Aurora City Council appoints Ethiopian immigrant to fill vacant at-large seat

The Aurora City Council will soon return to full strength after it appointed Amsalu Kassaw as the newest member of the 11-person council Monday night.

Kassaw, who works at U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s Aurora detention center as a lieutenant with the GEO Group, its private operator, is an immigrant from Ethiopia. He will be sworn in Jan. 13.

The Republican was one of three candidates vying for the at-large seat vacated by former Councilman Dustin Zvonek in October. The other two candidates for the post were Danielle Lammon, a small business owner and insurance agent, and Jonathan McMillan, the director of firearm-related harm and violence prevention at the Trailhead Institute.

The vote for Kassaw was 6-4.

The Ethio-American Development Council posted a congratulations on X regarding the appointment early Tuesday morning.

“A huge congratulations to Amsalu Kassaw on being appointed to the Aurora City Council at-large, making history as the first immigrant on our City Council and the first Ethiopian American to hold an official public office in the State of Colorado,” it said.

The Aurora Sentinel reported that prior council members in Aurora have been immigrants, but Kassaw will be the first from a racial minority.

Aurora is Colorado’s most diverse city, with one in five of its residents foreign born. It has been wracked by division and tumult of late, with dozens of residents regularly protesting during City Council meetings over the death of 37-year-old Kilyn Lewis, a Black man shot and killed by Aurora police in May. Last month, the district attorney determined that SWAT Officer Michael Dieck would not face criminal charges in the incident, in which Dieck fatally shot the unarmed Lewis while trying to arrest him on suspicion of attempted murder.

Kassaw, who will be filling out the rest of Zvonek’s term, will have to run for the seat next year if he wants to remain on the council.

Kassaw worked in the security industry for the better part of the last 20 years. He has an associate’s degree from Addis Ababa University in Ethiopia.

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