Pete Furman

Sedona Mayor Scott Jablow resigns – Sedona Red Rock News

Sedona Mayor Scott Jablow announced his resignation “effective today at 5 p.m.,” on Tuesday, Sept. 30, in a 7:51 a.m. email to City Attorney Kurt Christianson.

Vice Mayor Holli Ploog will step in as the acting mayor until the council meets on Tuesday, Oct. 14, at which point the council will vote on the interim mayor who will serve until November 2026 when Jablow’s term was to end.

The resignation comes after Jablow lost the support of city staff, his colleagues on the City Council and several online petitions calling for his resignation.

Jablow did not respond to a request from the NEWS to comment about his resignation by the time of this publication.

“I’m pleased that with the resignation to start the healing process with the community, and the fact that he recognized that his continuous as mayor was a distraction from the work in front of us,” Ploog said.

“I’m disappointed in how things turned out, but Scott did the right thing by resigning,” Councilman Derek Pfaff wrote. “He put the best interests of Sedona and its residents ahead of his own. He should be thanked for that.”

“I’m glad [Jablow’s] changed his mind,” Furman said. “I think it’s good for the community, and it’s time for all of us to move forward.”

“I appreciate [Jablow] coming to the conclusion that his resignation is in the best interest of the community and that we can now move forward productively addressing the matters affecting Sedona,” Councilman Brian Fultz wrote.

“I hope that [Jablow’s] legacy won’t simply be the last few months of his term, and that people will look back at some of the positive things that have occurred and his dedication to the community as we get past this difficult time,” Ploog said.

“This episode has been an unfortunate distraction from the important issues facing out community,” Councilwoman Kathy Kinsella wrote. “I hope we can now move on and work to restore public trust in local government.

Councilwoman Melissa Dunn has not yet responded to a request for comment.

Complaints

Sedona Police Department Chief of Police Stephanie Foley filed a 157-page human resources complaint on July 27 alleging Jablow created a hostile work environment, discriminated against her based on gender and micromanaged SPD police officers.

On Aug. 13, City Council held a public discussion about 11 Flock Safety automatic license plate readers that had been installed in June without council approval. Council members learned that the cameras had been installed without public or council discussion but pushed by Jablow since spring 2024.

Council, through a 6-1 majority consensus, decided to shut off its Automatic License Plate Reader program and have city staff provide a timeline of the installation of the surveillance network that was installed this spring without a vote by council on Wednesday, Aug. 13. Jablow opposed the shutdown.

City Manager Anette Spickard provided council with a 30-page memo on Aug. 17 in which she accused Jablow of “manipulating” her in the installation of the ALPRs to the point his behavior had “damaged my credibility and professional reputation,” with city staff and Sedona residents by not stepping forward taking “responsibility for the direction on this project.”

When Spickard wanted to have the project discussed before council, Jablow emailed Spickard on Wednesday, Nov. 13, that “I would rather not make it public because it’s police related.”

Council voted unanimously Sept. 9 to remove the 11 installed ALPRs and to terminate its contract with Flock Safety, citing issues with Flock’s data security.

“As of Friday, [Sept. 26] a couple of poles still need to be removed but all cameras have been removed,” Deputy City Manager Lauren Browne wrote on Sept. 27.

Censure

Council proceeded to take the “unprecedented action,” according to Councilman Pete Furman of publicly and formally censuring Jablow and calling for his resignation on Wednesday, Sept. 10, for engaging in conduct in violation of Sedona City Council’s Rules and Procedures for:

“1. Interference with city staff/departments, 2. Creating/fostering a hostile work environment, 3. Breaking the confidentiality of attorney/client privilege, 4. Circumvention of city council process, 5. Acting beyond the authority of the office of mayor, 6. Acting unilaterally, 7. Violating principles of ethical conduct for elected officials,” according to the meeting’s action item list.

The censure vote was 5-2, Jablow and Pfaff opposed.

Pfaff’s statement was that it should have been up to the voters in 2026 to decide if Jablow should have remained as mayor.
Prior to the censure, two private reprimands were already given to Jablow about his behavior of the same nature.

Penalties for Censure

Also on Sept. 23, council unanimously voted after an executive session “to investigate allegations made against the mayor on [Friday,] Sept. 19.”

On Tuesday, Sept. 23, during his final regular council meeting, Jablow attempted to read a prepared statement regarding his censure during the council’s Summary of Current Events.

He was cut off by Councilwoman Kathy Kinsella and Christianson for going off topic. Jablow later told the NEWS he would forward his full statement to the press but never followed through. The following day, Wednesday, Sept. 24, a Facebook group based in Cornville briefly posted the full statement before deleting it in about 30 minutes.

