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Aurora City Council holds interviews for Civil Service Commission seats
Summary
At a Feb. 10 study session the Aurora City Council interviewed multiple candidates — including incumbents and former officers — for seats on the Civil Service Commission. The interviews focused on recruitment, retention, training, transparency and the commission’s role under the city’s consent decree; no appointments were made at the session.
The Aurora City Council on Feb. 10 interviewed candidates for openings on the Civil Service Commission, hearing from incumbents and new applicants about priorities including police training, recruitment and community transparency.
The interviews matter because the Civil Service Commission reviews hiring and disciplinary matters for Aurora Police Department and Aurora Fire Rescue and has been adjusting to responsibilities set by the city’s consent decree. Council members asked each candidate how they would remain impartial, promote transparency and help improve recruitment and retention.
Applicants and sitting commissioners described similar priorities. Andrea Stacia Clark said she wants officers to “be in the community, not just be there, but be a part of the community,” and urged cultural-sensitivity training and pay for additional training hours. Incumbent Barbara Cleland said this would be her second term and pointed to experience with the consent decree and prior service on the Colorado POST board as relevant background. Judy Gurley Lutkin, a retired Aurora police officer, cited 34 years on the force and said she wants to help “find some innovative ways to overcome the recruitment and retention issues” that the department faces.
Sitting commissioner Desmond McNeil, who said he has served three years on the commission and chaired it for two, told council the commission’s biggest recent change was shifting hiring responsibility to the departments to comply with the consent decree and moving the commission into an oversight role. McNeil said the change has helped increase academy sizes: “right now, I think the last academy had 30 to 40 police officers in it,” he said.
Council members pressed candidates on neutrality and transparency. Multiple applicants described steps they would take to avoid bias — for example, declining exposure to media coverage of potential cases and relying on evidence presented at hearings — and said commission rulings are posted online after decisions. Several candidates emphasized outreach events to connect officers with non-English-speaking residents and seniors, and urged faster background-check processing to speed hiring.
No council votes on appointments were taken during the study session. The interviews will be considered at a subsequent meeting where council may act on reappointments and new appointments.
Quotes used in this report come from candidates and council members during the Feb. 10 Aurora City Council study session.
