Aurora welcomed its new councilmembers with a reception Monday followed by the group’s first regular city council meeting.

The 2023 election shifted the city’s council slightly farther right, with two ward council seats previously held by progressives going to conservatives and one at-large council seat going to a progressive candidate.

Official election results came in over the weekend and can be found on the city’s website.

Mike Coffman remains mayor, new member Stephanie Hancock will take over for Juan Marcano in Ward IV, previous at-large member Angela Lawson will replace Alison Coombs in Ward V, incumbent Francoise Bergan will keep her seat in Ward VI, and previous Ward V member Coombs will replace Lawson for at-large council along with incumbent Curtis Gardner.

The terms of newly elected and re-elected officials officially began at the commencement of the first regular council meeting in December Monday, following the reception.

Hancock, replacing Marcano, was the only new member joining council.

She won over progressive opponent Jonathan Gray with 53.7% of the votes, a lead of just more than 1,000 votes.

Loud cheers and a standing ovation accompanied her swearing in from family members and friends of councilmembers elected or re-elected.

Among Hancock’s family members in the audience was her mother, whom she thanked as she took her official seat on council.

Hancock has lived in Ward IV, the Ward she now represents, for 25 years, she said. She is a veteran and small business owner, has owned a theater company for the past 15 years and served as president of the Aurora Cultural Arts District.

Hancock told The Denver Gazette that the top three challenges facing city residents are crime, affordability and economic opportunity.

She has talked about the importance of empowering and supporting law enforcement, being harder on crime and “empowering not enabling” homeless people through addressing root causes of homelessness, she’s said.

It’s “exciting and exhilarating” to sit with council for the first time, Hancock said. She referred to getting started with city council as “drinking out of a firehose,” but is excited to serve.

“I’m eager to make positive change in the community by doing what I promised the people and addressing crime, affordability, and homelessness,” Hancock said. “I’m a woman of my word and I’m going to do everything I can to fulfill those promises.”

Hancock expressed hope the city council won’t be held back by ideological discourse, and said when councilmembers knows more, they do better.

“At the end of the day, we’re doing it for the city,” she said. “I don’t have time for foolishness. I need to work and do what I set out to do when I got elected to this position.”

Several other councilmembers, while not new to council, have shifted seats.

Aurora mayor Mike Coffman took his oath for his second term.

Coffman, a conservative, won over his progressive opponent Marcano, the former Ward IV councilmember, and Jeffrey Sanford, with 52.6% of the votes.

For Ward V, former at-large councilmember and conservative Lawson won over her progressive opponent Chris Rhodes with 60.4% of the vote, a lead of over 3,500 votes.

For Ward VI, incumbent and conservative Bergan won over her progressive opponent Brian Matise with 59.9% of the vote, a lead of almost 4,000 votes.

For the two at-large seats up for grabs in the 2023 election, former Ward V councilmember and progressive Coombs won with 28.7%, followed by incumbent and conservative Gardner with 27%. Conservative opponent Jono Scott and liberal candidate Thomas Mayes trailed with 21.7% and 22.6% respectively.

Though the city’s political races are nonpartisan, conservative members previously held a 6-4 majority on the council. Following the swearing in of the new council on Monday, council sits at a 7-3 conservative majority.