Robert Pickels said it was an opportunity too good to possibly pass up.

Pickels, the Sedona city attorney for the past year, was one of four finalists for Maricopa County manager. In the end, the county board of supervisors chose Maricopa County Deputy Manager Joy Rich on May 23.

Pickels said he found out in February that County Manager Tom Manos had announced his retirement. Since Manos is a friend and former colleague, he spoke with him about the county’s plans and was encouraged to apply.

“Even though my transition to Sedona has been amazing and I feel very proud to be serving this community, the opportunity to lead an organization the size and scope of Maricopa County was one that I felt I needed to explore,” he said. “I was surprised to have been selected for an initial interview and even more so to emerge as a finalist.”

He said that in the end, he feels that the county made a great choice and provided him with a sense of relief.

“I can now dispense with that distraction and get on with the business of helping Sedona’s city government become the best that it can be,” he said.

A native of Orange County, Calif., Pickels spent the previous 23 years in Yuma. He started in private practice there and eventually became the county attorney. Then, for the last eight years he served as county administrator, which is equivalent to a city manager. He said he had originally planned to spend just five years in that position, with the goal of returning to practicing law.

Maricopa County is 13 percent larger than Yavapai County, but has 18 times more people, 59 percent of the state.

“We’re very happy to be here,” he said shortly after being hired. “Northern Arizona was always somewhere we had considered living as we transitioned into our retirement years. But we still have many years before we’re ready for that.”