I’m Brian Fultz and I live in the Chapel area with my wife, Amy. We moved to Sedona from Atlanta but are originally from Indiana and both graduated from Purdue University while I went on to earn a master’s degree from the University of Chicago. Together we have three children.

I have been a small business owner for the last 16 years and Amy is the executive director at the Sedona Charter School. Like many, I see myself as an environmental steward of our sacred lands.

My career began at General Electric as an engineer — I really am a rocket scientist — and quickly broadened my experiences to prepare for general management roles with profit and loss responsibility.

I worked for other large firms such as Accenture but found a passion for entrepreneurism and moved to Tokyo during the dot com era to lead the opening of IXL’s business in Japan. Along the way I learned the importance of surrounding oneself with great colleagues and to ask lots of questions and then listen to what people tell you. Following these principles leads to better solutions and the Sedona City Council will benefit from my experience in solving tough problems with this approach.

Before running for Sedona City Council I completed the city’s Citizens Academy, which was invaluable in learning how our city operates. I also began talking with residents, City Council members, city staff and other stakeholders to gather input on what is important to our community and to determine my objectives for serving Sedona.

Ultimately, I found three objectives to pursue: Strong community, resident focus and local control.

■ Strong community. Our community has been negatively impacted by short-term rentals, leading to long-time residents and workers being forced to leave Sedona including families with school-age children. I will pursue housing policies that encourage a diverse, equitable and thriving multi-generational community.

Additionally, Sedona isn’t just red rocks; it’s also an artist community and I will encourage more integration of the arts with city events. We are a passionate community about many topics, but when it comes to the subjects that challenge us, such as STRs and ATVs, I want our community to move from “outrage to action” where we work together whether it’s writing legislators, attending U.S. Forest Service meetings or peacefully protesting to work towards the solutions that we desire.

I also want us to work together in support of the city’s Climate Action Plan.

■ Resident focus. City Council decisions must be looked at from many lenses including resident impact. City Council decisions are not always black and white where they may impact some residents positively and others negatively. I pledge to examine issues from all sides and decide what I think is in the best, long-term interest of the residential and business community.

I also believe council decisions should be evaluated against the “Major Outcomes” and “Vision Themes” defined in the 2014 Sedona Community Plan and that we should review the Community Plan regularly to ensure we are working on the priorities defined by the community in the plan.

My idea of “resident focus” means I’m ready to fight for Sedona and I’m open to passing a practical STR ordinance — or any other — to improve our quality of life that might subsequently be challenged in court or by the attorney general. I think our community wants our City Council to have that kind of courage.

■ Local control. Two of our greatest challenges have come from a lack of local control. STRs were made legal by the Arizona State Legislature. They are a prime contributor to the overtourism that we are experiencing due to more traffic and overnight stays. They’ve decimated our rental housing pool and led to our population decline.

The state legislature also made ATVs street legal while the U.S. Forest Service has been unwilling to act decisively to implement reasonable controls to slow the environmental damage and mitigate their affects for all other users of the National Forest. The ATV manufacturers play a role too by promoting Sedona as a top ATV destination. We must work together to influence these stakeholders, most of whom don’t agree with us.

Additionally, it’s critical that we vote to re-authorize prudent, local city budgeting according to Home Rule. Without Home Rule, city budgets are determined by state formula and would result in a dramatically lower budget with reduced essential services to our city and severe restrictions on our planned traffic and transit projects.

For more information about me please visit BrianForSedona.com or linkedin.com/in/brianfultz.

Brian Fultz is one of six candidates for three seats on the Sedona City Council. Election day is Tuesday, Aug. 2.