I’m Derek Pfaff, candidate for Sedona City Council. Sedona is my home and I care about its future. I’m seeking a seat on City Council so that I can apply my voice, ideas, personal experience and expertise as a legal professional to help Sedona live up to its potential and be a great place to live for all its residents.

In terms of local politics, my initial participation involved campaigning to save the West Sedona School when it faced closure in 2018. Since then, I’ve fought for the school district budget override each time it has come up for voter reauthorization. It was after the most recent override vote that I was approached and asked to consider running for the open seat on council by individuals who appreciated my zealous yet respectful advocacy for our schools. After receiving strong encouragement from my wife, Amanda, and my two children, I decided to enter the race.

I’m a fervent supporter of public education. My daughter just graduated from and my son still attends Sedona Red Rock Junior/Senior High School, both having grown up in Sedona’s schools. I recognize that the school district has its own governing body, but am familiar with the successes and struggles of the district, its students and their families. Sedona City Council lacks that familiarity. I hope to change that.

Strong schools help build strong communities, and strong communities help build strong schools. As a council member, one of my goals would be to improve and strengthen the relationship between city government and the school district.

I’m committed to the fight to return control over short-term rentals to local government, and to incentivize private developers to build more workforce housing. If the pool of affordable, long-term leases can be expanded, Sedona can attract workers with families back to town. More students mean more funding, more funding means better educational resources and better schools, and better schools would make Sedona an even more attractive place for young people to live and work.

I’m also committed to prioritizing the wants and needs of residents over those of the tourism industry. Tourism is vital to Sedona’s economy, but “more, more, more tourism” is never the right answer. What’s really needed is more effort to mitigate the impact of over tourism on residents and the environment. The most conspicuous tourism-related nuisance is, of course, the horrendous pedestrian and vehicular traffic we experience. Although we’ll never fully cure Sedona’s traffic woes, further expansion of mass transit, creating better connectivity within neighborhoods, better parking management and coordinating with outside jurisdictions like Yavapai and Coconino counties, the U.S. Forest Service and the Arizona Department of Transportation to build new roads should all be explored.

This is just a small sample of my ideas for a better, more vibrant Sedona. If you’re interested in learning more about me and my campaign, please visit votepfaff.com. Also, feel free to email me at pfaffforsedona@yahoo.com with any comments, questions or concerns you’d like to share.

Editor’s Note:

This is an essay written by the candidate with only minimal edits to punctuation and capitalization. There are three open seats on Sedona City Council in the 2024 election. Incumbent Sedona City Councilwoman Kathy Kinsella, challenger Derek Pfaff, incumbent Sedona Vice Mayor Holli Ploog and challenger Katherine Todd are the four candidates campaigning for three seats. Election day is Tuesday, July 30.