Residents urge censure and complain about campaign video after neighborhood arrest cited in public comment

Several residents used the Feb. 18 public-comment period to call for censure of an alderman and to criticize the mayor’s campaign materials after a neighbor, identified by speakers as Ken Maurice, was arrested following a dispute over a campaign sign.

Guy Bode told the Committee of the Whole that he was "demanding you censure Alderman Franco" for remarks the speaker said followed a public comment made weeks earlier. Bode said members of the public have a right to speak and said council members should not publicly single out speakers after their remarks. "I'm asking you to censure Alderman Franco for his comments after pretty much going after somebody from the public for speaking," Bode said.

Rick Lawrence described a recent arrest of a neighborhood resident, saying the person is known locally as calm and did not deserve the treatment shown in a campaign video. "That man...he didn't deserve that," Lawrence said, urging the mayor to apologize and to address the matter.

Other speakers raised concerns about decorum and tone at recent meetings. Ray Hall said the mayor ‘‘sown discord and division’’ and criticized what he described as aggressive behavior from council members. Curtis Wilson offered remarks about accountability and said he would continue to serve the community despite public controversy.

Separately, Susie Lopez used her three-minute comment to contest the mayor’s framing of an education proposal during a recent mayoral debate. Lopez said the "Aurora Promise" name is a national model and argued the mayor's children's savings-account idea is not equivalent to a promise-scholarship program.

The clerk read the Council’s public-comment rules at the start of the period and referenced the Open Meetings Act, which allows public comment under the conditions set by the council. No formal censure motions were made on the dais during the meeting itself; the public-comment speakers requested follow-up.