AURORA | Three candidates have filed to run in the race to replace longtime incumbent Ward VI Councilman Bob Broom, who is term limited: Francoise Bergan, Brian Arnold and PK Kaiser.
Bergan said her primary goal, if elected, would be to manage the booming growth and construction in southeast Aurora.
“Road improvements are a huge issue. I want to make sure medians are taken care of and that we address road conditions,” she said. “A lot of people are interested in Gun Club Road being widened.”
This summer’s Rocky Mountain Air Show at Aurora Reservoir left thousands snarled in traffic on East Quincy Avenue and on South Gun Club Road. But funding road improvements, such as those that are direly needed to accommodate a growing population in the southeast part of the city, has been a struggle for years.
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In 2012, Aurora voters rejected extending a property tax that would have generated about $5 million annually for local transportation projects, including widening Gun Club from Quincy Avenue to Aurora Parkway.
“I’m very cognizant of residents not wanting taxes and fees to go up. I’m trying to be creative,” Bergan said of potential solutions.
She said one option for funding ward-based and citywide road improvements could be to use surplus money from the annual city budget.
“We’ve had a surplus in the last four years in the budget. Allocating more of the surplus towards public works and roads, eventually you play catch up,” she said.
She said bringing Ward VI into the 21st century when it comes to communicating with residents would be another priority if elected. She said she wanted the ward to have more of a presence via town hall meetings, Facebook, newsletters and other social media.
One of the most-pressing issues facing Aurora is growth eastward. Developers are looking to annex nearly 3,000 acres east of city boundaries that could become residential and commercial development associated with Denver International Airport.
Bergan said if done right, annexations are a benefit to the city.
“Each annexation should be done after a fiscal-impact study and water-impact study has been done to make sure that the city can still deliver excellent services to current and future residents,” she said.
In light of Denver considering whether to allow some marijuana use in bars and other businesses, she said the issue is still up to state voters to decide, but that it could be considered for some bars.
“I would not favor the open use in coffee shops, as minors are able to go to coffee shops,” she said.
She said she would let voters decide whether or not to keep photo red light cameras because residents in her ward feel they’re an intrusion on their privacy. She said the studies so far have also not proven that the cameras are reducing accidents and may be increasing them in some cases as it relates to rear-end accidents.
Arnold, a teacher at a school in Montbello and track coach at Cherokee Trail High School, agrees.
“If I get the opportunity to serve on city council, I need to do a much better job of communicating with residents,” he said. “Just having town meetings is antiquated for today. I know how to utilize today’s communication systems to inform residents. Whether that’s through Nextdoor, email, text or Channel 8.”
Arnold said if elected, he would also like to live-stream his town hall meetings so they could be accessible to residents who can’t attend.
Arnold serves on Aurora’s Gang Reduction Impact Program steering committee, mentors foster kids with the Shiloh House, and was recently elected as a board member with Aurora Warms the Night.
He said his experience with the city’s gang reduction program has made safety a top priority for him.
“On the northwest side of Ward VI, a lot more crime is happening,” he said. “It’s about having the right ratio of officers to citizens, making sure there’s enough officers and making sure they’re in the right places.”
He said he agrees the top priority in Ward VI is transportation and infrastructure improvements on Gun Club, Arapahoe and Smoky Hill roads. He said the lack of Regional Transportation District service to the Southlands Mall is also an issue for employers and workers in the area.
Arnold said one idea he is looking at for infrastructure improvements and road maintenance is increasing what residents pay on their monthly water bill.
“On the northwest side of Ward VI, a lot more crime is happening,” he said. “It’s about having the right ratio of officers to citizens, making sure there’s enough officers and making sure they’re in the right places.”
“Just a couple of dollars per month per resident creates the amount of money that is needed for road maintenance,” he said. “Others think there is money in the budget, but there’s not.”
PK Kaiser is a small-business owner and has worked as a Realtor and in a real estate brokerage company involved in residential and commercial real estate, business and property management. He has a bachelor’s degree in agricultural economics, a master’s degree in economics, an MBA in Finance and a master’s degree in accounting.
Kaiser also has worked for the Colorado Department of Revenue, Department of Corrections, Colorado School of Mines, City & County of Denver and the Community College of Aurora.
In previous election years, Kaiser has been a familiar face on local ballots. He previously has run two unsuccessful bids for both the state Legislature and Aurora City Council, as well as a 2014 bid in the race for Arapahoe County assessor.
Kaiser did not return a questionnaire submitted to all city council candidates by the voter’s guide deadline. You can learn more about his candidacy at www.vote4kaiser.com.
The Aurora Sentinel reporter Rachel Sapin is trying her best ‘ the PK exclusion’ from all her stories on 2015 Aurora City Council Election.