Aurora City Council Regular Meeting – December 1, 2025

The Aurora City Council held its regular meeting on Monday, December 1, 2025. The meeting began with a roll call, invocation, Pledge of Allegiance, and a land acknowledgement. The council approved the minutes from November 17, 2025, administered the oath of office to five newly elected members, and adopted the agenda. The main focus was a resolution to restore public comment opportunities and amend procedural rules, which passed unanimously after amendments. Councilmember Coombs was elected Mayor Pro Tem.

Ceremonial: Oath of Office

• Presiding Judge Sean Day administered the oath of office to five newly elected council members: Gianina Horton (Ward 1), Amy Wiles (Ward 2), Reuben Medina (Ward 3, re-elected), Ali Jackson (At-Large), and Rob Andrews (At-Large). All took the oath and were welcomed.

Consent Calendar

• The council unanimously approved the minutes from the November 17, 2025 meeting.
• The agenda was adopted unanimously.

Public Comments & Testimony

• Ali DeWills Marcano (Ward 4 resident, speaking as an individual) expressed emphatic support for the resolution to restore public invited to be heard. She detailed past actions by the previous council and the mayor that she described as silencing speakers, including an incident where the mayor allegedly forwarded her email to her employer. She urged the council to make the restoration the beginning, not the end, of protecting public speech.

Discussion Items

• Resolution 2025-146 – Rules of Order and Procedure Amendments (Item 14B)

  • Councilmember Coombs introduced the resolution to restore public invited to be heard to both the beginning and end of formal meetings, providing 3 minutes (instead of 2) per speaker, with up to one hour each. Other changes included allowing council members to bring children or family members to the dais (reversing a 2023 rule), moving the invocation and land acknowledgement before formal business, and removing a section requiring council ratification of mayoral appointments.
  • Amendments were adopted:
    • Section 2: Seating clarified to allow council members' family members on the dais (a friendly amendment).
    • Section 3: Added three opioid abatement council committees (Arapahoe, Adams, Douglas Counties).
    • Section 5: Added preference for speakers who have not yet spoken during the final public comment period (friendly amendment).
    • Section 3 (mayoral appointment ratification) was removed entirely (friendly amendment) for further study in a rules committee.
  • Councilmember Hancock expressed concerns about bypassing the rules committee process and about unlimited public comment at meeting's end. Councilmember Coombs argued the changes were urgent to undo harms from the previous council.
  • The resolution as amended passed unanimously.

• Election of Mayor Pro Tem (Item 28)

  • Councilmember Medina nominated Councilmember Coombs for Mayor Pro Tem, seconded by Councilmember Horton. Discussion affirmed Coombs's experience and commitment to collaboration. The motion passed unanimously.

Key Outcomes

• Resolution 2025-146 (amended rules) passed unanimously, restoring public invited to be heard with 3-minute speaker slots, up to two hours total (one at start, one at end), allowing family members on the dais, moving invocation/land acknowledgement earlier, and adding three opioid abatement committees to council appointment lists. The controversial mayoral appointment ratification section was removed for later consideration.
• Councilmember Coombs was elected Mayor Pro Tem by unanimous vote.
• Councilmember reports included updates on town halls, committee meetings, condolences for Senator Faith Winter, and holiday events.