Doug Von Gausig is running for his fifth term as mayor of Clarkdale against challenger Robyn Prud’homme-Bauer. The primary election is Tuesday, Aug. 4.
What makes you qualified to be mayor?
I’ve been mayor of Clarkdale for the last 16 years, served as the president of the League of Arizona Cities and Towns, became a Flinn-Brown Leadership Academy Fellow, was on the Board of the Arizona Commerce Commission, chaired the Yavapai County Water Advisory Committee, and have been an active member of countless organizations that help Arizona and the Verde Valley succeed.
This experience, as well as my long history in Clarkdale and the Verde Valley, make me an excellent mayor.
What makes Clarkdale great?
Clarkdale is the quintessential small town. We honor our history and traditions while looking to the future with optimism, creativity and thoughtfulness. But what really makes Clarkdale great are its citizens. We’re fortunate to have citizens who are engaged in their community and who give their time and thoughts to make it even better.
What would be different if you were not mayor?
It’s tempting to take credit for the great things Clarkdale has done in the last 16 years — acquisition of the water utility, installing a new high- quality wastewater plant, restoring 100 years’ worth of water and sewer lines in town, creating two new Verde River parks, rezoning the historic downtown area to make it more profitable for business to operate there — and so many other things.
But I am one of five town councilors, and without the other four, every one of whom have been dedicated, hardworking, thoughtful stewards of our town, we could have done none of these things.
How will you help Clarkdale to recover from the coronavirus and resulting economic slump?
By being creative and adaptive in all decisions. The pandemic is completely unpredictable and only those two qualities will leave us in the best possible condition.
How do you hope to keep Clarkdale affordable to residents?
- Resist the temptation to grow too fast — this is always a mistake.
- Demand high- quality construction from developments.
- Always plan and strategize with sustainability in mind. Unsustainable projects always cost you more than doing it right the first time.
Doug Von Gausig Candidate Essay:
When I was running for Mayor of Clarkdale 16 years ago, I promised that I would be the hardest-working mayor the Town had ever had. I think I have met that challenge and then some.
I have been the Mayor of Clarkdale for 16 years, and during that time, the Town Council and I have honored and conserved the town’s history, traditions and values. Those values — small town atmosphere, dark skies, healthy environment, stewardship of natural resources [especially water], slow, smart growth, and a low crime rate due to community policing practices and philosophy — have kept Clarkdale one of the most wonderful small towns in the Southwest.
Clarkdale is blessed by its close connection to the Verde River. We are the first town the river runs through, and it marks our Native American culture and heritage in the most important way — the river is life. It hosts the most diverse and healthiest ecosystem in Arizona, and it has been Clarkdale’s job to lead the way in river conservation and has led the development of new recreation on the river without harming the delicate forest that lines it and the native fish that swim there.
I have led the town in its conservation efforts and have helped us build two river parks and a safe, fun and economically sound center of water recreation that includes kayaking, swimming, fishing and just relaxing. We have done this in a very measured way that includes monitoring the river’s health and being sure not to overstress its natural values. We know that only if we tie the Verde’s health to the health of our economy can we succeed in saving one of the desert Southwest’s last free-flowing rivers. Our Verde River conservation efforts have won the town recognition throughout the Southwest.
I have been one of the Verde Valley’s leaders in water resource management, beginning with the acquisition of the private water company. This step allowed us to reduce consumption of our groundwater — which is the sole source of drinking water in the Verde Valley — to less than half of what it was before we took over the utility. To balance our water resources, we also worked to modernize our wastewater operations, and improved our effluent from “C” to “A+”. This is a huge step in water quality and allows us to use our treated effluent for uses we could not before — including recharging our groundwater.
As an amateur astronomer, I have always put a high value on dark night skies. I know that the darker the sky, the more stars we see, and nothing can quite give us the sense of perspective that seeing a bright Milky Way can.
And I have consistently taken a leadership role in local, countywide and even statewide organizations. As the President of the League of Arizona Cities and Towns for three years [and still on its Executive Committee], I helped guide the organization of all of Arizona’s cities and towns through extremely difficult legislative attacks on municipal self-governance. I was chair of the Yavapai County Water Advisory Committee during the most productive time, when we produced the most comprehensive study of central Arizona’s groundwater and surface water. That study still guides our water resource management decisions today.
But I must say something I often remind our council and staff of — that Clarkdale would not be great without the support, hard work and thoughtfulness of its citizens. We are blessed by being a town full of smart people who participate in their community like no other I’ve seen.
Each year at our Volunteer Appreciation event, I am astounded by what a high percentage of our population sits on this or that board or commission, or helps at the front desk of one of our departments, or works on the town’s website, or so many other things that we just could not run a town without. Clarkdale’s beauty, success and small-town atmosphere exist because of our townspeople. They are Clarkdale.
Finally, I want to say that being Clarkdale’s Mayor has been the most rewarding, exciting and fulfilling thing that I have ever done, and I look forward to serving the townspeople, the river and the Verde Valley for another four years.
