Late on Friday, May 16, after press time, the city of Cottonwood announced that Cottonwood City Council has chosen Mario Cifuentez II as the new city manager.
“I am honored to be chosen to lead the city of Cottonwood organization, and I look forward to working with staff, residents and other community leaders to strengthen trust in our local government and move the City forward,” Cifuentez stated.
Cifuentez is expected to start with the city of Cottonwood on Monday, Aug. 18.
The city negotiated a contract with Cifuentez, which scheduled for discussion and approval at the next Cottonwood City Council meeting Tuesday, May 20, starting at 6 p.m.
The city of Cottonwood held a meet-and-greet for the three finalists, including Cifuentez, Ken Bennett, and Darren Coldwell, at the Cottonwood Recreation Center on Saturday, April 26.
Cifuentez has spent almost 40 years working in local government and is the current city manager of Hanford, Calif. Cifuentez described himself as a “local government geek” who worked for the city of Visalia, Calif., for 33 years before becoming city manager of Hanford, Calif., in 2019. The former has a population of 59,000, while the latter has a population above 140,000.
“There are some great staff,” Cifuentez said of Cottonwood on April 26. “It’s one of those I can hit the ground running. This council, having spoken with most of them already, shows me the one thing they have all said is their strong faith in the staff that’s here in Cottonwood.”
“I try to do my research,” Cifuentez said of the differences between California and Arizona. “You’ve got some of the tax base and how it’s distributed to the city level is actually better than California. So I believe it’s something given my 39 years strictly in local government, I can overcome that and speak the same language as my staff.”
“I see a strong list of five-year capital needs, I’ve reviewed the budget, I was fortunate enough to recently download the final report for the strategic planning session this council had,” Cifuentez said of his vision for the city. He said he would be particularly skilled in obtaining federal and state grants, having secured more than $30 million for Hanford in the last three years.
“That’s the money we can use to leverage other projects that require a match and help the local taxpayer dollar stretch to do big improvement projects,”Cifuentez said. “Growth is inevitable. The choice a city has is doyou prosper or do you wither? You can manage thatgrowth,” Cifuentez said.
Cifuentez also said that he had been planning to retire before deciding to apply for the Cottonwood job.
“I think my history speaks for itself,” Cifuentez said. “I had 33 years with the first city I was with. I’ve been with this city for six years that I’m with now. I think I mentioned to council what my 10-year goal was. I didn’t say I would be gone in one or two years, I’ll be here for the foreseeable future.”
The city enlisted the Duffy Group to lead the recruitment with 158 candidates considered before the candidate pool was narrowed to three. Finalists toured the community with Mayor Ann Shaw, introduced themselves to the public, meet with the city’s leadership team and interviewed with city council.
In addition to his many years of direct experience working as a city manager of a full-service city, Cifuentez has a degree in organizational leadership and is scheduled to receive his International City/County Management Association-credentialed manager distinction in May 2026.
Cifuentez has a passion for public service and is excited for the opportunity to lead the city of Cottonwood team and integrate himself into the community, Cottonwood Marketing & Public Information Specialist Laura Herrera stated. Cifuentez and his wife Michelle, have a love for the Verde Valley and have been frequent visitors to the area.
Past Council and City Manager Turmoil
The Cottonwood City Council appointed Tom Whitmer, the city utilities director, as interim City Manager in February 2024 following the departure of Scotty Douglass, who had been hired in May 2023. His interim contract was renewed in February 2025.
Douglass was pushed out by three City Council members — Michael Mathews, Derek Palosaari and Lisa DuVernay — reportedly unhappy of Douglass’ termination of Police Chief Steve Gesell, who had been placed on administrative leave prior Douglass’ hiring after Gesell threatened a city staffer following a council meeting. Douglass formally terminated Gesell in September 2023.
All three council members were pushed out in 2024, two by voters and one who opted not to run for office:
- Mathews was handily defeated by Shaw 54.9% to 45.1% in the July 2024 campaign for mayor.
- Appointed in the summer of 2023, Palosaari was accused of sexual harassment by at least five female staffers in January 2024 and chose not to run for election in July 2024.
- DuVernay was removed from office in November 2024 after a petition to recall her was filed, according to the petitioners, on the grounds that on Aug. 8, 2023, she showed a pornographic video at a Cottonwood City Council meeting where children were present, appeared to threaten legal action against the city if the mayor did not instruct staff to draft a city ordinance which had already been voted down by the majority of the council and voted to appoint her husband to the Cottonwood Planning and Zoning Commission, on Oct. 3, 2023, violating rules against nepotism and conflict of interest after stating during the discussion prior to the vote that she understood conflicts of interest. The vote to remove DuVernay and replace her with former interim police chief Chris Dowell was settled 66.3% to 33.7% in Dowell’s favor.
Both Gesell and Palosaari are in lawsuits against the city.
Reporter Julio Mora Rodriguez and Managing Editor Christopher Fox Graham contributed to this story.
