Former DPS Board Vice President • Youngest Black Elected Official in Colorado History
Born Auon'tai M. Anderson, he went by "Tay" for years after an elementary school teacher couldn't pronounce his birth name and reassigned a nickname. In late 2021 — directly following his censure and the sexual misconduct investigation — he announced he was reclaiming his birth name, citing inspiration from equity advocate Dr. Dwinita Mosby-Tyler. Critics immediately noted the strategic timing: the rebrand arrived just weeks after the Denver Public Schools board voted to censure him and a 96-page independent investigation substantiated allegations of sexual misconduct.
Anderson graduated from Manual High School in 2017, then worked as a paraprofessional at DPS schools. He lost his first school board race in 2017 before winning an at-large seat in November 2019 at age 21 — receiving 67,051 votes and becoming the youngest Black elected official in Colorado history.
During his time on the board (2019–2023), Anderson served as Vice President and claimed a long list of policy accomplishments:
Anderson was censured by the board in September 2021 — the first censure in DPS history — after a 96-page independent investigation substantiated sexual misconduct allegations. Over 1,000 students from 15 Denver schools walked out demanding his resignation three days later. For the full accounting of these events, see the Controversies page and the Timeline.
After leaving the board in December 2023, Anderson briefly ran for Colorado House District 8, then dropped out. He was quietly hired by DPS in November 2024 as a restorative justice coordinator at Manual Middle School — a role that, in an ironic twist, requires him to guide students through accountability and conflict resolution.
He styles himself "The Honorable Auon'tai M. Anderson" and runs Good Trouble Consulting, a political consulting firm focused on K-12 education candidates.
"At Good Trouble Consulting, we channel the tenacity and spirit of John Lewis to drive transformative change in the K-12 educational space."
— Mission statement, Good Trouble Consulting
"Good Trouble Consulting aspires to cultivate leaders who are unafraid to challenge, question, and incite 'good trouble' for the benefit of BIPOC communities."
— Vision statement, Good Trouble Consulting
Editorial note: Anderson registered Good Trouble Consulting in August 2021 — weeks before his censure — and immediately began taking $1,000 biweekly payments from school board candidate Scott Esserman's campaign. DPS publicly contradicted his claim that he had pre-cleared the arrangement. Several of his consulting clients also appear on his endorsement list.
This archival site preserves the campaign record of Auon'tai M. Anderson alongside a comprehensive accounting of his documented public controversies, sourced from local journalism, court records, and official DPS reports. For the complete chronology, see the timeline.