Curtis Gardner

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Curtis Gardner

Nonpartisan

Aurora City Council At-large

Tenure

2019 - Present

Term ends

2027

Years in position

5

Predecessor

Johnny Watson

Report an officeholder change

Elections and appointments

Last elected

November 7, 2023

Contact

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Curtis Gardner is an at-large member of the Aurora City Council in Colorado. He assumed office on December 2, 2019. His current term ends in 2027.

Gardner ran for re-election for an at-large seat of the Aurora City Council in Colorado. He won in the general election on November 7, 2023.

Elections

2023

See also: City elections in Aurora, Colorado (2023)

General election

General election for Aurora City Council At-large (2 seats)

Incumbent Alison Coombs and incumbent Curtis Gardner defeated Thomas Mayes and Jono Scott in the general election for Aurora City Council At-large on November 7, 2023.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Alison Coombs (Nonpartisan)	28.7	37,485
✔		Curtis Gardner (Nonpartisan)	27.0	35,287
	Submit photo	Thomas Mayes (Nonpartisan)	22.6	29,481
	Submit photo	Jono Scott (Nonpartisan)	21.7	28,320

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	Incumbents are bolded and underlined. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 130,573
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
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Endorsements

Ballotpedia did not identify endorsements for Gardner in this election.

2019

See also: City elections in Aurora, Colorado (2019)

General election

General election for Aurora City Council At-large (2 seats)

The following candidates ran in the general election for Aurora City Council At-large on November 5, 2019.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Curtis Gardner (Nonpartisan)	22.9	26,772
✔		Angela Lawson (Nonpartisan)	22.8	26,596
		Johnny Watson (Nonpartisan)	16.8	19,652
		Leanne Wheeler (Nonpartisan)	15.5	18,116
		Martha Lugo (Nonpartisan)	11.8	13,823
	Submit photo	Thomas Mayes (Nonpartisan)	10.2	11,900

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	Incumbents are bolded and underlined. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 116,859
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey.
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team.

Withdrawn or disqualified candidates

• Steven Eurioste (Nonpartisan)

Campaign themes

2023

Ballotpedia survey responses

See also: Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection

Curtis Gardner did not complete Ballotpedia's 2023 Candidate Connection survey.

2019

Curtis Gardner completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey in 2019. The survey questions appear in bold and are followed by Gardner's responses. Candidates are asked three required questions for this survey, but they may answer additional optional questions as well.

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Who are you? Tell us about yourself.

My name is Curtis Gardner and I am a candidate for Aurora City Council At-Large. I am running for City Council to give back to the community that has given so much to me. I feel like I have the right combination of education and experience for a complicated job - I have a Masters in Finance, serve as Executive Vice President for a local CU and have served on the Citizens' Advisory Budget Committee since 2012. A few things that are important to me are Public Safety, Quality of Life, Economic Development and Transportation Issues. Please visit my website at www.curtisforaurora.com for more information.

Please list below 3 key messages of your campaign. What are the main points you want voters to remember about your goals for your time in office?

• Public Safety
• Economic Development
• Quality of Life

What areas of public policy are you personally passionate about?

The most important job of government at any level is keeping people safe. I have been endorsed by the Aurora Firefighters Local 1290, the Aurora Fraternal Order of Police and the Aurora Police Association because they all recognize I understand the importance of public safety. Also, Quality of Life issues are important. This includes having a well maintained road network, educational opportunities for all and abundant jobs. In my time on the Citizens' Budget Committee, I have also become very familiar with transportation issues in Aurora. I have laid out a plan to address our transportation needs by increasing economic activity, working to develop public entertainment venues in Aurora, among a few other ideas. Check out my Facebook page for more videos on this topic (www.facebook.com/curtisforaurora).

Who do you look up to? Whose example would you like to follow, and why?

I have lots of people I look up to - parents, my wife, other leaders in the community

What is the first historical event that happened in your lifetime that you remember? How old were you at the time?

I remember the first Gulf War.

What was your very first job? How long did you have it?

My first job was working for a self-employed home remodel contractor - I hung cabinets, scrapped tile, etc...

What is your favorite book? Why?

The Bible-it can serve as a guide to life.

Are there any little-known powers or responsibilities held by this office that you believe more people should be aware of?

To answer this, I would point out how important having smart, competent leaders at the local level is. While we spend a lot of time debating what goes on in Washington DC, City Council has a more direct impact on the day to day lives of Aurora residents. Think things like snow removal, ensuring sufficient police/fire resources, fixing potholes and all the other little things that make a city run. I think of serving on City Council as the highest, most noble office available. It is a way to serve your neighbors and have an impact on quality of life at a very real level.

Do you believe that it's beneficial for holders of this office to have previous experience in government or politics?

No - I don't believe prior government/politics experience should be a prerequisite for office. Instead, I think it is important to elect candidates with well-rounded experience who are prepared for the job. I have a Masters in Finance and am also Executive Vice President of a local Credit Union. In addition, I have served on several volunteer boards, including as the current chair of the Citizens' Advisory Budget Committee, current president of my neighborhood HOA, among others. Rather than electing career bureaucrats, I think it is important to elect leaders with a heart for service.

What kind of skills or expertise do you believe would be the most helpful for the holders of this office to possess?

To be effective on City Council, I think the following qualities are important:

Integrity & honesty
Competency
Heart of service to others
Understands the importance of family and community
Understands budgets and finances
Ability to collaborate and work effectively with others

Leadership

Note: Ballotpedia reserves the right to edit Candidate Connection survey responses. Any edits made by Ballotpedia will be clearly marked with [brackets] for the public. If the candidate disagrees with an edit, he or she may request the full removal of the survey response from Ballotpedia.org. Ballotpedia does not edit or correct typographical errors unless the candidate's campaign requests it.

Noteworthy events

On June 5, 2024, Gardner changed his party affiliation from Republican to Unaffiliated, following a mass email from Colorado Republican Party chairman Dave Williams (Colorado House). The email read, in part, “The month of June has arrived and, once again, the godless groomers in our society want to attack what is decent, holy, and righteous so they can ultimately harm our children.” Gardner wrote of the email, “The Republican Party, and specifically the Colorado GOP, no longer stands for the issues that I care about.”

See also

2023 Elections

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