Tosca Henry resigns from Cottonwood City Council

Tosca Henry resigned from Cottonwood City Council effective Friday, March 31, Cottonwood Deputy City Clerk Tami Mayes confirmed on Tuesday, April 4.

“Ms. Henry did resign effective last Friday, 3/31/23. I know nothing more than that,” Mayes confirmed in an email.

“Yes, I have resigned from the city council. I do not have a statement, but thank you for reaching out,” Henry stated the evening of April 4.

Henry has not formally submitted a letter of resignation indicating why she resigned. Council has not officially accepted her resignation, nor has notice of her resignation been officially agendized for the April 4 Cottonwood City Council meeting, however, Henry’s name and biography have been removed from the Cottonwood City Council’s website.

Henry last attended the Cottonwood City Council meeting on March 21, but left the meeting early at 8:06 p.m.

Henry did not attend a subsequent special meeting on March 27 when council discussed an employment contract in executive session to hire Scotty Douglass to serve as the city of Cottonwood’s new city manager, but Councilman Stephen DeWillis and Councilwoman Lisa DuVernay were also absent from that meeting, so her absence was not unusual.

Henry was elected in 2016, receiving the third-most votes in a close election of five candidates for three seats, narrowly winning a seat by 15 votes. When she ran for reelection in 2020 in an uncontested race between three candidates for three seat, she received the most number of votes.

As a member of council, Henry stated she advocated for sustainable economic growth, fiscal responsibility and transparency, as well as open lines of communication between council, administration and community members.

Henry earned a bachelor’s degree at Southern Adventist University, then a law degree from the James E. Rogers College of Law at the University of Arizona. After working 11 years for the Ledbetter Law Firm in Old Town Cottonwood, she founded the Tosca Law Firm in 2020. With the Tosca Law Firm, Henry devotes time to volunteer service in the Verde Valley, including helping at a monthly legal clinic at the Old Town Mission.

She is a member of the Arizona Bar Association, Verde Valley Bar Association, Arizona Law Women’s Association, was past chairwomand of the Cottonwood Board of Adjustment and Governing Board member of the Cottonwood Chamber of Commerce for three years. She was admitted to the Arizona Supreme Court in 2010, U.S. District Court for the District of Arizona in 2011, the Yavapai-Apache Nation in 2011, the San Carlos Apache Tribe in 2013, the Hopi Nation in 2014 and the White Mountain Apache Tribal Court. She is an outdoor enthusiast and ultra-marathon runner.