Jablow confirmed the writing was his but claimed he did not know how it had appeared online.

Later in the meeting on Tuesday, Sept. 23, council decided to have a work session to have a discussion on a comprehensive review of council’s rules and procedures. The topic was raised by Furman who wants to modify Sedona City Code and the council’s rules to punish council members who have been censured by removing the censured member’s use of city property or suspending their salary for their service. Furman said he sees the punishments being in place until voters decide if they wish to reelect the censured person.

The council work session on rules and procedures has been scheduled for Monday, Oct. 27, at 8 a.m.

“I urge the council to continue to press forward with the disciplinary changes that we will talk about,” Furman said Sept. 30. “It’s important. It applies equally to all of us, and I think we need to get those in place [to] prevent future aberrations.”

On Monday, Sept. 29, council had an executive session to discuss Danielle Dulaney and Richard Speer applications for appointment of Presiding Magistrate Judge — Jablow was not in attendance.

Opening on Council

The mayor’s resignation creates a vacancy on council that residents are encouraged to apply for. The appointee will serve until November 2026, and will have to run in next year’s election if they wish to serve beyond. Within the next few days City Clerk JoAnne Cook will release a press release announcing the vacancy with a three-week application window due back by Monday, Oct. 27. Council will then interview the applicants and appoint a council member.

Sedona City Council looks to add penalties to censure – Sedona Red Rock News

In the closing moments of the Tuesday, Sept. 23, Sedona City Council meeting, Councilman Pete Furman discussed the possi­bility of modifying council’s rules and Sedona City Code sections to discipline members of council who have been censured.

“I believe we can imple­ment actions like limiting a censured member’s liaison roles or access and use of the Mayor-Council conference room or cell phone, travel expenses or even council payments,” Furman said.

On Wednesday, Sept. 10, council voted 5-2 to both censure Sedona Mayor Scott Jablow and call for his immediate resignation for seven major complaints including creating a hostile work environment, inter­ference with city staff and acting unilaterally.

“I’ve done a lot of reflecting back to the last meeting … because this council took unprecedented action against one of its members,” Furman said. “I believe we were all frustrated at the time that there weren’t any specific or concrete tools to apply disciplinary measures when a member violates our rules, procedures and norms. I’d like to see if there’s support to agendize a council discus­sion of our rules and muni [municipal] code sections. To explore whether they can be modified without violating state law to include specific actions that the council may take after one of its members has been censured.”

Councilwoman Kathy Kinsella said she wanted a full review of council’s rules and procedures that the council, after a short discus­sion, decided will be the direction it will take.

“I was going to ask for support for something that could be considered piece­meal, but also as part of rules and procedures, and that is ensuring greater transpar­ency of council assign­ments … to ensure greater transparency and also to try to eliminate any unilateral decision making as a by-product of council assign­ments,” Councilman Brian Fultz said. “So to your point, Kinsella, I’m fine with it being a broader discussion.”

Furman said those disci­plinary measures could be put in place and could be rescinded by council during a public vote. He added they should also automatically be rescinded if a censured member is reelected.

Jablow and Furman have both announced they are not seeking another term and their seats will be decided next year. Additionally, Fultz has announced he will be running for mayor. Councilwoman Melissa Dunn is seeking reelection.

“We’ll put on the next available work session,” City Attorney Kurt Christianson said.

During the council’s Summary of Current Events Jablow attempted to address his censure and call for resig­nation by the other members of council by also misrepre­senting a headline from the NEWS.

The NEWS wrote one story about the censure with the headline “Sedona City Council to Mayor Scott Jablow: Resign to restore trust” and an editorial with the headline “For the good of Sedona, Mayor Scott Jablow must resign.”

“I would like to [talk] about a project I’ve been working on for the past couple of months,” Jablow said. “A recent headline in the [NEWS] reported that ‘this Council must restore trust in the city.’ I couldn’t agree more, but trust is not only between [the] city and the public. Trust must also exist between the council and all of our employees. In my effort to help restore trust and transparency, I want the public to know that, in my opinion, the five councilors who supported my censure —.”

Councilwoman Kathy Kinsella then cut Jablow off mid-sentence.

“Mr. Mayor, is this a current event?” Christianson then asked.

“It’s a project. Do we not want to be transparent?” Jablow asked.

“No, I agree that the city needs to be transparent, but I believe this doesn’t pertain to anything that’s on the agenda,” Christianson said.

“OK, so you wish me not to continue on the council is saying you wish me not to continue,” Jablow said.

“That’s right,” said Kinsella, who also voted for Jablow’s censure.

Christianson told Jablow he could agendize the item at a future meeting, but the mayor doubted he would have enough support from the council.

“Assuming I would have two others,” Jablow said.

