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Mike Coffman: I would create a court for minor offenses by the homeless

I would create a court for minor offenses by the homeless Mike Coffman: Crearía tribunal para delitos menores de los desamparados

SEEKING REELECTION | Mayor Mike Coffman. (Picture/El Comercio de Colorado)

MAYOR SEEKING REELECTION SPEAKS

Newsroom El Comercio de Colorado

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Mike Coffman, the Mayor of Aurora, seeks reelection. Coffman has had a long career as a public servant. He served in the Colorado State Legislature as both a representative and senator. He also served as Colorado’s Treasurer and Secretary of State. Later, he was the Representative for Colorado’s 6th District for five consecutive terms. He is a veteran and served in the U.S. armed forces in the Gulf War and Iraq. He wants to make Aurora a safe and prosperous city and claims to be on the right path regarding homelessness.

What have you discovered about Aurora since becoming its mayor?

Mike Coffman: It’s a very complex city. Aurora ranks as the 51st largest city in the United States. It has urban issues it didn’t have before, such as poverty and crime. It’s a very challenging city, but it holds a tremendous number of opportunities, both culturally and economically. I believe there’s a promising future for Aurora if the right policies are applied.

Mike Coffman: I would create a court for minor offenses by the homeless

Juan Marcano criticizes your decision to ban homeless camps. What are your thoughts on your opponent’s proposal to implement Houston’s policies to reduce homelessness?

MC: I believe I’m on the right path. I don’t think Houston is a model for the city of Aurora. They follow a model called “Housing First.” They assume that housing is so basic to human condition that, if you solve the housing problem, and not just with temporary shelters but with more permanent housing, people will change their behavior. They believe that by offering other services, the homeless will positively utilize them.

They say that it costs more to take people off the streets and attend to the homeless in emergency rooms than to house them. That approach has a very low success rate. I want a policy that is fair to all taxpayers and, at the same time, compassionate towards the homeless. I want to move forward with an even more aggressive camping ban than the one we currently have, but I won’t put it into effect until we genuinely have the services available for the homeless.

I’m considering the creation of a specialized court for minor offenses committed by homeless individuals. But the goal isn’t to punish them. The goal is to get them into treatment. The goal is to ensure that we have addiction recovery treatment, mental health treatment, and housing options available to get them off the streets. But what I won’t do, and what Councilman Marcano wants to do, is to provide them with these resources with no expectation that they will make use of them.

Mike Coffman: I would create a court for minor offenses by the homeless

What do you want your legacy to be as mayor?

MC: I want to make our city safer by ensuring that our police have the proper training and resources to reduce the crime rate and address youth violence prevention before it becomes a problem. At the same time, I want the city to harness the energy of immigrants and refugees to start and grow small businesses.