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Mayor Coffman expresses frustration over the lack of support from Denver

TROUBLED APARTMENTS AND THE NARRATIVE| Aurora Mayor Mike Coffman. (Picture/ El Comercio de Colorado)

CRITICIZED THE RELOCATION OF MIGRANTS TO UNSAFE PROPERTIES BY THE PAPAGAYO ORGANIZATION.

Newsroom El Comercio de Colorado

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Aurora Mayor Mike Coffman expressed his frustration over the lack of support from Denver Mayor Mike Johnston in addressing the migration crisis in Aurora. Coffman criticized the nonprofit organization Papagayo for relocating migrants to three apartment complexes in Aurora with a long history of health and safety code violations. In September, the City Journal article titled “Chaos in Aurora: How the federal government subsidized the migrant madness in suburban Colorado“ made serious revelations.

The publication disclosed that negotiations occurred between Marielena Suárez, president of Papagayo, and a representative of CBZ, the company that owns the three problematic apartment complexes. The article criticized Denver’s lack of coordination in relocating migrants to properties in Aurora without informing local authorities or providing adequate follow-up. Coffman confirmed that organizations contracted by Denver, such as Papagayo, relocated migrants to unsafe complexes in Aurora without consultation.

The Aurora mayor stated, “Despite repeated requests, we still have not received details about how many people were sent, what resources were provided, or how migrants were selected for these relocations. This lack of transparency has endangered public safety in Aurora and has affected the migrants themselves, who were relocated under such precarious conditions,” Coffman asserted. The mayor indicated that they have had to conduct an investigation and make public records requests to obtain the information.

Problem with the Narrative

Coffman emphasized the importance of correcting the false narrative that portrays Aurora as a city overwhelmed by migration problems. “We are a city of 400,000 residents. It’s not fair for our image to be tarnished due to the conditions of a few apartment complexes,” he stated. He added, “The problem is not Aurora as a city, but these three apartment complexes that were very poorly managed by CBZ. The narrative about our city is wrong,” Coffman declared.

The mayor also highlighted the economic impact of misinformation, noting that tourism and the hotel industry, pillars of the local economy, could be affected. Aurora is taking legal action to place the properties in question, owned by CBZ, under judicial administration and eventually close them. “We are committed to resolving this issue and ensuring it does not happen again. Our city will not tolerate these unhealthy and unsafe conditions,” Coffman concluded.