Aurora’s City Council, on which conservatives already hold a majority vote, shifted farther to the right with the results of Tuesday’s election.

Two ward council seats previously occupied by progressives now are held by conservative members. 

As of about 8:30 a.m. Wednesday, results showed Aurora’s Ward IV council seat going to conservative Stephanie Hancock, with Hancock holding an 840-vote lead over her progressive opponent Jonathan Gray. 

The seat was previously held by progressive council member and 2023 mayoral candidate Juan Marcano. 

Results also showed Ward V taking a conservative swing, with conservative candidate and prior at-large councilmember Angela Lawson holding an almost 3,000-vote lead over progressive opponent Chris Rhodes. 

The seat was previously held by progressive Alison Coombs – who appears to be winning one of two at-large council seats.

In Ward VI, conservative and incumbent Francoise Bergan currently holds an almost 3,000-vote lead over progressive opponent Brian Matise. 

The ward VI council seat was previously held by Bergan.

The city of Aurora has three classifications of election officials: an at-large mayor, four at-large council members and six ward council members, who represent the wards that section the city.

The ten council members are part-time elected officials, meaning they may all have jobs in addition to their roles in council. The mayor’s position is full-time.

Bergan, who holds a comfortable lead over Matise, made a victory speech at the watch party for the city’s conservative candidates Tuesday night.

“I am proud to continue serving the City of Aurora and Southeast Aurora,” Bergan said. “We have a great city that we should be proud of. We just need to keep it safe and keep it pro-business, and we’re going to be pursuing economic development to make us the greatest city in the state of Colorado.”

Bergan, the incumbent, retired from a management and sales career. Matise, 65, is a retired physicist, high school science and math teacher and commercial litigation attorney.

Hancock, 65, who appears to be leading over her opponent for ward IV, is semi-retired and is a veteran and small business owner. Gray, 40, her progressive opponent, works in finance for the Arapahoe County Department of Human Services. 

Gray and Hancock disagree on many issues, with Hancock, for example, emphasizing the importance of building a stronger police force and Gray focusing on training them properly to deal with issues like racial bias.

Lawson, in the lead over her progressive opponent for Ward V, who did not provide her age, is a current at-large councilmember and a former employee of the Colorado Secretary of State’s Office. Rhodes, 41, her opponent, is substitute teaching until the election is over.

Lawson and Rhodes disagree on issues as well, with Rhodes preferring a “housing-first” model for homelessness and Lawson wanting a more regional approach emphasizing enforcement and treatment.

This story is developing and will be updated as results continue to come in.