The partisan proxy battle for political control of Aurora has cost nearly $2 million so far
The partisan proxy battle for political control of the mayor’s office and city council in Colorado’s third-largest city is nearing $2 million, with much of that money being spent by conservative groups that don’t disclose their donors.
Municipal elections in Aurora are technically nonpartisan, but conservatives currently control city government, which is unusual in the Democratic-dominated Denver metro area.
That could change Nov. 7, when the Aurora mayor’s office and five city council seats are up for grabs. Groups aligned with Republicans are spending gobs of money to defend the conservative power in Aurora while organizations aligned with Democrats are hoping to reverse the political tide in the city.
Independent spending committees, or super PACs, which can raise and spend unlimited amounts of money as long as it doesn’t go directly to candidate campaigns, had spent $921,000 on Aurora’s municipal election through Oct. 21.
That nears the $979,000 total spent just by conservative super PACs in the city’s 2021 election. It’s more than the $723,000 in spending by similar groups in the Colorado Springs’ municipal election in April but far less than the $6.8 million spent by political groups in Denver’s elections earlier this year.