Aurora didn’t just elect Rob Andrews to City Council. The new majority elevated him into one of the city’s consequential roles: chair of the Public Safety, Courts and Civil Service Policy Committee. That title is not ceremonial. It signals oversight, judgment, and moral authority in the lane where public confidence either holds — or collapses.
That is why the past few weeks matter. They reveal a pattern citizens can’t afford to ignore: fog when pressed for specifics, bold declarations without definition, and now a public-safety scandal attached to the person presiding over public-safety oversight.
Start with the town hall. Residents did what engaged citizens are supposed to do: they asked clear questions about clear problems.
First: crime reduction. Aurora has touted major progress, including a reduction in major crime of roughly 25%. People wanted to hear how Andrews would help police continue that trajectory. Instead of naming what works and committing to protect it, he leaned on résumé. He said he was a successful CEO and had a “great appreciation for metrics,” then pivoted to a statement that left many in the audience stunned: the police department needed to be “rebuilt.”…