The Sedona City Council is in the process of interviewing four candidates for the position of city manager to replace Karen Osburn, who plans to retire in the coming year. Candidate Carly Castle interviewed with the council on Tuesday, Dec. 12, while Anette Spickard, Darren Coldwell and Greg Caton are scheduled to interview on Monday, Dec. 18.

Interviews are being conducted in executive session, over the objections of Councilman Pete Furman, who on Sept. 12 urged his fellow council members to conduct the hiring process in public to the fullest extent possible and voted against entering an executive session to discuss the process during that meeting.

At the Nov. 29 meeting, Furman again voted against going into executive session to conduct hiring discussions and instead conduct them in public.

“I think the process creation discussions are best done in a public meeting,” Furman said, confirming that his vote was in pursuit of government transparency. “After all, we are setting policy.”

Candidates

Carly Castle is the current city manager for Moab, Utah, population 5,366. She has held the position since 2021 and was previously the deputy city manager since 2019. From 2013 to 2019, she worked for the Salt Lake City Department of Public Utilities as a special projects and water resource manager. Her additional experience includes time at the Salt Lake City mayor’s and city attorney’s offices. She received her bachelor’s degree in political science and anthropology from the University of Utah in 2007 and her law degree from Brigham Young University in 2013.

Anette Spickard has been the city manager of McCall, Idaho, population 2,991, since 2018. She previously worked for the city of Springfield, Ore., as public works director and deputy director between 2013 and 2018. Spickard spent most of her career with Lane County, Ore., first as an accountant from 1993 to 2000, then as a budget analyst from 2002 to 2004 and then as deputy assessor and assessor from 2004 to 2013. She received her bachelor’s degree in business administration from Loyola Marymount University in 1991 and her master’s degree in public administration from the University of Washington in 2016.

Darren Coldwell is the current city manager for Page, population 7,440, having taken over the position in 2019. Coldwell spent most of his career as a small businessman in Troy, Mont., where he owned Booze N Bait from 1992 to 2017 and the Troy Mini Mall from 2011 to 2017, as well as serving as the executive director of the Troy Chamber of Commerce. He also served as elected mayor of Troy from 2013 to 2017 before becoming Lincoln County administrator through 2019. He received his bachelor’s degree in communication from the University of Montana.

Greg Caton has been the city manager of Grand Junction, Colo., population 65,560, since 2016. From 2010 to 2016, he was the assistant town manager and town manager for Oro Valley. He was formerly assistant city manager of Durango, Colo., from 2002 to 2010. He received his bachelor’s degree in political science from Fort Lewis College in 1996 and his master’s degree in public administration from the University of Colorado at Denver in 1998.

City Communications Manager Lauren Browne declined to provide the names of the more than 100 applicants for the position, citing confidentiality.