A faithful reader sent me a copy of an unfortunate e-mail composed by Sedona Mayor Rob Adams that is making the rounds. The e-mail is causing some  confusion among our readers and I am compelled to comment in order to clear up the mess.

Here's what the mayor wrote to a constituent Monday,  Nov. 24:

"Greg Ruland and I have had ongoing disagreements on his editorial policies. He has gutted several of my essays by editing them without my consent. He has refused to send a reporter to my press conferences. And now, he is demanding that he has exclusive publishing rights on city essays. I refuse to go along with this and I have the support of the legal staff. The line has been drawn." 

The mayor's apparent fit of pique arises out my objections to his most recent City Talk column, which was eventually published, with his written consent, Wednesday, Nov. 19. 

Faithful readers know City Talk was started a few years ago by this newspaper as a way for city staff and council members to comment on how city government works, how certain projects are progressing, etc.  We have published it as a community service. Rightly or wrongly, we consider it the work product of this newspaper.

Two weeks ago, the mayor submitted a self-congratulatory piece in which he took sole credit for several city initiatives and failed to acknowledge the assistance and support of city staff, fellow council members and his constituents.

I called the mayor Thursday, Nov. 6, and explained how his piece went off course. I explained to him the column was never intended as a platform for self-promotion. I asked his permission to edit the column and to let him review it before publication.  He agreed.

The edits were quite simple. The mayor used the word "I" more than 25 times throughout the essay.  I changed the word "I" to "we" or edited the piece to clarify that many of the  initiatives for which he was taking sole credit were actually accomplished with the help and support of others.

I also omitted a reference in the column to the mayor's "press conferences." As I have explained to the mayor, the fact that he calls a "press conference" is not a news event and we, with our limited reportorial resources, do not have time to cover it when so many other substantive issues require our attention. 

The mayor's opinion about his press conference appears to be informed by a misunderstanding about the council-manager form of city government.

Under a council-mananger form of government, the city manager is the chief executive of the city. It is the city manager who caries out the policies of the council as a whole.

The title of "mayor" does not give the mayor any more voting power or executive authority than any other member of the city council. City council sets policy as a group by majority vote. No individual council member establishes city policy, not even the mayor.  Only the city manager has executive authority to carry out those policies.  Perhaps if the mayor understood this, he would not be so keen on holding forth at his own press conference.

In any case, the mayor reviewed his City Talk column as edited in advance of publication and gave us written permission to run it, though he said he did so, "reluctantly." 

In the course of these discussions, I discovered City Talk was being distributed and reprinted by other news media, a violation of our agreement to run the column in the first place.

During a conference call Friday, Nov.  14, I explained to the mayor and City Manager Eric Levitt that they were free to distribute the column to any media outlet they wished, but if they chose to run it elsewhere, we would not publish it.  That is our right. 

City Talk is not a press release. It is an opinion piece written for this newspaper about city events.  It was the brainchild of this newspaper. It is organized and scheduled by city staff according to the guidelines we have set out.

Why other so-called news media would wish to reprint items that appear in our newspaper seems strange to me since I believe it should be the goal of every publication to print original content whenever possible. 

Instead of the public service it was intended to be, the City Talk column has obviously become a distraction for city officials and this newspaper.  I've already engaged in two telephone calls with the mayor, two with Eric Levitt and three with Ginger Wolstencraft, a city staff member, exchanged several e-mails, and tried to explain it all to readers who wondered what was going on, all because the mayor wanted to use the word "I" more than 25 times in his column.

I'm sure the column will find a home by another name in one of the area's periodic opinion journals or online somewhere, should anyone at the city wish to continue to write it, but after Friday, Nov. 26, City Talk will no longer run as a regular feature in the Sedona Red Rock News.

Mayor Rob Adam's City Talk column as originally submitted:

Mayor’s Article for November 7, 2008

PROMISES KEPT

At the time that this article is published, I will have been Mayor of the City of Sedona for approximately 5 months. During my campaign, I made a number of personal commitments to the citizens of Sedona. These commitments included: (1) To be fiscally responsible and keep the budget balanced, (2) To focus on guiding Sedona toward being sustainable and better stewards of our environment, and (3) To encourage public participation in our government. I intend to keep those promises.

The first thing I did when I was elected was to make a list of projects that I wanted to accomplish during my term. It is a big list; perhaps it is even unrealistic. Even though I have been somewhat frustrated by being distracted with the politics that come with the job, I feel I am making some good headway in initiating a “positive change” in Sedona.

THE BUDGET

Keeping the budget balanced is my highest priority. Council has been extremely conservative on spending requests this fiscal year. I agendized a Council hearing to review the budget on October 14. Council has directed a delay on almost $1,000,000 in capital projects and we are requesting a review of General Fund expenditures.

I have formed a Mayor’s Budget Committee to review the budget and to make recommendations to keep our budget balanced. I have been searching for additional funding and was successful in obtaining close to $1,000,000 from Yavapai County for drainage projects.

