Aurora City Manager Jim Twombly announced Friday he will retire this spring, winding down what other city leaders called a tenure marked by steady leadership during tumultuous times. 

Twombly will leave his post — after a 42-year career in public service in multiple states — on April 7. He has served in the role since 2018, after a stint as the city manager for the City of Tulsa from 2009-17.

He presided over the city and its 3,700 employees during a particularly troubled time that included the Elijah McClain killing and the pandemic. He told city employees Friday he wants to spend more time with his family.

“I have six grandchildren, none of whom are in Colorado, who are very involved in school and sports activities, and I want to be able to be more present for them,” Twombly wrote in the letter.

“I thoroughly enjoy my work for the city of Aurora and appreciate the professionalism and dedication you demonstrate every day. Although there have been unexpected challenges along the way, I am proud of how much we have accomplished together, the caliber of service we provide the community, and the many initiatives to support our employees we have put in place.”

The City Council plans to hold an executive session Monday to discuss next steps. That meeting is not open to the public.

Twombly appointed the city’s first female police chief, Vanessa Wilson, in January 2020 after the retirement of her predecessor. She was with the department for roughly 26 years.

In September 2021, Colorado Attorney General Phil Weiser issued a report that said a pattern of racially biased policing and excessive force within Aurora Police Department was disproportionately affecting people of color. The city and the state agreed to a five-year consent decree last fall, which stipulated the department would implement a number of reforms.

The department was facing numerous controversies when Wilson took the helm. That included the death of Elijah McClain, who died in 2019 after a violent arrest by Aurora police and EMS personnel.

Twombly then fired her in early 2022, drawing a lawsuit by Wilson alleging she was illegally fired in retaliation for her reform efforts and discriminated against. He’s named personally in that lawsuit.

“Jim has done an extraordinary job during a very difficult chapter in the history of our city, and he will be missed,” Aurora Mayor Mike Coffman said in the release, which also pointed out his work which “steadily advocated for the city’s ongoing, comprehensive public safety changes and established the Office of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion.”

“I’ve appreciated Jim’s steady leadership for the city of Aurora and its residents,” Mayor Pro Tem Curtis Gardner said in the release. “He led the city through an unprecedented pandemic and ensured we continued to provide services to our residents. It’s been a pleasure working with Jim and I am thrilled he’ll have the opportunity to enjoy retirement with his family.”

Councilmember Dustin Zvonek called Twombly’s retirement a loss for the city, and said the city manager role is one of the most difficult jobs in city government.  

“At the same time, I’m also very happy for him,” Zvonek said. 

Twombly led with “a steady hand” during a tumultuous period for the city, Zvonek said, including the “very high profile firing of a police chief.” 

“Getting rid of (Wilson) was not an easy decision I am sure for him, but I applaud the fact that he heard from the rank and file, he heard from members of council, and took his own time and due diligence,” Zvonek said. 

Twombly also adapted to working under a new council — conservative lawmakers gained a majority back in 2021 after a near even-party split. He also rose to the challenge of addressing staff morale during a pandemic and tight labor market, Zvonek said. 

Aurora needs to form a vision for the city’s future, something the next city manager would be tasked with uniting people behind, Zvonek said. 

“We have an opportunity to redefine our future,” he said. 

Councilmember Crystal Murillo evolved from a skeptic about Twombly’s appointment as city manager to being “pleasantly surprised,” she said, by his leadership while working closely with him on several issues throughout the years.

So much so that she hopes to meet with Twombly before he leaves to pick his brain about what he thinks Aurora needs moving forward.

“I wish him well and am excited he gets to start his new chapter,” she said. 

Twombly is leaving the city “in a more or less stable position” after weathering multiple challenges recently, such as an initial police chief search that did not go as planned. Before naming Acevedo as the second interim, the city restarted its search for police chief after initially announcing three finalists.  

“I am appreciative that he stayed with the department to kind of keep us stable, until we could bring somebody on there,” she said. 

Twombly’s strength has been responding in a steady manner, she said. 

“Helping us move through what we experienced as a community, with the death of Elijah McClain and the internal and external pressures that that created on our city, on us being able to function,” she said. “Helping us work through the unprecedented global pandemic.”

While the community stepped up to push for policing reforms in the wake of McClain’s death, Twombly was openminded toward those discussions and served as a “thoughtful partner with council at that time.”

She hopes the city is willing to take its time finding the right city manager.  Losing the city’s CEO will be a transition but a natural time to reflect on Aurora’s future, too, she said. 

“I am excited. It is bittersweet,” Murillo said, “but above all I think I am excited for an opportunity to reimagine, re-envision what is possible in this city.”