Some Aurora council members flew all the way to France for a vacation conference to hear folks talk about livable cities but insist their travel is above reproach and critics should just shut up about the cost of $3,500 a person.
The chief critic being Aurora Mayor Mike Coffman, who now wants the city to consider a ban on travel junkets to extravagant locations like the greater Paris livable area, also known as conferences.
Coffman floated the conference ban in a tweet, calling it an insult to hardworking Aurora taxpayers.
Taking a European Vacation at Taxpayers’ Expense pic.twitter.com/m3uXno1tR7
— Mayor Mike Coffman (@AuroraMayorMike) May 23, 2022
Council members Juan Marcano and Crystal Murillo attended the junket, and without a hint of irony defended their trip to CBS4 claiming real excitement about the information they learned that apparently can’t be learned anywhere else on the planet or internet.
The conference cost was $3,500 per person, although it’s not clear if that covers all expenses. Coffman says he will be asking for a complete breakdown of expenses from the city manager.
Council members get a total of $7,000 annually to spend on travel, so they blew half of that on the European vacation.
Coffman is right, the optics are really bad, especially when Democrats are preaching climate change while refusing to lift a finger to ease our pain at the gas pumps, but have no qualms about boarding a big ole’ jet airliner for Paris, France.