Brian Fultz was elected to Sedona City Council in 2022. In October 2025, he was unanimoulty elected by the council to serve as vice mayor due to then-Vice Mayor Holli Ploog being elevated to interim mayor following the resignation of Mayor Scott Jablow in September. With Ploog returning to her council seat in November, Fultz is seeking the mayor’s seat.

Candidate Profile

• Sedona mayoral candidate Vice Mayor Brian Fultz
• Time in Sedona: 21 years as a homeowner, five years as a full-time resident.
• Professional/personal background: Aeronautical & astronautical engineer from Purdue University with an MBA from the University of Chicago. Worked for GE. A small business owner for 20 years as managing partner for multiple grout franchises and founder of consulting business. Married to Amy for 36 years and have three grown children. Active at Aletheia Church. Volunteers at Sedona Parks & Recreation events and with multiple nonprofits. Mountain biker and hiker.

Questions

What is your vision for the Western Gateway / Sedona Cultural Park?

My vision for the Cultural Park property is to meet multiple community needs. We’ve seen interest in community gathering space, an event lawn and a recreation center. I look forward to discussing the uses and investment involved in developing a recreation center with the public at our next Community Conversations event in September. I’ve been supportive of SIFF [Sedona International Film Festival] moving to the property. I think that’s a transformational opportunity for SIFF and the community.

Do you support or oppose the restoration of the Georgia Frontiere Performing Arts Pavilion?

Concerning the refurbishment of the former amphitheater, I believe that the community should have the opportunity to evaluate proposed business plans that take into account the financial, parking/traffic and overall community impact from a restored facility. The original amphitheater plans for the property called for limited housing that could accommodate artists or essential workers, which I support.

Do you support crossings over Oak Creek outside city limits? What other alternative routes do you support and how would you pursue them?

Creating a bypass of the Uptown “Y” roundabout is under consideration within the ongoing Verde Valley Master Transportation Plan process, which is being facilitated by the Northern Arizona Council of Governments.
I am Sedona’s regional board member for NACOG and will be working with our Yavapai County supervisor, who has been in a leadership role for this project and is open to new alternatives. This initiative will be moving to options being presented and a call for public input and I will ensure that Sedona’s voice is heard.
Alternatively, I also think about what contributes to delays through the “Y” during our peak times, which leads to at-grade pedestrian crossings. Consequently, I think we should be looking at how to further control or reduce the impact of these crossings, especially when they are on-demand such as the Jordan Road crosswalk next to the Jordan Road roundabout, where a timed cross-walk control could help keep the roundabout moving.

How will updates to the city of Sedona’s Land Development Code address affordability, residential and commercial development while still balancing what makes Sedona unique?

Addressing affordability via the Land Development Code differs from how the Building Code or [Sedona Fire District] Fire Code — outside city control — affects the cost to
construct housing.
With the LDC, developers already have access to the Development Incentives & Guidelines for Affordable Housing, a policy enacted by the city of Sedona to encourage the creation and retention of affordable housing. It provides developers with benefits, such as reduced regulatory requirements, e.g., the number of off-street parking spaces, or reduced impact or sewer hook-up fees. These benefits could be further enhanced to lower total construction costs.
Additionally, creating a duplex/triplex zoning classification that a developer could apply for in seeking to rezone a single family parcel would allow the city to negotiate restrictions on the property to prevent its use for short-term rentals or ensuring affordability for many years if the property is to be a rental.
In turn, the parcel could serve an increased use to house more families at a lower cost of construction per unit.

What plans do you have to alleviate traffic congestion?

Traffic actually has improved significantly as an outcome of the Sedona In Motion program. That said, there are still numerous opportunities available to the community to mitigate traffic besides continuation of SIM projects.
Working with Yavapai County, I’d like us to look at expanding the Verde Shuttle to the Village of Oak Creek and then on to Camp Verde along with making a loop back to Cottonwood. I would like to continue working with the Forest Service in their interest to develop trailhead shuttle parking south of the Sedona city limits.
We are hearing residents ask for expanded on-demand shuttle availability, so we’ll be looking at that and it aids in taking more cars off the road as a ride-sharing service. Our shared-use paths continue to see increased use including more visitors using them on rental bikes, which takes additional cars off the roads.
Another opportunity I’d like to see explored is for Sedona to be promoted as a no-car-needed destination in conjunction with expanded transportation services from Phoenix. Ideally, visitors would arrive in Sedona without a rental car and use trailhead shuttles, on-demand shuttles, the Verde Shuttle and bike rentals to move about.

Essay

I’m Brian Fultz and I was elected to the Sedona City Council four years ago and currently serve as vice mayor. Like all of us, I’m passionate about our red rocks and being part of a city animated by the arts.
We are a fiscally strong community. Not only do we have a balanced budget annually, we run a surplus, pay debts off early, have staffing costs that run well below the national average and we’ve added $58 million to our cash and investments balances during my time on council. All the while, we’ve increased financial support for programming for the arts, for seniors, for families and children, for recreation at our parks and trails, public safety and much more. To allow the city council to continue with its responsible budget practices and to support so much of what makes Sedona special, I ask you to vote “Yes” on Home Rule — Proposition 400.
As a council member, I saw a need for improved opportunities for the council and staff to engage with the community on important issues and gain support much earlier in the decision-making process. As such, I proposed the new Community Conversations program in which we are swapping out one of each four council work sessions for a meeting with the community outside of council chambers where we can explore ideas more fully. Our pilot event in April went well where we explored what we can do to better support seniors and families in Sedona. We heard great ideas like a community calendar and expanded on-demand transit service.
I look forward to the upcoming sessions where we’ll be talking about the Firewise program/wildfire safety, a possible recreation center and strengthening our arts and culture. I also want to foster more connection outside of council meetings and would like to establish a working group focused on identifying and prioritizing connection opportunities that could
involve arts and culture, festivals, mentoring, volunteering, gathering places and more.
Preparedness for wildfires and flash floods is a necessity in Sedona. In addition to projects completed in my term like our All-Hazards Evacuation and Re-Entry Plan and Know Your Zone system for evacuation, I supported the hiring of the city’s first Emergency Management coordinator. I believe there is more work to be done to ensure that all of our residents and guests are educated and able to stay safe in the event of a natural disaster.
Finally, I saw a need for a city housing strategy over a year ago and am excited to see it taking shape now. This modest, pragmatic plan will result in options for seniors to age in place, for families with children to bring back some of our lost school enrollment and for critical workers to have options of living in Sedona. I expect this plan to respect our sense of place in terms of building height, density, materials and overall character. I don’t want to lose what makes Sedona special.
For information about more of my priorities, please visit BrianForSedona.com.

Sedona City Council Election

Lita Loesch Boyd, Jean-Christophe Buillet, incumbent Councilwoman Melissa Dunn, Rich Gay and Tony Hauserman are running for three open seats on the Sedona City Council.

Vice Mayor Brian Fultz and Henry Silbiger are running for Sedona mayor.

Election day is Tuesday, July 21.