City of Cottonwood Mayor and Yavapai County Supervisor District 3 candidate Diane Joens calls herself a “servant leader” — investing herself full time to her duties, contrasting herself with other municipal and county officials who split their time between career and public service.
Since 2007, Joens has been a constant presence, spending more time with the public than her part-time status as mayor would lead one to believe. Her calendar is packed with events, both inside and outside the city. Adding to her visibility is her longevity in town. For the past 30 years, she has lived in the same home, had the same phone number. She is approachable in the extreme.
For this reason, many people have recently approached Joens to express their worry about her candidacy for supervisor. Losing a two-term mayor is an intimidating prospect — particularly when the mayor makes herself so available, promising a 40-plus-hour work week 52 weeks a year, vowing not to split her obligations to any agenda or private enterprise.
“Who I am is really about service,” Joens said, adding that though she understands people’s worries she views taking on the added duties of supervisor as a logical next step. “It’s a lot more responsibility …. It’s sort of like adding on to your family. I’m positive I can do it. I’ll bring the same dedication to being supervisor as I brought to being mayor.”
Joens spoke of the value of humility, but insisted that it must be weighed against the conviction to act for the best of her constituents. According to her, there are those who assume women can’t be assertive enough for powerful positions. “Some people wonder if women have the strength to do the job. I’m sorry, but they do …. You can tell me no, but if I think it really needs to be done I’ll find a way.”
Joens said that there are numerous big issues in District 3. First and foremost among them is traffic, particularly along the Interstate 17 corridor from Mingus Mountain to the Sedona area. Traffic in Sedona itself, Joens added, is badly in need of a solution — which may or may not include an alternate route through town to alleviate the pressure along State Route 89A and State Route 179.
“That’s a very controversial subject,” Joens said. “And, basically, there are no dollars to do anything.”
The issue of money comes up again and again when talking with Joens. She admitted that there is little she could do as supervisor to generate funds, but substantial power to keep the budget trim — and thus the ability to prioritize needed projects over those that waste taxpayers’ investment — exists in the position. In Joens’ opinion, this power makes working in collaboration with municipal governments all the more important.
“It’s so much easier to appeal to the legislature when we come as the Verde Valley combined,” Joens said, adding that lawmakers tend to prioritize communities that speak with a unified voice.
In a similar way, Joens said that she wants to reestablish a water committee to interface with municipalities, informing public officials of what the needs and risks are when taking water from local resources. According to Joens, after the disbanding of the Water Advisory Committee, the Verde Valley lost its ability to talk with communities such as Prescott — larger urban areas that use the same watershed as the Verde Valley.
Drawing from the Big Chino-Williamson Valley Watershed without sufficient oversight, especially, presents an ongoing threat to the Verde River. “If we don’t protect the waters in the Big Chino, the first 24 miles of the river might dry up.”
