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New 84th District rep Kifowit stepping down from Aurora council

Aurora Alderman Stephanie Kifowit will resign her seat on the city council Tuesday after winning election to the state legislature, she announced this week.

Kifowit, 41, said she will step down from her post as alderman for Ward 3 following a 5 p.m. meeting of the city council committee of the whole. She is resigning so she can concentrate on preparing for her new role as 84th District state representative.

“Now as a state representative-elect, it’s important that I dedicate time in the upcoming weeks to transition into the new position so I can really hit the ground running,” Kifowit said Friday.

Kifowit, a Democrat, beat Republican Pat Fee of Aurora in the race to represent the newly drawn 84th District by claiming 62 percent of the vote in unofficial totals from this month’s general election.

She informed fellow aldermen and Aurora Mayor Tom Weisner of her city council resignation Friday afternoon in a memo.

The decision comes in time for an election to be held to fill Kifowit’s Ward 3 term, which runs until 2015. That means aldermen in Wards 2, 3, 4, 7, 9 and 10 will be up for election April 9 along with the alderman-at-large seat held by Bob O’Connor and the mayor’s position.

“I do feel it is important for the residents of the 3rd Ward to have their voices heard and their votes counted,” Kifowit said.

A Marine Corps veteran who has helped coordinate Aurora events such as the Fourth of July parade and the annual Women’s Power Lunch, Kifowit has served on the city council since 2003.

Once her resignation becomes effective, Kifowit said, she will focus on studying state issues, choosing a location for a district office in the Aurora area and finding a new home in the district. Remapping required after the 2010 census allowed candidates to run in districts other than where they live as long as they move within six months of being elected.

“I’m looking forward to continuing to serve the region as our state representative,” she said.

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