New faces on Aurora City Council?

Three Aurora City Council seats could potentially be vacant after the Nov. 2 election. The three council members currently running for other offices are Ryan Frazier (candidate for CD-7), Bob FitzGerald (candidate for Arapahoe County Commissioner) and Sue Sandstrom (candidate for Arapahoe County Treasurer).

If any of these seats are left vacant after the election, the remaining city council members would have to appoint new council members before the end of the year. However, the new members would be required to go through the normal election process in 2011. 

Some people already have their sights set on the council seats. 

Bob LeGare, former city councilman, today said he was interested in putting his name in the hat for an at-large council position. Frazier and FitzGerald are currently at-large council members. LeGare was only 57 votes short of winning a seat on the city council last year. Being appointed is much easier than being elected, but it would behoove council to choose a candidate that has a good chance of being elected in 2011, LeGare said.

Another person interested in possibly becoming an Aurora City Council member is Aurora resident Jason Clark. Clark is currently running as an Independent candidate for Governor, but if he doesn't get elected, he intends on applying for a council position and/or running for Mayor in 2011, he said. Mayor Ed Tauer's term will end in late 2011.

Alfonso Nunez, owner of La Cueva Mexican restaurant on Colfax, says he would also be interested in applying for a council seat. He ran last year and was defeated, but he says he's interested in any position where he could have the opportunity to "make Aurora better". 

LeGare thought other possible candidates might include Deb Wallace, who is also a former city council member, and Bob Roth, a businessman who ran for council in 2010 but was defeated. Still trying to confirm their interest...

The city clerk and recorder's office staff hasn't heard of any interested candidates yet but an application process could be posted online after Nov. 2 if any of the current council members are elected to other offices.

So, there's a potential for three new council members, plus our newly appointed city manager, Skip Noe. Would a drastic change in Aurora's leadership be a benefit or a detriment?