August Is About Governance, Not Personalities

By Steve Segner —

With City Council, Mayor, and Home Rule on the ballot, Sedona voters face a choice about how the city is run—not just who sits at the table.

This August, voters will choose three City Council members for four-year terms, a Mayor for the next two years, and decide whether to renew Home Rule—the financial authority that allows Sedona to pay its bills with the revenue it generates through sales tax, bed tax, and fees. These are not side issues. If Home Rule fails, state law would force a drastic reduction in the city’s budget—possibly by two-thirds—leaving only legally mandated obligations like bond payments intact and stripping away many of the services and programs residents rely on.

These races won’t be on a November ballot crowded with national noise. They are local, focused, and deeply consequential to daily life in Sedona.

This year, a notable number of candidates have stepped forward: multiple people running for City Council, including an incumbent, and three candidates for Mayor—one of whom currently sits on the Council and seeks to be elevated to that role. That level of interest is encouraging. Historically, people don’t run unless they believe change is needed.

And change is what this election is about—not because Sedona is broken, but because the way it is governed has drifted off course.

Sedona is in a rare and fortunate position. We have a strong tax base largely supported by visitors, not residents. We operate under a city-manager form of government, where trained professionals handle daily operations and long-term planning. Council members are meant to set policy, offer perspective, and represent the community’s values—not to manage staff, rewrite reports in public, or second-guess technical decisions line by line.

We have the money, the staff, the expertise, and the institutional structure to address the challenges of a city with a billion-dollar economy, millions of annual visitors, aging infrastructure, transportation constraints, and a young municipal history. What we often lack is discipline at the governing level.

Over the last several councils, meetings have grown longer and less productive. Agenda items that should be straightforward become drawn-out debates. Questions that could be resolved before meetings are asked publicly, late at night, on the dais. Staff are repeatedly pulled into unnecessary detail and asked to justify professional judgments that fall squarely within their roles.

The result is familiar to anyone who has tried to follow council meetings: six- and seven-hour sessions, public frustration, resident disengagement, and staff fatigue. Important decisions get delayed, not because they are impossible, but because governance has become confused with management.

This is not an accusation of wrongdoing. It’s a recognition that micromanagement—however well-intentioned—has real consequences. It slows progress. It raises costs. It drives good people away from both public service and public participation.

That’s why this election matters.

August presents a healthy opportunity to bring in three new council members who approach the role differently—people who understand how organizations function, respect professional boundaries, prepare thoroughly, and see their job as guiding the city forward rather than running it themselves.

Sedona would benefit from voices who are actively engaged in the working world, who understand time, trade-offs, and accountability, and who bring fresh perspectives to long-standing issues. This is not about age as a number; it’s about mindset. It’s about recognizing that governance works best when elected officials focus on outcomes rather than process theater.

Voters should look closely at why candidates are running. Are they seeking to contribute to the city’s future—or simply to fill time? Do they respect the city-manager model, or do they see council service as a chance to personally oversee operations? Do they come prepared to make decisions—or to relitigate them endlessly?

What’s on the ballot in August is bigger than any single name. It’s the question of how Sedona governs itself going forward.

Do we want a council that trusts expertise, values efficiency, and keeps meetings focused and humane? Or one that continues to confuse control with stewardship?

Fresh viewpoints matter. Discipline matters. Governance matters.

August matters.

Let’s vote with that in mind.