I have met numerous times with businesses and the Chamber of Commerce to brainstorm marketing strategies to bring visitors to Sedona during these difficult times. We have created an exciting new “branding” strategy for Sedona that will be unveiled the early part of 2009.

SUSTAINABILITY AND THE ENVIRONMENT

I have an additional committee that is the first of its kind in Sedona. The Environmental Committee will look at all environmental issues impacting Sedona. This committee will prioritize the issues and strategize action.

In addition, they will make recommendations on how we can become a more sustainable community. I am working with Keep Sedona Beautiful to create a plan to reduce or eliminate the use of plastic bags in Sedona. Plans are also underway to make Sedona an official “Dark Skies” city.

I have formed a committee to review the RoadRunner transit system to make it more effective and efficient in order to serve the greater Sedona community. Finally, I hope to move the National Scenic Area designation forward sometime next year.

COMMUNITY INVOLVEMENT

We are making a sincere effort to encourage community input at City Council meetings. I have initiated monthly Mayor’s Lunches to sit down on a “one on one” basis with Sedona citizens.

I have reestablished Town Hall meetings, the first of which will be held in January. I have also begun a series of televised press conferences, which are designed to update the community on current issues facing the City. Finally, I have formed 4 new City committees with over 40 community volunteers providing their service.

REGIONAL COOPERATION

I have met and developed a working relationship with all of the mayors and county supervisors of the Verde Valley as well as the greater Prescott area and Flagstaff. I initiated the formation of the Regional Housing Commission and have been successful in getting a voting seat on the Coconino Plateau Water Commission as well as the Regional Transit Commission (NAIPTA), the Yavapai County Water Advisory Commission (WAC), and the Northern Arizona Council of Governments (NACOG).

I have initiated discussion with the Sedona Fire District to create a plan for defensible space around our homes for fire protection and am working on a plan with the Forest Service and other municipalities in the Verde Valley to deal with illegal dumping on State and Forestland.

These are just a few highlights of my efforts to move Sedona toward the vision that I spoke about during my campaign. I believe that Sedona can become a model city of sustainability. We live in a spectacular environment. We have an incredible wealth of human resources. I invite each and every one of our community members to join me in making this vision a reality.

Mayor Rob Adam's edited City Talk column as it ran  Wednesday, Nov. 19:

City following through on priorities

By Mayor Rob Adams
City Talk

The City of Sedona is committed to being fiscally responsible and to keep the budget balanced; to focus on guiding Sedona toward being sustainable and better stewards of our environment; and to encourage public participation in our government.

The Budget

Keeping the budget balanced is our highest priority. Council has been extremely conservative on spending requests this fiscal year.

To that end, the council decided Oct. 14 to delay almost $1 million in capital projects, and  requested a review of General Fund expenditures.

A Budget Committee was formed to review the budget and to make recommendations to keep our budget balanced. We have been searching for additional funding and were successful in obtaining close to $1 million from Yavapai County for drainage projects.

We have met numerous times with businesses and the Chamber of Commerce to brainstorm marketing strategies to bring visitors to Sedona during these difficult times. We have created an exciting new branding strategy for Sedona that will be unveiled the early part of 2009.

Sustainability and the Environment

An Environmental Committee will look at all environmental issues impacting Sedona.

This committee will prioritize the issues and strategize action. In addition, they will make recommendations on how we can become a more sustainable community.

We are working with Keep Sedona Beautiful to create a plan to reduce or eliminate the use of plastic bags in Sedona.

Plans are also underway to make Sedona an official dark skies city.

A committee to review the RoadRunner Transit System has also been formed to make it more effective and efficient in order to serve the greater Sedona community.

Finally, we hope to move the National Scenic Area designation forward sometime next year.

Community Involvement

We are making a sincere effort to encourage community input at city council meetings. I have initiated monthly mayor’s lunches to sit down on a one-on-one basis with Sedona residents. Look for town hall meetings to start in January.

Regional Cooperation

I have met and developed a working relationship with all of the mayors and county supervisors of the Verde Valley, as well as the greater Prescott area and Flagstaff.

With the help and support of other city council members and staff, I initiated the formation of the Regional Housing Commission and have been successful in getting a voting seat on the Coconino Plateau Water Commission as well as the Regional Transit Commission, the Yavapai County Water Advisory Commission and the Northern Arizona Council of Governments.

We have initiated discussions with the Sedona Fire District to create a plan for defensible space around our homes for fire protection and are working on a plan with the U.S. Forest Service and other municipalities in the Verde Valley to deal with illegal dumping on state and forest land.

These are just a few highlights of our efforts to move Sedona forward.

I believe Sedona can become a model city of sustainability. We live in a spectacular environment. We have an incredible wealth of human resources. I invite each and every one of our community members to join me in making this vision a reality.

Rob Adams is the mayor of Sedona. City Talk is published every Friday in the Sedona Red Rock News.