AURORA VOTE 2023 — The race for Ward VI

Why should Aurora voters pick you as their next Ward VI representative?

• I have demonstrated the vision and leadership needed to implement smart ideas that benefit the entire community. In Tollgate Crossing, I was the first homeowner elected to the Metropolitan District board in 2006, and to our HOA the next year. The District was in debt and had a deficit in the operating account heading into the Great Recession, and one of two builder/developers failed. My financial planning led us to amend the service plan, refinance the debt, bring in a new developer, and improve neighborhood public safety. We have eliminated monthly fees, reduced the mill levy, and are now one of the most fiscally sound districts in Southeast Aurora. Our neighborhood public safety program under my leadership includes license plate readers, neighborhood safety patrol, together with neighborhood watch has dramatically reduced crime. As a member of the Citizens Advisory Budget Committee from 2018-2021, I proposed sound planning. I have 25 years experience working with metropolitan districts and HOAs and I am familiar with the planning and zoning process. I know the neighborhoods in Ward VI and our concerns, and can work with neighborhood leaders to implement bipartisan solutions.

 What will be your top three legislative priorities if elected?

• Neighborhood-based approach to public safety, similar to what I have accomplished in Tollgate Crossing. Aurora is short 100 police officers and it will take at least 24 months to recruit and train these officers. We need a “force multiplier” to make our current police force more efficient. Neighborhood- based public safety grants for technology (such as license plate readers), neighborhood watch and security patrols, and more Police Area Representatives can make our neighborhoods safer.
• Visionary planning and zoning reforms including a new master plan. Our current master plan, Aurora Places, is almost meaningless because it allows almost any type of development, promoting urban sprawl. We need to promote an Aurora Tech Center near DIA/Buckley to bring in high-paying jobs instead of more single-family communities, an area around Anschutz Medical Campus limited to biotechnology industry instead of re-zoning everything as residential, and a cultural/performing arts/entertainment venue near the E470-I70 intersection instead of more warehouses.
• Protect our reservoirs by taking action to enforce the 1-mile oil and gas setback around the Aurora Reservoir, including a joint agreement with Arapahoe County to implement a joint 1-mile setback and/or annexing buffer land within a 1-mile boundary.

Aurora’s City Council has become increasingly polarized in recent years, with members publicly coming into conflict over topics such as police reform and social justice. How will you get work done in spite of this, and what sort of working relationship do you want to develop with council members who don’t share your political views?

• Polarization occurs because people have “tunnel vision” focused on only one partisan idea, instead of solutions that benefit all.  As a physicist, I was focused on solving problems with creative ideas and an evidence-based approach. On the Tollgate Crossing Metro District and HOA boards, I promoted creative solutions that made sense and brought people together. I believe my creative ideas for public safety, planning and development, and fiscal responsibility defy political labels and achieve solutions that will benefit all Aurorans.

Since 2020, Aurora has taken several steps to promote diversity in its city government — for example, by creating an Office of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion, and by introducing Native American land acknowledgements at the start of council meetings. Has the city been moving in the right direction with these efforts? What additional steps or corrections would you like to see the city make?

• Diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) efforts benefit all of Aurora in many ways: 1) by providing diverse role models in City positions, it improves hiring of qualified applicants of all races and cultures, more of whom are likely to apply for positions; 2) it improves the relationship between citizens of different ethnic backgrounds and the city when the city is seen as inclusive; 3) it educates city employees (including police and firefighters) on cultural practices and attitudes which may be different from their own. The Office of DEI was a good effort but it was never fully staffed nor funded, and now with only 1 full time equivalent employee it needs more staffing and funding. Also, we must not forget that DEI efforts should not only be internal to the City’s staffing and employment efforts – they should also be focused on promoting diverse small businesses. If we encourage and grow diverse small businesses, that helps the City’s economic development.  I would like to see more diverse business assistance/incubator programs to help small businesses of all cultures to navigate the complex system of permits, compliance, and grants.

Last year, Aurora’s City Council responded to the phenomenon of homeless camping by banning camping on public property and stepping up sweeps of encampments. Do you think the city did the right thing by introducing its camping ban? Why or why not?

• The camping ban has not worked effectively. After the city breaks up a camp, many residents are simply “swept” across the city line only to be “swept back” when that city or county break up their new camp.  We see that at I-225/Parker Road for example. While some programs have worked (such as the pallet shelters), they provide only temporary housing and not a more permanent solution.  I agree that encampments must be mitigated when they become a health and safety risk. I would promote the availability of certain safe and sanitary urban camping areas where the unhoused who refuse other types of shelter can live and be protected by the police. I would also prefer permanent supportive housing for other unhoused populations (i.e., domestic violence victims, the disabled, individuals with addictions and mental illness) where they can receive services.

