The field for Aurora’s city council races is growing more crowded as incumbents have begun to announce their re-election bids, and some are switching up which seat they hope to hold on the council.

At-large Councilmember and Mayor Pro Tem Curtis Gardner has announced he is running for re-election. First elected in 2019, Gardner said in his Tuesday announcement that if re-elected voters would be selecting a councilmember who has steered clear of “political theater” and personal attacks common on the divided city council.

Although the Aurora city council races are nonpartisan, it has been a historically conservative body and is currently represented by a conservative majority and progressive minority. The council often passes measures in split votes.

In the Nov. 7 election, Aurora will choose its next mayor, a councilmember each for wards IV, V and VI, plus two at-large councilmembers.

“Our residents want solutions,” Gardner said through a statement in his announcement. “The answers to our challenges are not partisan or personal, they are Aurora solutions.”

Gardner listed his priorities for a second term as public safety, economic growth, affordability and quality of life. Gardner accomplished many of his goals in his first term but still has more initiatives he wants to see across the finish line, he told The Denver Gazette.

Gardner wants to see the construction of a new fire station near the Anschutz medical campus, which is located in the middle of four stations but is one of the busiest hubs for calls, he said.

Gardner is open to thinking outside the box, too. He has eyed a fire station built in the first floor of a D.C. hotel as a unique model Aurora might one day replicate, he said.

He would also like a station built closer to southeast Aurora, one of the gaps in coverage, he said. Development will likely spur a similar need in north Aurora too, he said. Aurora is “probably at a point where we at least need to start exploring a fourth police district” because of northeastern development, Gardner said.

For northwest Aurora, Gardner says the city needs to pursue a small area plan. Aurora’s art district is an area where the city has historically “been one foot in, one foot out,” he said, offering some resources but never forming a vision for the area with stakeholder input.

With ample land in the city waiting for development, Gardner said he also wants to help the city grow smartly. For years growth in Aurora looked like “rooftops and strip malls,” which did not contribute hugely to job growth, he said.

Gardner envisions taking advantage of the E-470 corridor and pursuing commercial and industrial development, which would also help Aurora diversify its revenue streams, he said.

The city is heavily dependent on sales tax, and “during a recession, it hurts,” he said.

One of Gardner’s 2019 campaign promises was to bring an entertainment and performing arts venue to Aurora on par with the city’s size, he said, and while he helped the city complete an arts venue study in recent months, he hopes to follow up on the study in a second term.

Gardner joins a growing list of candidates. Jono Scott, another Aurora conservative, is vying for an at-large seat. Councilmember Alison Coombs, who now represents Ward V, is seeking an at-large seat as part of a Democratic slate alongside Pastor Thomas Mayes.

Ward races are filling up as well. In late March, At-large Councilmember Angela Lawson announced she will seek the Ward V seat in a bid to represent her home district of 22 years.

Lawson has held an at-large seat for eight years and now wants to “focus on the current challenges and opportunities of the neighborhood I love,” she said in an announcement on social media.

Lawson named her priorities for Ward V as quality of life, public safety, economic development, small businesses, housing, transportation and serving an aging population.

Lawson, who holds multiple master’s degrees including in public administration, has worked in public service since 2005 when she joined the Colorado Secretary of State’s Office overseeing the lobbyist registration program.

Lawson could not be reached for comment. Also running in Ward V is community organizer Chris Rhodes, a member of the Democratic slate.

And in Ward VI, Councilmember Francoise Bergan announced in February that she is seeking a third term on the city council. In the announcement on her website, Bergan touted her work bringing additional parks, trails and fire stations to southeast Aurora. She has ushered in numerous other community improvements as well, her announcement said, including the completion of the ward’s first city recreation center.

Ordinances sponsored by Bergan have aimed to “combat suburban marijuana grow houses, discourage street racing, and keep neighborhoods safe,” her website says. She has served eight years on the city council and has chaired several of the council’s policy committees throughout her tenure. Bergan is presently chair of the planning and economic development committee, vice chair of the management and finance committee, and serves on the water committee.

“Municipal government directly affects the day-to-day lives of my friends and neighbors. Whether advocating for roads, public safety, housing, economic development, recreation, or retail, I’m committed to being a good steward of city revenue and making southeast Aurora the envy of the metro area. I’m honored to be a strong voice for my constituents in city hall,” Bergan said in her announcement.

Her seat is being challenged by attorney Brian Matise from the Democratic slate. Some councilmembers have adamantly opposed formally making council races partisan, but not all, and a group of candidates kicked off the election year by announcing their run as a Democratic slate while also urging voters to usher in a progressive majority in the 2023 election.

In addition to Coombs, Mayes, Rhodes, and Matise, youth advocate Jason McBride is seeking the Ward IV seat while Councilmember Juan Marcano is running for mayor.