The Denver Gazette

Rx for a divided Aurora: a ‘strong mayor’

THE GAZETTE EDITORIAL BOARD

Aurora’s City Council is deadlocked — all the way until November. Residents of Colorado’s third-largest city won’t be able to expect much progress before then on just about any big issue at City Hall. Definitely not on any bone of contention before the sharply divided council.

As reported by The Gazette, the stalemate follows at least 150 rounds of voting by the council over a month’s time in a futile attempt to fill a vacancy in their ranks. Each vote ended in a 5-5 tie, with one side steadfastly supporting one prospect for the post and the other side as ardently advocating for another candidate. Last Thursday was the deadline to replace Ward 2 council member Nicole Johnston, who resigned in June. The council is now in violation of the city charter, and voters will have to fill the post in the regular November election.

Even the election offers few guarantees, of course. While voters may side with one council faction or the other in their choice for Ward 2, the intense philosophical feud between the two sides will simmer on and periodically boil over. Potential paralysis will continue to loom.

There’s a better way, a lasting solution: Hand the reins — and not just the gavel — to the mayor.

It’s called a “strong-mayor” form of municipal government. Aurora’s electorate would fire its city manager and shift the day-to-day decisions of the

A strong mayor would give Aurora an end run around a perpetually divided council. It would enable the city to break loose the logjam in local government and end stagnation in key policy debates. It would provide a popular mandate for action at City Hall.

executive branch to the mayor’s office. Responsibility for actually running the city — not just debating policy, as on the council — would be vested in one full-time, salaried, elected official directly answerable to voters.

A strong mayor would give Aurora an end run around a perpetually divided council. It would enable the city to break loose the logjam in local government and end stagnation in key policy debates. It would provide a popular mandate for action at City Hall.

It would be a big change — but hardly a radical one. In fact, voters just 70 miles away in the state’s No. 2 city, Colorado Springs, amended their city charter in 2010 to elect a strong mayor. They did so on a simple premise: “It’s broken. Let’s fix it.”

Voters in Pueblo followed suit in 2017, paving the way for a strong mayor in the state’s eighth-largest city and the historic hub of southern Colorado.

Today, municipal government in both cities hums along as never before. Policy debates continue, as they should, on their city councils — but the mayors keep the trains running on time, so to speak, and provide a vital check and balance on policy decisions. And the buck stops at the mayor’s office; the public knows whom to praise or blame.

Both cities attracted a swath of smart, accomplished, seasoned civic leaders to the local ballot when it came time to pick a strong mayor. The voters’ ultimate selections reflected it.

Colorado Springs Mayor John Suthers is a familiar and highly respected presence across Colorado’s political landscape. The onetime Colorado attorney general and U.S. attorney for the district of Colorado also was the Fourth Judicial District attorney in his hometown for eight years. He was elected Colorado Springs mayor in 2015.

Pueblo Mayor Nick Gradisar was born and raised in the “Steel City” and worked for a time in its renowned steel mill — where his father and immigrant grandfather had worked before him. He went on to enter the legal profession, and he practiced law in Pueblo for 40 years. He presided over the local chamber of commerce and the water board. The civic leadership knew him well and respected his acumen. He was elected mayor in 2019.

In other words, both cities elected strong mayors with deep local roots, exceptional knowledge of public policy, decades of political experience, and incalculable credibility. Each also represented a good political cross section of his community: Suthers, from predominantly Republican El Paso County, has been a guiding light in the state GOP for many years. Gradisar, a native son of unmistakably Democratic Pueblo County, at one time chaired the Pueblo County Democrats. Both of course now lead their entire communities in a nonpartisan municipal office.

Dynamic, flourishing and diverse Aurora could draw upon a similarly deep pool of talent for its strong mayor. Indeed the city’s current mayor, Mike Coffman — a career U.S. Marine Corps Reserve officer; longtime state legislator; former state treasurer and secretary of state; five-term former U.S. congressman and lifelong Auroran — is a prime example of what the city has to offer. Yet, his ability to draw upon his impressive record of public service is very limited in his current capacity. He is essentially serving as another vote on council while doing his best to make use of the mayor’s bully pulpit on policy initiatives.

Whoever might step forward to run for strong mayor of Aurora, it would represent a big step for the entire city. Aurora could make moot the political squabbling at City Hall and, at last, tap into its true potential.

EDITORIAL

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2021-08-03T07:00:00.0000000Z

2021-08-03T07:00:00.0000000Z

https://daily.denvergazette.com/article/281822876844548

The Gazette, Colorado Springs