The Aurora City Council on Tuesday appointed the first six members of a new commission with a goal of finding Aurora a sister city.
The Sister Cities Commission, which will eventually have nine members, was first approved by the Aurora City Council in June, according to a staff report included in Tuesday’s City Council meeting agenda. City staff have previously said that having a sister city would benefit Aurora in both tangible and intangible ways.
Those appointed to the commission included Cory Whitehead, who lives in the 7th Ward and is vice president of mission advancement at Christianity Today; Cynthia Gamboa, who lives in the 7th Ward and is the director of development at the Marie Wilkinson Food Pantry; Calendaria Moreno, who lives in the 7th Ward and is a law firm intake specialist; Lizbeth Borunda, who does not live in Aurora but is the human resources manager at Hotel Indigo Riverwalk in Naperville; Mary Tarling, who also does not live in Aurora but is the director of global engagement at Aurora University; and Christopher Faber, who lives in the 4th Ward and is the director of business attraction and financial services at Invest Aurora.
These initial members of the Sister Cities Commission will begin the process of establishing relationships with other cities, the staff report said.
According to past reporting, the commission will be involved in the initial stages of finding a sister city, including looking at a list of possible cities from Sister Cities International, an organization that would match Aurora with cities worldwide, and setting up early communication between elected officials of both cities.
Sister Cities International was created in 1956 with the support of President Dwight Eisenhower. Its purpose is “to promote peace through mutual respect, understanding and cooperation one individual, one community at a time,” according to its website.
Previously, Aurora officials have said that the commission will also help to work out what the sister city relationship will look like, as it could involve arts and culture, business and trade, education and community development. Once the sister cities program is up and running, the commission will help to support the ongoing relationships, staff said in the recent report.
Aurora previously had a sister city relationship, although more unofficial, with Tlaquepaque, Mexico, during the 1990s. Other area municipalities have had sister cities, including Geneva, West Chicago and Naperville.
Sister city relationships have been discussed during recent times with visitors to Aurora from China, Uganda and Togo, according to past reporting.
rsmith@chicagotribune.com