Prior to the public meeting, council’s executive session was devoted to discipling Jablow with the council going behind closed doors shortly after 3:30 p.m. and reconvening at 4:17 p.m. to unani­mously “direct the city attorney to investigate [additional] allega­tions made against the mayor on Sept. 19,” Kinsella said.

“No comment,” Councilman Derek Pfaff said when asked about the nature of these Sept. 19 allegations.

One resident called on Jablow to resign during the call to the public.

Consent Items

Following the Sept. 10 censure of Jablow, council held its first work session of possible development of the Western Gateway for housing and mixed-use development.

On Sept. 23, Council voted 6-1, with Furman opposed, to authorize payment for past services to Dig Studios Inc., but deferred action on the remainder of its contract for the Draft Master Plan of the Western Gateway project. Staff had recommended that council approve an amendment to the contract with Dig to increase payment by $106,921. The firm was first hired by the city in July 2024 to develop and promote a new master plan for the Sedona Cultural Park under a $254,242 contract. Additional revisions and concept designs were cited necessitating increases.

“Other additions to the scope include extra design elements such as base elevations and view sheds along with street-level elevations and views,” the council packet reads.

Dunn said because of the numerous unanswered questions from the work session, including the number of housing units council wants, council should hold off on additional work by Dig until council and staff had more discus­sion and a more clear direction for the Western Gateway before it approves additional expenditures.

Council approved a resolution to be the sponsor of the U.S. Forest Service’s grant application to double the size of the Broken Arrow Trailhead through the Arizona State Parks Off-Highway Vehicle Competitive Grant Program. Council had unanimously approved the possible project during its Aug. 26 meeting.

Council approved an additional $90,000 on the previous not-to-exceed amount of $180,000 for a deal with with CozyHome LLC for home energy retrofitting. The project, started in March 2022, aims to reduce greenhouse gas emis­sions, improve equity and enhance the livability of residences.

The National Society of the Daughters of the American Revolution’s Oak Creek Chapter accepted the city of Sedona’s proc­lamation of National Constitution Week that ran from Sept. 17 through Sept. 23. The week celebrates the Sept. 17, 1787, signing of the U.S. Constitution.

“The Daughters of the American Revolution Oak Creek Chapter was founded [on] June 26, 2006,” the council packet reads. “Our mission is to promote the memory and spirit of the men and women who achieved American indepen­dence. … We display an exhibit on Memorial Day in [Community Library Sedona]. We fund and participate in the placement of National Wreaths Across America. Chapter volunteers will place American Flags at the entrance of the Sedona Heritage Museum.”

The bulk of the Sept. 23 meeting was devoted to the quarterly update of the Sedona in Motion transpor­tation and parking projects that will be covered in a future story.

Brian Fultz to run for mayor of Sedona in 2026 – Sedona Red Rock News

The 2026 election season in Sedona is already beginning to take shape. Councilman Brian Fultz announced his intention to run for mayor, asking voters to elevate him to the city’s top elected office.

Meanwhile, Councilman Pete Furman has confirmed he will not seek reelection.

In addition to two council seats, the third currently held by Councilwoman Melissa Dunn will also be on the ballot — Dunn has confirmed to the NEWS she will be seeking reelection.

The specter of current Mayor Scott Jablow already hangs over the 2026 contest. On Sept. 10, a majority of council members voted to censure Jablow and called for his resignation, citing seven major complaints, including interference with city staff, creating a hostile work environment, and acting unilaterally on city matters.

Additionally, Sedona Police Chief Stephanie Foley filed a human resource complaint against Jablow alleging the creation of a hostile work environment and sexual discrimina­tion. City Manager Anette Spickard sent a separate memo to council accusing Jablow of manipulative behavior in the city’s installation of its now-terminated automatic license plate reader program.

Brian Fultz

“One, because I’ve had a term on council and I have a good understanding of how the city works, and it takes time to learn that,” Fultz said is his pitch to voters. “Second, I’m an analytical thinker and use data to inform my decisions. Third, I’m very stra­tegic. I don’t want to make knee-jerk reactions. I want council to fulfill its role of developing policy and providing staff direction to execute. I’m a strategic thinker in that regard. We’ve got big deci­sions ahead, and I believe I can be an objective, well-reasoned indi­vidual to make good decisions for the community.”

“The mayor serves as a represen­tative of the city, but that doesn’t mean the mayor can be working on establishing policy at a regional or statewide level without that being the policy council has said it wants to pursue,” Fultz said. “There was a disconnect at times; [Jablow] was doing his own thing. A good example would be short-term rentals, and the rest of council didn’t know what [Jablow] was doing. That’s something I want to work on immediately with [the] current council: Redefining roles and responsibilities so we don’t have that disconnect going forward.”

