One of Aurora’s three mayoral candidates admitted during a debate on Thursday to a misdemeanor charge that occurred in the 1980s. 

Jeffrey Sanford, who is in a three-way race for mayor with Councilmember Juan Marcano and incumbent Mayor Mike Coffman, said he was young and in the military at the time, and “got out of it.”  

“It was a misdemeanor,” Sanford said. “It was no big deal.”

Later in the forum, debate moderators circled back to the topic, pressing Sanford more about what happened.

“1985,” Sanford said. “I did something off base that involved drinking alcohol and a beach.”

That elicited laughter from the crowd. Sanford clarified that he was 19 and the official charge was for trespassing. 

“The good thing is digital cameras weren’t around,” Sanford said. “Law enforcement was pretty cool and I was scared visiting my first sergeant.”

“(The charge) was trespassing,” he said, adding, “I’m sorry it’s not more exotic.”  

Sanford, 58, graduated from American Military University with a bachelor’s degree of applied science in technical management, then later attended the University of Colorado Denver’s master of arts in public administration program, but withdrew due to a COVID-19 hospitalization.

He spent 24 years of military experience and 13 within civil service, drafting policy and managing enterprise-level multi-billion dollar budgets, he said. 

Sanford said he joined the race for mayor in July after considering being a substitute teacher but deciding he “could make more of a difference as mayor.”  

On his website, Sanford calls himself a “visionary leader.” During Thursday’s forum, he said he is a “leader, not a politician” in response to a question about governmental experience. 

“I don’t have the political experience, but I have the leadership experience,” Sanford said. “I have no issue stepping into this role seamlessly.”