Former Aurora Mayor Bob LeGare says he's ready to get back to work at City Hall, announcing he will seek the Ward VI seat on the Aurora City Council in next year's municipal election. LeGare is aiming to succeed current Ward VI Councilmember Francoise Bergan, who cannot run again because she is term limited, according to Sentinel Colorado.
LeGare’s announcement, first reported by Sentinel Colorado, emphasizes his experience in Aurora civic life and his willingness to work across disagreements. He said Ward VI needs a representative ready to “get to work on day one,” according to the report.
LeGare is no stranger to Aurora politics or to this particular stretch of the city. He has lived in Aurora for 51 years, the past six of them in southeast Aurora, placing him squarely within the ward he hopes to represent. He said his understanding of Ward VI stems in part from his earlier council service, when many of the southeast Aurora metro districts were first established.
How Ward VI Voted Last Time
In the November 7, 2023, Ward VI election, Francoise Bergan received 59.65% of the vote to Brian Matise’s 40.35%, according to Arapahoe County’s official results. The report records 17,720 ballots cast among 41,847 registered voters, a turnout of 42.34%.
A Long Run Through Aurora's City Hall
LeGare's path to this campaign runs through more than two decades of on-and-off public service. He was appointed to a council seat in 1995 and later won election to council at-large in two separate tenures, as reported by Sentinel Colorado. In 2018, he stepped into the vacant mayor's seat after the death of Mayor Steve Hogan, a moment he has said made him feel a civic obligation to lead the city through a difficult stretch.
While in office, LeGare pushed for more spending on roads and transportation and favored reducing regulation on businesses, the report notes. He also supported giving wide latitude to Aurora's then-nascent marijuana industry and backed dedicating sales-tax proceeds to address homelessness in the city. As mayor, he negotiated an agreement tied to the 2019 closure of the Denver Meadows Mobile Home Park for redevelopment, under which the park's owner provided $300,000 to residents to help them move their homes, as noted by Sentinel Colorado.
LeGare left the Republican Party in 2017 and has identified as unaffiliated ever since, per the same reporting. He is a retired realtor, married with two daughters who were both born in and still live in Aurora. His resume also includes time on Aurora's first open space advisory committee, the Arapahoe County Open Space & Trails Advisory Board, and board positions with Aurora Sentinel Community Media and the Community College of Aurora Foundation.
Not His First Time on the Ballot
LeGare's electoral track record includes wins and losses beyond his council terms. He ran unsuccessfully for Colorado state representative in 1994 and later made an unsuccessful bid for Aurora mayor in 2003. In 2016, he sought a seat on the Arapahoe County Commission, announcing at the time that he would run for the District 5 commissioner post against incumbent Democrat Bill Holen in that November's election, according to an earlier Sentinel Colorado report.
He also considered a run for an at-large City Council seat before Aurora’s November 2015 municipal election, though he had not formally filed candidacy paperwork when that report was published. LeGare’s Ward VI bid is one of the early campaigns taking shape for 2027; former Aurora Police Chief Omar Montgomery has announced a run for mayor.
The Challenges Awaiting Whoever Wins
The reporting on LeGare’s announcement also points to several issues facing Aurora’s next council: the strength of the retail tax base, scrutiny of the police department, water resources and decisions about growth. These are among the matters the next Ward VI representative will confront.
Those fiscal pressures were underscored recently at the ballot box. Aurora voters shot down three ballot measures that would have raised sales taxes to fund community facilities, public safety and transportation infrastructure, according to the Denver Gazette. A city task force had identified $2.08 billion in priority infrastructure needs, including $900 million earmarked for public safety projects, and officials warned that without the new tax revenue, those projects won't happen for “many, many years.”
The City of Aurora lists the next municipal election for November 2, 2027, with the mayor's office, Ward IV, Ward V, Ward VI and two at-large council seats all on the ballot, according to the City of Aurora. LeGare's campaign is among the first to take shape in a race that will determine how the city responds to its budget strain and growth pressures in the years ahead.
