AURORA | Current Ward III Aurora City Councilwoman Marsha Berzins wants a shot at being mayor. She filed her intent to run with the city clerk this week, according to the office.
Berzins joins Aurora NAACP president Omar Montgomery, former Congressman Mike Coffman and former council members Ryan Frazier and Renie Peterson in the race.
The councilwoman was elected by her peers as mayor pro tem in 2017. She served in the mayor’s capacity after former Mayor Steve Hogan announced a cancer diagnosis and after his death last spring.
Mayor Bob LeGare, who was eventually elected by the council to fill Hogan’s seat, said he wouldn’t run for mayor.
Berzins formally announced her campaign on Saturday at the Cozy Cafe, an Ethiopian restaurant located in the region of the city she currently represents. With family and supporters packed into the small shop, she said she would make public safety her first priority if elected mayor.
She also highlighted a business-friendly agenda, one that reduces regulation.
“We need to stay out of the way and let businesses thrive,” Berzins said.
During her tenure on council, Berzins pledged to donate her recent salary increase, approved by voters, to charity. She announced at the end of 2018 the money would go to the Aurora Mental Health Center, of which Berzins serves as a member on the board of directors.
Berzin’s term in Ward III expires in 2021. She won a third term in 2017, after running against a slate of self-described progressive candidates who split the vote.
Berzins was not available for comment as of this publishing.
