The race for mayor in Aurora is picking up as more candidates enter the field, including a nonprofit leader whose career is focused on social change, and the formal entrance of sitting Mayor Mike Coffman.

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.

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, with the mayor having some tie-breaking powers.

Earlier this month, Rob Lee Andrews entered the race with a platform focused on safety, housing and “creating a sense of place.” Andrews is president and CEO of the Denver-based nonprofit CommunityWorks.

The organization assists people in preparing to enter the workforce, and provides job training and placement, along with certification courses. CommunityWorks also focuses on working with adults needing temporary assistance, those receiving food assistance, formerly incarcerated people, people 50 and over, and veterans. The organization has locations in Aurora, Colorado Springs, Denver and Pueblo.

In his announcement, Andrews said he will address safety with a focus on gun control and advocating for legislation that targets gun violence and illegal gun ownership. He will pursue technology that can improve emergency response times and promised to increase funding for mental health and addiction services “to address underlying issues contributing to crime,” according to a news release.

Andrews’ announcement called housing “an important subject” for him. Andrews said he will strive to increase affordable housing options through public-private partnerships and support first-time homebuyers and renters through new programming. He will push for mixed-income development, address blighted and abandoned properties with redevelopment, and “promote sustainable development practices to ensure the long-term viability of housing options,” his announcement said.

Andrews also envisions investing in more public areas, community events, supporting arts and cultural programs, and developing green spaces in order to bolster a “sense of place” in Aurora.

“My mission? Align businesses with peoples’ needs. Keep money in communities. Empower others to create social change in minute and then massive ways,” Andrews said on his website.

Andrews is the son of a certified nurse’s assistant and a construction worker, and he became the first in his family to graduate college, according to his campaign website.

He attended school on a full-ride football scholarship and began working in professional sports in a Canadian football league before switching careers. His announcement said he changed course seeking “to change lives and give back to the community in ways he wished were available for him as a young boy.”

Coffman, who was widely expected to seek another term, formally announced his reelection bid Tuesday.

“I’m running for a second term because I want to continue working to bring down the crime rate, reduce homelessness, and to make housing in Aurora more affordable for Aurora’s working families,” he said in a news release.

Crime, he said, is his top concern. Coffman vowed to give the police department necessary resources, as well as competitive pay and benefits to aid recruitment and retention. Coffman also wants to build on homelessness initiatives he led during his first term.

A divided city council approved a plan in 2022 that Coffman dubbed the “work-first” approach to homelessness. The plan proposed building a navigation center that will provide emergency shelter to anyone but also transitional housing to people who are participating in service, treatment and working.

Coffman will work toward more affordable housing, focusing on connecting homeless veterans with services, and “reducing unsheltered homelessness by providing the treatment programs, job training, and the employment they need to obtain stable house,” he said in a news release.

To address affordable housing, Coffman will aim to increase supply by at least 3% year over year, his announcement said, so that Aurora can take advantage of state funding available through Proposition 123.

The former Republican congressman was elected mayor in 2019 after losing his seat in the U.S. House of Representatives. He previously served as a state legislator and in other statewide elected offices.

He has been the subject of recent scrutiny, as speculation swirled that he quietly pushed a citizen group to launch a controversial ballot initiative that, if successful, would instate a strong mayor system in Aurora.

Coffman declined interviews about the ballot initiative unless it makes the November ballot. One of the proponents told The Denver Gazette that the idea was born from conversations he held with Coffman, that the mayor was instrumental in shaping his views on the strong mayor system and that Coffman was supportive of the initiative.

Progressive Councilmember Juan Marcano announced in early 2023 that he is also challenging Coffman for mayor. Marcano is running on a Democratic slate of candidates eyeing a majority of the Aurora city council.