To replace former Sedona City Councilman Marc Sterling, council went with a man of the same name.
With a 4-2 vote, council appointed Mark DiNunzio on Thursday, July 2, to fill the seat Sterling left vacant when he resigned in April to film a movie in Sedona.
DiNunzio will carry out the full term, which expires in 2012.
Mayor Rob Adams and Councilman Cliff Hamilton voted against it.
DiNunzio wasn’t Adams’ first choice, Adams said, but he was his second.
“I support Mark DiNunzio’s nomination and honor council’s decision,” he said. Hamilton agreed.
Since Sterling received the most votes in 2008’s election, Councilwoman Nancy Scagnelli asked each of the four candidates why they were the most appropriate to replace him and his philosophy.
Not only do they have the same name, DiNunzio joked, but they both have financial backgrounds — Sterling as an accountant and DiNunzio in banking.
“He’s a volunteer, I’m a volunteer. He’s a small businessman, I’m a small businessman. We both love this community. We have similar business approaches to making decisions,” he said.
As a small business owner, DiNunzio and his wife ran a 13-room inn in West Sedona from 1993 to 2001.
As a volunteer, he’s served on the boards of the Arizona Hotel and Lodging Association and the Sedona Oak-Creek Chamber of Commerce. He also volunteered with the Verde Valley Sanctuary from 1999 to 2001.
DuNunzio’s banking career spanned 27 years, beginning as a teller in upstate New York and ending in Phoenix as an executive vice president of a large multistate bank.
From 1990 to 1993 he worked as marketing and human resources director for a privately owned aerospace manufacturer before moving to Sedona with his wife to open The Lodge at Sedona.
The 16-year Sedona resident isn’t intimidated by the economic times facing the city.
“We’re in tough economic times, but it provides an opportunity,” he said, for the city to look for new revenue streams to maintain the quality of life residents want.
With divisiveness reported on council, Adams wanted to know if DiNunzio had an allegiance.
“Do you feel as though your presence on council would help move it toward more cohesiveness or do you think your presence on council would be more divisive?” Adams asked.
DiNunzio doesn’t care about personalities, he said, he’s going to focus on the issues.
“I’m not a divisive guy,” he said. “I don’t have any set agenda…. If we’re all here to do what’s best for the city, it’s not personal.”
DiNunzio interviewed for a vacant council seat in September after Ramon Gomez resigned in August. Councilwoman Pud Colquitt won that seat, which expires in 2010.
This time around, DiNunzio was up against Mike Ward, Gregg Ensminger and former Councilman Jerry Frey.
Alison Ecklund can be reached at 282-7795, ext. 125, or e-mail
aecklund@larsonnewspapers.com
