Richard Irvin looking forward to second term as Aurora mayor; ‘I’m more than happy, I’m elated’

Aurora Mayor Richard Irvin appears to have won a second term in office this week by getting 55% of the vote in Tuesday’s election according to unofficial results, outdistancing the two other candidates.

Irvin is no stranger to history, being the first Black mayor elected in Aurora four years ago. And in a way, history was on his side in the 2021 election. Aurora has had nine mayors since 1953, and Aurorans have had 12 chances to vote incumbents out of office, but have done it only twice.

And those two – Paul Egan and David Pierce – were reelected previously, Pierce two times.

Also, those reelections tend to be by big percentages, a contrast to mayoral elections in Aurora where there is no incumbent, which tend to be close.

Compared to Irvin’s 55%, challengers Ald. Judd Lofchie, 10th Ward, got about 23% of the vote and John Laesch got 21%, according to unofficial final results.

“I’m more than happy, I’m elated,” Irvin said Tuesday night. “To get reelected by such a high percentage means that our city likes what the Irvin administration is doing.”

Darlene Paciorek of Aurora enters Vaughan Athletic Center in Aurora to vote Tuesday. Aurora residents voted for mayor and many other races in the election. (Mike Mantucca / The Beacon-News)

During the campaign, Irvin had stressed his record during his first term of working for economic development, public safety and education in the city. Calling them his three pillars during his first campaign in 2017, he said that’s what he planned to focus on again.

“We will double down on those efforts over the next four years,” the mayor said. “We will change the face of the city of Aurora.”

Laesch and Lofchie spent their campaigns questioning Irvin’s ethics for accepting campaign contributions from companies or individuals who had done business with the city in some way.

They also questioned his budget priorities, Laesch saying the city should be moving toward being a leader in the green economy, and Lofchie criticizing the amount of debt the city has. They also questioned the city’s liberal use of tax increment financing districts.

Irvin said those were investments in the city, by the city, and brought much more private investment into town. He pointed to a number of restaurant and residential redevelopments going on downtown, and the significant East Side investment into the former Copley Hospital campus project.

Lofchie and Laesch did not back down Wednesday from their campaign orientations.

Lofchie, who thanked his volunteers and small businesses who donated to his campaign, said he hopes the “pay to play” will “soon end, and that Aurorans will demand higher standards from those elected to lead these next four years.”

“I hope my campaign brought to light just how important local elections are,” he said. “They determine how you’ll be taxed, policing, economic growth, jobs and educational opportunities.”

Laesch reacted to Irvin’s statement about doubling-down for the next four years.

“Four more years of Irvin means more pay-to-play, more corporate bailouts and more government that doesn’t listen to the people,” he said.

Irvin has said that “there is no pay to play” in his administration.

”These are folks that are willing to invest in the city of Aurora, and they want me to stay mayor because they believe in the direction this city is going,” Irvin said during a forum last month. “They’re willing to donate to a campaign – not to me, but to a campaign – to ensure that I stay as mayor.”

Irvin said that in his first four years, he did what he told people he would do. And for about half of his term, it was during trying circumstances, including the workplace shooting at Pratt Co., and the coronavirus pandemic.

“In every area, I did what I said I was going to do,” he said.