After serving 10 years in Congress, Mike Coffman is now running for mayor of Aurora.

“I’m running because I know that I can bring my leadership, experience, and knowledge to the City of Aurora to address the challenges of affordable housing, transportation, and public safety,” he said in a statement late Thursday to Colorado Politics.

He added: “This is a city facing great challenges and with tremendous opportunities. I have seen it grow from a small suburban military town to one of the most diverse and dynamic communities in the United States and I’m very excited about the opportunity to help shape its future.”

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Coffman, a 63-year-old Republican, represented the suburban 6th Congressional District before his defeat by Democrat Jason Crow in the 2018 election.

He told Colorado Politics’ Joey Bunch in an interview in November that he was considering running for mayor in the city where he grew up and attended school.

Aurora’s current mayor, Bob LeGare, was chosen for the office last June following the death of Mayor Steve Hogan in mid-May. LeGare had previously stated he would not run for the seat in 2019.

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Coffman is one of a handful of candidates expected to run in Aurora’s nonpartisan mayoral election on Nov. 12.

Former Aurora City Council member Ryan Frazier is also in the running. He has said he plans to officially launch his campaign Saturday.

Aurora is Colorado’s third-largest city after Denver and Colorado Springs, with a population of 367,000 in 2017.

9News contributed; CLICK HERE for more.