and Lewis family spokesperson MiDian Shofner. “We see this for what it is, another attempt to control, contain and diminish the voices of the people. For over a year, you’ve dismissed democracy because you’ve been in damage control.”
During the July 14 council meeting, the “public invited to be heard” session was voted to be brought back, but with only 30 minutes for speaking instead of the 45-minute session the city used to allow. The cirtualsession had seven speakers, including Kilyn Lewis’ mother, LaRonda Jones, and the primary spokesperson for the Lewis family, Shofner.
Since speakers are only given two minutes to speak, the session lasted 15 minutes, and could only be heard if members of the public called into the listening line on the Aurora city website.
Near the end of each city council meeting, there is a question about whether to make changes to the “public invited to be heard” session. This week, Coombs motioned to bring the meeting back to in-person instead of virtual meetings, where council members attend from their private locations, instead of inside of city hall or council chambers.
“I know that many folks on this body have agreed and indicated over time that they believe in-person meetings are more effective and that it is appropriate for members of this body to conduct our meetings in person,” Coombs said. “In light of, kind of, those positions which I agree with, I believe that we should return to in-person meetings.”
The motion failed with Mayor Mike Coffman and council members Coombs, Ruben Medina, Crystal Murillo and Stephany Hancock voting in favor of bringing the meetings back to in-person.
Hancock said that she would expect people to be respectful and follow the rules if the meetings were brought back, while mentioning that people’s behavior has been nice, but that there is also the ability to “disconnect” the line when people try to talk over their time.
“It is important, however, that when we come into the council chambers, people, whether they have a viewpoint that’s counter to us, whether they disagree with us vehemently, they need to be reminded of the respect that is due to the office, whether they like us or not, is immaterial, Hancock said. “The fact of the matter is, the office of the City Council, and the work that we do for the constituents of this city, is important, and we want to get our business done.”
Hancock and council member Françoise Bergan reminded listeners that they have many other avenues to contact council members, including by phone, email and at councilmember town halls.
There may be other venues in which to communicate with council like townhalls. But when at-large meeting and some councilmembers only have 3 or 4 in person ward meetings per year, it’s not very transparent or effective to give public input.
The latest comments from the council hint that respect should be focused on the office itself rather than the individuals holding those roles. This perspective really turns democracy on its head. In a representative government, authority comes from the people to the officials, not the other way around. Public comment is there for citizens to express themselves freely, even when it’s tough or awkward for those in power. If the council is looking for respect for the office, the best way to earn it is by consistently showing respect for the people who actually give that office its purpose.