AURORA, Colo. — Denver7 spoke with newly-elected Aurora City Councilman Rob Andrews about the shifting political landscape following a major shake-up in the November 4 election.
Voters delivered a new 6–4 progressive majority to the City Council.
Leading the charge is Rob Andrews, the top vote-getter in the competitive two-seat at-large race, who said residents were calling for a council that listens, collaborates, and restores trust.
“Voters chose hope over fear, community over chaos,” Andrews said in an interview with Denver7 Anchor Jessica Porter.
Andrews said residents made it clear they wanted leaders committed to working together.
“They elected folks who want to work together. We’re going to make sure that Aurora has a strong voice, not for us, but for them,” Andrews said.
New council members, including Andrews, Ali Jackson, Gianina Horton, Amy Wiles, and returning member Ruben Medina, will be sworn in on December 1.
Andrews said this moment is less about power and more about responsibility.
“It’s an era that we have to exist in, but we also have to have the responsibility to make sure the era exists later on,” he said. “This is not an era where we believe that we have a position where we’re going to command. This is where we’re going to serve.”
Aurora
Aurora City Council back to in-person meetings after 5 months in online format
He believes the transition will also help repair fractured relationships on the council.
“I’ve had several conversations with [current members] already… I don’t think they’re too far off from where we are,” he said. “A new culture is coming in.”
This month, Aurora City Council finally returned to in-person meetings after five months of virtual sessions. The remote format stemmed from repeated disruptions by families of police-shooting victims, who demanded accountability in cases including the deaths of Kilyn Lewis and Rajon Belt-Stubblefield.
Andrews said in-person meetings must continue, but with a renewed commitment to civility.
“We want to make sure everything is civil. We want to make sure everybody has a voice, and that we are able to speak to each other,” he said.
He has already begun meeting with one affected family.
“They’ve instructed me on what to do and how to do it, and I look forward to continuing that with the other families,” he said.
Aurora remains under a state-mandated consent decree following the Attorney General’s 2021 investigation into discriminatory policing practices.
Andrews acknowledged the consent decree is not working and the city must rebuild community policing.
Once sworn in, Andrews says his top issues will be the consent decree, economic stability, and affordable housing.
“We want folks to have registered apprenticeships in Aurora,” he said.
Andrews talked about his lifelong connection to unions and trades—his parents were both union members, and he has spent decades working with apprenticeship and workforce programs.
He envisions workforce housing as a key tool to keep essential workers in the city.
Aurora
Aurora community members to speak out against recent police shooting
“Nurses and teachers and police officers and firefighters need to live here. The way to do that is workforce housing, giving a subsidy to those folks,” Andrews said.
When asked how the city could afford such subsidies, Andrews proposed boosting sales tax revenue by bringing a minor league sports team to Aurora, a concept already under discussion with Councilmember Medina.
For Andrews, the election’s meaning is simple.
“This is about bringing Aurorans together and not dividing us,” he said. “We’ve been divided for a little period of time, but now it’s time to bring us together and solve all the issues that we think we need to solve.”
The new majority takes office December 1, ushering in what Andrews hopes will be a more collaborative and more unified Aurora.
