This is a big election year. With every election comes the desire to voice views on political issues. As Sedona’s only newspaper and the largest news outlet in the Verde Valley both online and in print, we’ve had long standing policies about how to handle letters to the editor regarding campaigns, elections issues, ballot propositions and candidates.
Candidates have filed campaign signatures and been officially recorded as hopeful elected officials.
We congratulate all the candidates who chose to run, collected petition signatures and got their names on the ballot. Modern politics aside, public service is the highest calling for citizens who aim to serve their neighbors and constituents fairly, equally and to the best of their ability.
- As it currently stands, there are two candidates for Sedona mayor: Current interim Vice Mayor Brian Fultz and newcomer Henry Silbiger.
There are five* candidates running for three Sedona Council seats: Incumbent Councilwoman Melissa Dunn and newcomers Lita Loesch Boyd, Jean-Christophe “Jean” Buillet, Rich Gay and Tony Hauserman. - There are two candidates for Camp Verde mayor: Vice Mayor Wendy Escoffier and newcomer Gary Thompson.
There are five candidates running for three Camp Verde Town Council seats: Incumbent Councilwomen Robin Godwin and Patricia Seybold, former Councilwoman Jackie Baker, newcomer Renee Hall and 2024 council write-in candidate Tanner Bryson. - There is no race for Cottonwood mayor, but there are four candidates for three Cottonwood City Council seats: Incumbent Councilmen Stephen DeWillis and Christopher Dowell and Councilwoman Debbie Wilden and newcomer Scott Ellis campaigning to claim a seat.
Dowell won a two-year seat in a 2024 recall election and is now seaking a full four-year term. Ellis is Clarkdale’s Community Development director but formerly held the same post in Cottonwood. - There are only two candidates running for Clarkdale Town Council’s two open seats, incumbent Councilwoman Laura Jones and newcomer Ben Kramer, so their names will be on the ballot, but they’ve effectively been chosen to serve.
We have contacted all the candidates by emails provide by the respective town and city clerks to advise them of our election guidelines and planned news schedule. We’re still waiting to hear back confirmation from some and some have different campaign emails than the ones on the election filing materials, but they can contact me at editor@larsonnewspapers.com.
Jerome Town Council is a bit different as all the candidates run at large with the top vote-getter becoming mayor. All five incumbents are running, which include Mayor Christina “Alex” Barber, Vice Mayor Jane Moore and council members Dr. Jack Dillenberg, Issam “Izzy” Sharif and Sonia Sheffield plus newcomers Tyler Christensen, Kacey Larson and Rebecca “Becca” Miller.
We will not be publishing letters to the editor from the candidates during the election cycle. We will not be running endorsement letters to the editor, nor attack letters. If you want to endorse a candidate — and endorsements go a long way in small town politics — you can purchase a paid political ad. These are guaranteed to be published because you’re paying for the space in the newspaper or online through targeted digital ads. They can be large or small, color or black and white, or digitally targeted to registered voters and state exactly what you want to say with whatever word limit you pay for. Contact our Advertising Department and General Manager Kyle Larson at (928) 282-7795 Ext. 114 or klarson@larsonnewspapers.com.
Candidates, too, have, can and should contact Kyle to get their election advertising planned out. Our newspapers and websites are the best way to reach engaged voters with clear and consistent messaging about why they should be elected.
Political ads require the purchaser to put “Paid by …” at the very bottom of the ad so everyone reading knows exactly who is funding the advertising. Transparency in elections is vital to the democratic process.
In keeping with our election traditions, we will be running candidate profiles written by our staff and essays from the candidates themselves before early ballots go out. All these will be posted on our websites before voters get their ballots in the mail.
We will send reporters to public forums and debates which all candidates have been invited and report on them. If you or a group plan to host an open debate or
forum and invite all the candidates, contact us so we can get it into our news cycle coverage.
Although the candidates are fewer than in past years, we expect and robust election with lots of good ideas, plans and goals, leaving it up to the voters to decide on election day, Tuesday, July 21.
