Aurora City Council passed new rules regarding seating on the council dais Monday following a councilmember’s decision to bring her child onto the dais that caused backlash and debate among members. 

Councilmember Danielle Jurinsky brought the rule change to Monday’s council meeting, prompting heated discussion between herself and councilmember Alison Coombs — who Jurinsky said prompted the change. 

The two councilmembers have a history of disagreeing and often engaging in heated back-and-forth on issues before the council. 

The rule change applies to seating on the council dais, stating that only the mayor, councilmembers, the city manager and city attorney can be seated on the dais. 

Jurinsky said she brought the rule forth after council’s Dec. 4 meeting, during which new councilmember Stephanie Hancock was sworn in and ceremonies were held for members who were re-elected. 

Coombs brought her child to the swearing-in, saying she wanted her son to be part of the important ceremony. 

The move was unprofessional, Jurinsky said, adding she brought the rule change forward after trying to resolve the issue face-to-face with Coombs that night and not getting a response. 

Jurinsky said her complaint wasn’t about the child’s actions themselves because “children will be children,” but rather was about the distractions the child has caused at meetings over the years. 

“Councilmember Coombs has been bringing her son to many council events and when the boy was a baby, babies get fussy and they cry and she would be breastfeeding on the dais and she had a louder breast pump,” Jurinsky said. “Now this boy is toddler age, he wants to move around, he wants to make noise and explore things because that’s what toddlers do. That’s not the complaint, but there’s a time and a place.”

The final straw, Jurinsky said, was the night of the swearing in ceremony. 

“That’s fine to have your son there for swearing in, but many people offered to help her with her son and she refused everyone’s help,” Jurinsky said.

Jurinsky asked Coombs to go virtually after the swearing in, she said, and take the rest of the meeting from her office, but she refused. 

“Tissues went flying, a tissue box went flying, an entire cup of water was spilled all over councilmember Lawson, she was soaked,” Jurinsky said. “It was just absolutely chaotic.”

Coombs said the rule change brought forth by Jurinsky was targeted and has the potential to be harmful to future parents on council. 

The night of the swearing in, Coombs agreed not to bring her child back to additional meetings since her colleagues were “disrupted by their presence,” she said. Coombs always refers to her son as “they” or “their.”

Coombs was informed after the meeting that there would be a proposed rule change restricting her from bringing her child onto the dais and was asked if she “could simply agree to not do that,” to which she said yes. 

“This doesn’t affect me because I’ve already agreed to not do this,” Coombs said. “Who it probably would affect is a mom that’s nursing a tiny little baby that now is no longer permitted to be on the dais during that time.”

If someone were nursing a baby, they wouldn’t be able to take meetings in person, Coombs said, and could only attend virtually, which isn’t as reliable of an option. 

She also said the rule change reflecting one member of council’s personal preferences and targeting another member for individual behavior was unprofessional and part of an “already existing culture in our organization of harassment and bullying.”

For her entire time on council, there has been a toxic culture of harassment between councilmembers and from councilmembers toward staff, Coombs said.

“Councilmembers have bullied staff, have demeaned staff, have sworn at staff in public meetings,” Coombs said. “That culture has been tolerated and it damages the ability of our staff to be effective at their jobs.”

While the rule change was personally harmful to Coombs, it was more harmful overall to the “organizational culture and effectiveness” of council, she said. 

From a policy standpoint, the rule change was added to the council agenda without an explanation of what the actual legislative intent was, Coombs said. 

The change was tucked in with a respectful workplace policy, making it seem as though it was a series of “boring procedural things,” she said. 

“I think that this is a transparency issue for us to be bringing these types of items forward pretending that they’re benign while having the kind of legislative intent that was made public on the record Monday,” Coombs said. “I think that’s a disservice to our residents.”

The change was also brought forward without going to a committee meeting or study session first, so councilmembers may not have had the necessary background to make a good decision on it, she said.

“It seems fairly clear to me that councilmember Jurinsky, councilmember Hancock and councilmember Bergan all had a conversation about the subject, but that conversation was not had on the public record … so that’s concerning,” Coombs said. 

Jurinsky said Coombs has had her child on the dais three times, but had the child at executive sessions as well and brought him to council’s professional group photo.

“I have a child of my own and for that reason, with him being a four-year-old, I wouldn’t bring him to council events because he’s going to be a child,” Jurinsky said. 

Stephanie Hancock agreed, saying that having a child on the dais is “distracting and disruptive.” 

The council body needs to be treated “with dignity and respect,” she said. Having a child on the dais “inhibits our ability to do our business effectively,” Hancock said. 

“The fact that this has to be a rule because someone isn’t using good judgement is problematic,” Hancock said. 

Also among rule changes brought forth by Jurinsky Monday were amendments regarding a respectful workplace — which councilmembers all seemed to agree on — and a rule change about seating arrangements, which Coombs fought back on as well.

According to the rule change, councilmembers are able to voluntarily switch seats on the dais with the agreement of all parties involved. 

Both Coombs and Councilmember Crystal Murillo said the rule is unnecessary. 

“We are adults elected to do a job,” Coombs said. “The rules have a seating order in them and I don’t think we should just change that based on our personal preference … we should, as adults, be able to accept our seating assignment and move forward.”

Councilmember Curtis Gardner ended the debate at Monday’s meeting, saying the city has “real serious issues going on in this city” and he doesn’t “care where you all want to sit,” requesting to take a vote on the matters.

Council passed the rule changes with nine ‘yes’ votes and one ‘no’ vote from Coombs.