 Aurora and other cities in the Denver metro area have recently struggled to respond to increases in certain crimes, including vehicle and retail thefts. To discourage criminal behavior, should the city invest more in social programs (education, job training, etc.), or should it invest more in policing and tougher criminal penalties? What should that investment look like?

• Increasing criminal penalties has not reduced crime (example: the most recent public crime report from the Aurora Police Department dated September 12, 2023 shows year-to-date shoplifting up more than 33% despite last year’s mandatory sentence ordinance; while Aurora motor vehicle theft this year is down 26% from last year, that is no better than the Colorado average which dropped from about 30% from 3500 cars per day to 2500). We are short 100 police officers but are not able to recruit and hire fast enough (it will take at least 24 months to recruit and train these officers based on current academy enrollment and attrition). A better approach is prevention and deterrence, including technology such as license plate readers to deter and solve crime, neighborhood-based public safety programs such as grants to neighborhood associations and metro districts for safety patrols and neighborhood watch programs, full staffing of our Police Area Representative (PAR) officer program, and more integration of police officers with community and faith leaders to promote better police/community relations. This will lead to more visibility of police in neighborhoods which deters crime, allow police to be more responsive to crimes in progress, and to solve more crimes. In addition, the Center for Disease Control recommends an evidence-based approach to youth violence prevention, which recommends connecting youth to activities (such as after-school programs) and creating protective community environments. See (https://www.cdc.gov/violenceprevention/youthviolence/prevention.html. The city can promote these protective community environments by coordinating and advertising community programs (sports, social clubs, youth groups, etc.) and street outreach to youth.

After the death of Elijah McClain, Aurora’s Police Department agreed to implement a list of reforms to address what the Colorado Attorney General’s Office described as a pattern of racially-biased policing and excessive force. How much progress have Aurora police made toward reform? Have calls for reform gone too far, or are they not ambitious enough?

• As a former high school teacher, I would grade Aurora’s reform efforts as incomplete but moving in the right direction. Under the consent decree with the Attorney General, which is only 18 months into 5-year program, the independent monitor is reporting cooperation and progress. In addition, the community advisory council is reporting progress. I trust those professionals who are familiar with the process when they report progress. I believe the reforms are ambitious and may be difficult in the short term but will lead to long-lasting benefits.

Aurora is grappling with a shortage of affordable housing, with one city representative estimating in July that the city needed about 7,500 additional affordable units to meet demand. What specific steps would you like to see the city take to expand its inventory of affordable housing?

• For new housing, I would use the entitlement process to seek developers to include affordable housing in their development plans. This used to be the case – for example, Tollgate Crossing’s master plan which was adopted over 20 years ago provided dedicated land for Habitat for Humanity homes and affordable town homes.  Alternatively, I believe in using development fees to encourage affordable housing – lower development fees if the developer agrees to include affordable housing in plans. The City also should encourage higher density, affordable transit-oriented development near light rail lines.
• For existing housing, the City should facilitate the conversion of blighted or vacant buildings into affordable housing, acquiring the land through the urban renewal authority process and then leasing the land to builder/developers at low cost/no cost with the condition that affordable housing is constructed.

Some lawmakers have criticized the low-density development patterns typical in the eastern and southern parts of the city for inefficiently using land and water. How much of a problem is development “sprawl”? Do you think the city should be encouraging more compact, high-density development? If so, how?

• Development sprawl is a severe problem in eastern Aurora. Our transportation infrastructure is inadequate leading to traffic congestion and accidents (examples are Gun Club Road and Quincy). Also, the city has been “accepting” neighborhood streets in these sprawling single-family developments at such a rate that it has put a severe strain on our public works department to maintain the roads. Sprawling development also requires more fire and police stations to maintain adequate response time – we are short two fire stations because of the growth in eastern Aurora. As other cities have demonstrated, the future of development is higher density transit-oriented development and compact mixed-use neighborhoods. Aurora should revise its entitlement process and development fee structure to encourage higher density development in areas near light rail, and mixed-use development that is more walkable.

As the demand for water grows, Colorado cities are being forced to reconsider how they allocate and share their limited water rights. If another city wanted to lease water from Aurora, how would you decide whether to support or reject that proposal?

• Long-range water planning is the key here. It makes sense for Aurora to lease water in the near term that it does not need in order to finance longer-term water development projects that will bring much more water online. The best example is the Prairie Waters project. This project uses riverbank filtration and aquifer recharge to recycle treated wastewater, allowing Aurora to use an extra 10 million gallons a day of water from the South Platter River. It is expensive, however. The Prairie Waters project is planned for an expansion that could double its capacity. When the original Prairie Waters project was brought online, Aurora had excess water capacity and could lease water to other municipalities. Future reservoirs may also provide increased capacity for a period of time. Aurora should plan to lease water when it expects to have excess water, while using those funds to develop new water sources.