7 OCTOBER 3-9, 2024 westword.com WESTWORD | CONTENTS | LETTERS | NEWS | NIGHT+DAY | CULTURE | CAFE | MUSIC | “In the next two weeks I’m going to Spring- fi eld and I’m going to Aurora,” former presi- dent Donald Trump announced at a New York election rally last month. “You may never see me again, but that’s okay. I’ve gotta do what I gotta do.” If Trump really follows through, we have a few suggestions for what he’s gotta do while he’s visiting Aurora. Known for its cultural richness and di- versity, Aurora has long served as a major landing spot for immigrants and other Colo- rado newcomers who share their life stories through food, art, local passions and work. Over the past two months, though, the city has become known for a certain group of immigrants in particular. The infl ux of Venezuelan migrants who started fl ooding Denver in December 2022 — part of an estimated 43,000 immigrants to come to the metro area over the past 22 months, though many have moved on — in- evitably spilled into Colorado’s third-largest city. Many became residents of three apart- ment complexes owned by CBZ Manage- ment, including Aspen Grove at 1580 Nome Street, which had fi rst been cited by the City of Aurora for code violations back in early 2020, long before Venezuelan migrants came to the area. As CBZ kept racking up citations from the city, earning owner Zeb Baumgarten an August court date, its lawyers and an out- of-state PR fi rm suggested that things had gotten out of hand because the complexes were controlled by Venezuelan gangs. Ul- timately, the court date was dropped with the stipulation that CBZ sell Aspen Grove. In the meantime, Trump picked up the narrative, suggesting in the September 10 debate that the entire city was controlled by Venezuelan gangs, a charge vehemently denied by Todd Chamberlain, Aurora’s new police chief, its sixth in fi ve years and a vet- eran of America’s top gang city. Chamberlain has since charged one of CBZ’s other Aurora apartment complexes with being a public nuisance. Although his vice-presidential running mate, J.D. Vance, is confi rmed for a private fundraiser in metro Denver on October 8, Trump, who had his own fundraiser in Aspen in August, has not yet confi rmed a date for his visit to Aurora. Last fall, six Coloradans sued to keep him off the ballot because of his actions on January 6, 2020, protesting the outcome of the last presidential election. “I hope he doesn’t bring with him an element of lawlessness or people that are causing trouble,” cautions Governor Jared Polis in one of several statements regard- ing Trump’s promise to parachute into the state. “Obviously, we welcome anybody to the city of Aurora, to JOHN CUNEO continued on page 8
