Sedona’s Council/Mayoral Conflict. Steve Williamson and Karen McClelland welcome Sedona City Counselors, Kathy Kinsella and Holly Ploog to discuss numerous issues facing the city. The most concerning is the recent conflict between Mayor Scott Jablow and the council, which resulted in the council censuring the mayor and requesting his resignation.
To some degree, the conflict may stem from misunderstanding the city’s weak mayoral structure, which Kinsella calls confusing. That’s because the mayoral position is different from that of many residents’ previous cities, in that the Sedona mayor represents just one of seven council votes. The mayor does have several additional statutory responsibilities such as signing emergency orders and contracts. But, in reality, he has no more authority than the other six members of the council.
Unfortunately, several recent actions have led to five council members voting to censure the mayor and asking him to resign for overstepping that authority.
To be clear, the council cannot make the mayor resign. It can only make the request. If he chooses to remain in office, he can only be removed from office as the result of a recall election. Or as a result of the next scheduled election.