Last Thursday on 29th, a meaningful event within the Korean community was held at the Twin Towers conference room in the city of Aurora. Becky Hogan, a confident Korean American woman has now announced to run for becoming a city council member for Aurora and numerous Korean sponsors gathered in order to raise sponsorship for Hogan.
If elected to Aurora City Council through a referendum in upcoming November, she will become the first Asian Aurora City Council member as well as the first Korean-American Council member.
About 15 Korean community members and leaders attended this event on 29th and many cheered for Becky’s passion and countless effort to become the City Council member. Under the active leadership of various Korean community leaders, including Alexander Lee, chairman of the Colorado Korean Restaurant Association, and Peter Lee, chairman of the Korean War Veterans Memorial Construction Committee, donations were very quickly gathered to support Becky Hogan.
Dr. Sooji Park from CAHEP(Colorado Alliance for Health Equity and Practice) and lawyer Sanghoon Lee from Lee, Myers & O’connell law office also attended the meeting, which showed the warm support and interest of the Korean community in supporting the election of the first Asian Aurora City Council member. Participants took turns cheering on Becky’s candidacy and promised her to vote.
Participants at the event were not only supporters of her campaign, but also those who visited purely to show their support for Hogan’s election as Aurora City Council member. Former Aurora City Councilman Brad Pierce and his wife, a longtime civil servant in the city of Aurora, also attended the day’s event to support Hogan.
During an interview with Colorado Times, former Aurora City Council member Brad Pierce stated “I know her passion for Aurora for too well. She is an expert in Aurora, who has been serving Aurora constantly and working with numerous City Council members, regardless of whether she is elected or not.” He is currently working as a treasury partner for Hogan’s campaign.
At the end of the event, the total amount of donations collected from the Korean community to support Becky Hogan was $8,100. Becky could not hide her surprised reaction when the amount of donations raised was announced and showed tears over the sincere support of the Korean community.
“I am truly blessed and thankful for Korean community’s support. I will try my best to deliver people’s voice and needs to the city of the Aurora more effectively,” she said.
Also the widow of former Mayor Steve Hogan, Becky has long been involved in Aurora civic issues. Moreover, she is currently serving as the Chair of Korean Committee of Aurora Sister Cities International. She has been actively working with many Aurora businesses and nonprofit organizations, from diverse cultural events in Aurora as well as vaccination clinics.
As the chairman of the Korean Committee, she is passionately participating in various projects and campaigns for the Korean community and most recently, she has been deeply involved in Korean community’s focus group ‘Aurora Koreatown Branding’ effort. “With the successful promotion and launching of Koreatown in the city of Aurora, I hope other immigrant communities can follow this path by creating and promoting their ethnic towns and regions in Aurora,” she said.
Moreover, she plays a pivotal role in the Aurora Sister Cities International’s Youth Exchange Program, which helps teenagers visit various cities around the world including Seongnam City in South Korea. “I’m the oldest candidate in this election, but I think education and support for our next generation is very crucial to see a better future. I am actively participating in raising scholarships so that teenagers can gain better opportunities to broaden their horizons,” she said.
Currently, five candidates are running for two at-large seats on the city council, which represent the entire city. Two at-large positions will be open in upcoming November, and among these five candidates, the two candidates with the most votes will win the seats in November. Other at-large candidates so far (can be added more prior to November) include a former Congressional aide to Mike Coffman Dustin Zvonek, progressive Democrat Adam Fung, Democrat John Ronquillo, and small business owner and veteran Danielle Jurinsky.
If you would like to find more about Becky Hogan and support her effort to become Aurora City Council member, you can visit https://www.hoganforoneaurora.com or visit her Facebook account @BeckyHoganforOneAurora and Twitter account @HoganOneAurora. You can also find ways to support and sponsor her campaign. Currently, all candidates are actively funded to run election campaigns. The maximum an individual can donate is $1,000. To sponsor her journey to become Aurora’s very first Asian city council member, visit https://www.hoganforoneaurora.com/contribute.