Fultz said he feels he can be the one to restore public trust in the mayoral position.

Furman

Furman, a first-term councilman, said he will not be seeking reelec­tion after having health challenges over his term and is changing his priorities.

“I think I’ve had some effect on some of the internal processes on council — changing our rules, getting us to be a little bit more open [and] also, actively partici­pating in the housing short-term rental discussions.” Furman said is what he is most proud of from his term.

For the good of Sedona, Mayor Scott Jablow must resign – Sedona Red Rock News

On Sept. 10, the Sedona City Council voted 5-2 to censure Sedona Mayor Scott Jablow and those five members called on the mayor to immediately resign.

In listening to council members’ comments, it appears Councilman Derek Pfaff would have voted for the measure had it only been about a censure, but the vote to include the demand for resignation was a step too far, as Pfaff said the decision to elect or remove an elected office from office is the decision of voters, not the council.

That nuance aside, a majority vote to censure the mayor means council not only believe Jablow’s behavior warrants reprimand but that it should be public with council members voting on the record.

Jablow has lost the council, the city they were elected to manage and the voters who elected them to represent the elec­torate, wholly undermining his ability to govern effectively as one of the seven.

Among the five were Councilwoman Kathy Kinsella and Vice Mayor Holli Ploog, who have worked alongside Jablow when he was just a councilman before he was elected mayor, two of the colleagues who have known him the longest as an elected official. If they turned against him, they must feel that getting Jablow to behave respectfully, responsibly, ethically and lawfully is beyond repair.

It must be repeated that the council didn’t just censure Jablow, they called for his resignation, which elevates the severity of the issue by his colleagues. Impeachment is not a political tool available to municipal governments in Arizona, but if it were, council would have had the lrds majority to strip Jablow from office. Considering most of council aligns with Jablow’s political ideology and most votes are either unanimous or with Jablow in the majority, the admonish­ment was not political.

The censure was not a one-off after a contentious vote by a divided council over a political issue, but actually the third time council had admonished him for his behavior. Per Sedona City Code, the first two reprimands were done behind closed doors in executive session and per the law, council cannot discuss them, so this is a legislative “three strikes and you’re out,” which, as a former law enforcement official, Jablow should be acquainted with.

Council laid out seven reasons for the censure, the afore­mentioned breaking the confidentiality of attorney-client privilege as well as interference with city staff and depart­ments, creating and fostering a hostile work environment, circumvention of City Council process, acting beyond the authority of the office of mayor, acting unilaterally and finally violating the principles of ethical conduct for elected officials.

Instead of focusing on issues facing the city like affordable housing, budget city operations as the economy sours and tax revenues dry up, several zoning projects heading to council, the Sedona Cultural Park/Western Gateway or grants to arts organizations, Sedona residents’ attention is now focused on an internal conflict as Jablow has diverted it away from real city issues. His legacy will not be housing at the Cultural Park or city programs he supports, but rather “the disgraced mayor who didn’t quit when he should have.”

This pressure on Jablow, council and the city, calls for him to resign and his professional and personal reputation will only worsen over time as community members will publicly call for him to resign at council meetings, at public and private events and certainly on social media until he leaves.

The comments on our unbiased and middle-of-the-road news stories on social media are already filled with such demands from residents.

This opening volley of attacks on Jablow will first just be those who opposed his election or oppose his stances on past issues, but it will grow as those indifferent to him will join the chorus followed finally by former supporters and donors who will call on him to quit.

It’s not like Jablow enjoys a vast mandate as it is. He defeated Samaire Armstrong with 56.61% of the vote in 2022 and John Martinez with 54.18% of the vote, but that isn’t the full story. Voter turnout fell from 80.7% in 2022 — a midterm year — to a dismal 44.32% in 2024 — a presidential election year — and Jablow got 1,532 fewer votes in 2024 than in 2022.

That’s a lot of people indifferent to his administration who will be questioning his actions now. We warned readers in 2022 that Jablow would be an adequate mayor, at best a place-holder between more dynamic leaders, but did not expect his tenure to turn into disaster.

If Jablow remains, “why hasn’t he resigned” will be the stomping elephant in the room at every council meeting. Ultimately, Jablow remaining in office is selfish and egotis­tical, both critiques lobbed at Jablow even before last week. Council members said his resignation would “restore trust” in municipal governance and would be the right thing for Sedona. He confirmed to the NEWS on Friday, Sept. 12, he would not run for reelection in 2026, so there is no point in remaining.

If the mayor truly loves the city more than himself, he must resign.

If loves himself more than the city, then he must resign.

Remaining harms the city, period. Jablow must do the right thing and resign.