AURORA | Seven candidates for Aurora City Council’s Ward I seat fielded questions from council members during a public interview on Oct. 1.
The candidates are Eric Busch, Bob Hagedorn, Kim Harrell, Sally Mounier, Jefferey Sharp, Deborah Wallace and Marsha Watts. Council members will appoint a candidate at a special meeting on Oct. 4 and the appointee will have to run in the 2013 municipal election.
Busch, a child welfare specialist for the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, said he could bring experience working in bureaucratic environments to the table. If he was appointed, Busch said he’d have time to serve because his full-time job is flexible and he is considering retirement. He is pleased with council’s commitment to development around the Anschutz Medical Campus but would like to see the city work on traffic jams in Ward I and he wants the city to do more to celebrate the diversity along the Colfax corridor. “We shouldn’t change Colfax, but celebrate what’s unique and positive,” he said.
Hagedorn is a graphic novel writer and a former state lawmaker, and told council members he wants to give back to his community. “I want to return something to my hometown, and this is for me perhaps one of the biggest opportunities to do that,” he said. If he was appointed, he said he’d like to address the perception that northwest Aurora is not a safe place to live. He said the city does a good job at giving residents the facilities they want, but it could do more to help small businesses.
Harrell, an artist who owns a studio in north Aurora, ran for a council seat in 2005. “I want to give back to the community that’s given me so much,” she said. She’d like the city to improve parking on East Colfax Avenue to make it easier for people to visit the shops and restaurants in that part of town. She’d also like to see the city do more for small businesses. She was impressed by council’s drought-hardening Prairie Waters project, and the way they handled the aftermath of the July 20 theater massacre.
Mounier is a former employee of RE/MAX Southeast, a real estate office in southeast Denver, and worked for 16 years hiring, training, supervising and promoting administrative employees. “What I bring to the table is maturity, and a lifetime of experience,” she said. She said she wants the city’s reputation to be business friendly. One of her strengths, she said, is to listen to both sides of an issue and be objective. If she were appointed, she’d make it a priority to protect Buckley Air Force Base from closure. She said she wasn’t in support of council’s 2-per-1,000 police staffing mandate implemented in the mid-1990s.
Sharp, a paralegal and board member of the Aurora Fox Theatre, said he’d like to advocate for education in the city, and thinks the city should focus on helping its homeless population. He said he’d like to reassure people that Aurora is still a safe place to live, and he’d make it a priority to keep Aurora Fox Theatre open. He also lauded the city for its handling of the July 20 theater shootings. “I think the city came together with law enforcement and helped (residents) accept what happened and heal from it,” he said.
Wallace, the council’s Civil Service Commissioner and former council member, said small business owners are struggling in Ward I and the city should do more to help them. “We haven’t done as much as we could do with small businesses,” she said. She’s interested in working with Community Development Block Grants, and keeping the city as safe as possible. She’s a supporter of giving new businesses tax incentives to lure them to the city.
Watts, a retired city maintenance supervisor who has lived in the city all her life, said she’s a people person, compassionate, and a good listener. “I try to look at the positive side of things, and I’m proactive,” she said. She said the city could work on improving the cleanliness on East Colfax Avenue, but she’s impressed with the development on the Anschutz Medical Campus on the former Fitzsimons Army Base. “I can’t say enough about Fitzsimons,” she said. “It’s just dynamic.”
Former Councilwoman Melissa Miller, who retired in early September because of increased travel demands at her full-time job, previously held the Ward I seat. Miller was the second council member to retire this year after former Councilman Bob FitzGerald.
Reach reporter Sara Castellanos at 720-449-9036 or sara@aurorasentinel.com.
I Believe Mounier is still with REMAX. After observing the interviews last night, I think she was the best one to fill the vacancy