Alison Coombs is Painting Aurora Rainbow

Alison Coombs is noticed more these days.

On a recent Friday, a congressional staffer stopped to introduce himself to Coombs at a local cafe. Standing tall, with a pin announcing her title as an Aurora city council member, Coombs is hard to miss—especially if you’re one of the scores of Denverites and Aurorans now packing into council meetings.

At 36 years old, Coombs is relatively young for a political career. But, it’s her sexual orientation that’s made her seat on the city council a historic one: Coombs is bisexual, married to a transgender woman, and she’s the first out, LGBTQ, city council woman in Aurora history.

Coombs, who was also raised as a Buddhist, squeaked out a victory to represent South-Central Aurora at a time when controversies over deaths of residents at the hands of police are galvanizing sometimes-raucous protests inside city hall chambers. One now-infamous protester in November baked outgoing mayor Bob LeGare a cake scrawled with “Bye, Mayor F-boy” in icing.

Although focused on issues like wage gains and affordable housing, Coombs herself relates to the raised voices in stuffy government chambers. That’s because Coombs herself is the product of city council activism—although she wasn’t baking any cakes.

“I’ve been an activist my whole life, and I have challenged politicians,” Coombs told OUT FRONT. “I never thought of myself as a politician.”

The Colorado native first flocked to Aurora City Council meetings with opponents of a divisive 2017 plan to subsidize a gargantuan NASCAR racetrack on the city’s eastern edge.

Led by progressives, democratic socialists, and backers of Bernie Sanders’ 2016 presidential bid, the effort against the racetrack often involved standing alone at a podium to speak across a lonely stretch of carpet at mostly conservative council members.

Activists including Coombs helped kill the racetrack development plan. Still, the organization grew into a bonafide activist committee with policy gains of its own, namely, the destruction of closed-door, decision-making activists that benefited wealthier residents.

From 2017 on, attendees of city council meetings could reliably count on Coombs and others to raise their voices.

It was only a matter of time before the group started to back its own candidates for city council. In the 2018 and 2019 elections, liberals took over the usually conservative, decision-making board.

Coombs now represents an insurgent, progressive politics steadily gaining ground in Aurora government.

It’s a position she never thought she would be in.

Coombs thought that if she ever did hold office, she’d probably struggle to play by the rules and maintain the status quo.

That’s a throwback to her political development marching in anti-war protests as a teenager, she said. Back then, she identified more with anarchism than the Democratic party.

Coombs jumped into the fray in 2019 to challenge incumbent Bob Roth. Sitting on city council since 2010, Roth worked in the construction industry and was scrutinized for touting his influence in government when launching a personal consulting business in 2018.

The two disagreed widely on policy, including raising the minimum wage. Roth opposed the plan, while Coombs supported raising the minimum to $17 in Aurora.

While campaigning, Coombs kept her focus on the issues but didn’t hide her sexual orientation. She never got any overt pushback for her identity, she said.

“Really, nobody discouraged me from running. When I was younger, that was certainly a consideration,” Coombs reflected. “When I was this passionate teenager, and people were like, ‘You could run for something.’ I was like, ‘Not really. There aren’t any gay politicians in Colorado. That’s not a thing.’”

No longer.

Colorado Governor Jared Polis is now the nation’s first openly gay man to lead a state government. Brianna Titone is the state’s first transgender representative, now voting for the people of Arvada under the Gold Dome. Pete Buttigeig, a gay man, is running for president.

Coombs doesn’t shy away from who she is. She also said she struggles with depression and anxiety, a refreshing admission from a citizen suddenly thrust into the limelight.

Now a few months into the new year, Coombs is settling into her role on a liberal-dominated city council. Aside from flashpoint votes on immigration and protesting in neighborhoods—inspired by a chaotic protest outside the home of a private prison warden—the work of the city council has continued as usual. Most nights so far have been concerned with wonky permitting and zoning changes.

But, Coombs said making Aurorans feel heard is a priority for her. After all, in her words, she is the product of city councillors stone-walling her voice.

“It’s part of what continues to be important to me about governing at the local level—which is, you really should listen to people.”