By Aaron Futrell
The birds are singing, the bees are buzzing, and the last of the green grass is hanging on—but something else is different in Aurora. There’s a new scent in the air. Not the sharp smell of fall or the shine of a new car, but something rarer: the unmistakable scent of change. You can feel it in the way neighbors greet each other more warmly, and in the way strangers linger a second longer in conversation. Aurora woke up this week to something it hasn’t felt in a long time—a new day in our political life.
Full disclosure: I entered Democratic politics four years ago, quietly and behind the scenes, hoping to honor the legacy of my grandmother, former Aurora City Councilmember Edna Mosley, who served our city from 1991 to 2002. I stepped into this world with conviction, but early on, the candidates I supported lost tough races, and my endorsement record didn’t inspire confidence. Still, I stayed committed.
This election cycle, something changed. People began to hear my voice a little more clearly. That voice did not emerge because a particularly divisive former council member once labeled me “irrelevant.” I didn’t owe my voice to them then, and I don’t now.
I owe it to the team of candidates, organizers, and staff who believed in me—not as a political accessory, but as a community member and leader. They took me in as a community member with a dream for his city, and for the first time, I felt Aurora politics had space for me. That feeling was surreal given the years of division and hostility that defined our local government.
But this election marks a turning point—one shaped by thousands of voters who chose unity over chaos, compassion over cruelty, and progress over polarization. Aurora didn’t just turn a page; we began a new chapter.
We now have leaders prepared to govern with light, empathy, and integrity. Leaders who understand that public safety doesn’t require sacrificing community trust. Leaders who know that a healthy economy must work for everyone—not just the wealthy few. Leaders who believe that a unified city is a safer, stronger, and more prosperous one.
My hope is that Aurora reclaims its place as the number one city for families—a place where opportunities are shared, where businesses want to invest, and where every resident feels they belong.
There are no demons here — only demon slayers. Everyday people who refused to accept fear as a governing philosophy. Residents who know compassion is not weakness, but our greatest strength. Voters who believed Aurora could be better, and proved it.
Today is a new day. A new dawn. And Aurora is already better for it.
Aaron Futrell is a community advocate, political organizer, and lifelong Aurora resident committed to building a more united and compassionate city.
Amen, Aaron! The electorate was changing throughout the year. I saw comments mount in answer to articles in the Seninel that rejected the vile discourse of some of the Council members. I saw them rejecting bullying and lying, but I sure wasn’t expecting this outcome. I thought money could buy the election again, but I was totally and gleefully wrong! This is just the start,; follow-through is the hard part!
“This is just the start,; follow-through is the hard part!”
LOL, you do realize that the reason Jurinsky and Sundberg ended up on the council in the first place, was because your team jacked up the city so bad during the DSA/Emerge reign of error, right?
The reason “follow-through” is so hard is also because your team’s been failing hard on that score for about the last 100 years, insisting that the True and Honest form has “never been tried.” Comedy gold.
“Comedy gold”?
That explains a lot.
Your time has passed.
Ah yes, the passive-aggressive mewling of a dessicated Boomerlib fossil when his dialectic is rejected, as reality has been doing since the Bolsheviks.
Go take some Metamucil and lie down, Grandpa.