Adams Flips for Fourth Term

Rob Adams speaking at the DORR candidate forum January 19th, 2012.

Robert (Rob) Adams was first elected mayor of Sedona, Arizona, in 2008, after serving two years as an appointed city councilor. He cites as qualification his expertise in business, owning half a dozen various – from spa to horses. Currently he owns the Phoenix-based company Prasad Investments LLC, an entity formed to buy and sell real estate including commercial land, apartments, vacant residential land and homes. His other reported experience is his involvement with community organizations, not-for-profits and philanthropic groups. Adams holds a Bachelor’s degree in business.

Adams’ intent is to win a third term as mayor of Sedona, which, when completed, will give him eight years served on Council, six as mayor.

Adams is from Albuquerque, New Mexico, a Southwesterner at heart, married to Christine, a New Yorker, who also loves the Southwest.

At the January 19, 2012, DORR candidate forum, Adams spoke of eight accomplishments. He listed achievements of the city manager and staff as well as NAIPTA, ADOT and others as examples of what was accomplished during his City Council service. See the list:

1. Uptown, finishing up the redevelopment just as he came on board
2. Entering into the worst financial downturn in the lifetimes of the majority of us
3. Cutting the city budget by an aggressive 30 percent to balance the budget
4. Balanced budget was accomplished in 18 months
5. SR179 construction, in the midst of the financial downturn
6. Verde Transit
7. Installing sewer availability and improved storm water management in the Chapel Area
8. Accountability in government, including transparency, public outreach and sustainability initiatives

One of Adams’ stated goals is developing compassionate communication in Sedona–a goal not difficult to achieve if you try to please everybody.

In addition, Adams hopes to:

• Accelerate storm water management
• Focus on traffic
• Implement some of the excellent projects the Sustainability Commission has presented
• Develop a Center for Education in the Arts
• Dialogue with ADOT to achieve improved safety on 89A while ADOT retains control of the West Sedona corridor
• Visioning what could be developed at the Waste Water Treatment Plant, such as “multi-purpose athletic fields, a stage, a camping area, perhaps [an] ice rink,” according to an article published today in the Verde Independent.
• Civil discourse.
• National Scenic area, which he says we should start discussing with Congressional Candidate Ann Kirkpatrick (At a fundraiser in Sedona Wednesday night, Kirkpatrick made clear this was top on her priorities when elected and described the techniques she uses to get her bills passed, including having a person of the opposite party co-sign each bill, including the NSA.)

No one is running against Rob Adams to be Mayor. He won his second term by a landslide in 2010, but his popularity waned after he ran against the ADOT lights proposal in 2010, then voted in favor of the lights in order to avoid accepting ownership and financial incentives for the four-mile stretch in West Sedona.

Another plank in that campaign platform was listening to the people, which Adams claims to have adhered to more than he stuck to his promise to pursue every possible avenue to thwart the installation of 108 lights in a two-mile stretch. The lights were funded by a Federal grant and proposed by ADOT to be installed approximately where four jaywalkers (three reported by numerous bystanders and friends to be legally drunk) were killed over a six year period by being hit by automobiles.

Three of four other councilors elected on that same Responsible Leadership Endorsement voted in favor of accepting control of the highway in order to install safety measures that would operate 24 hours a day instead of a nighttime only option.

While as yet there are no registered write-in candidates, people have until February 2, 2012 to register to become a write-in candidate. Only write-ins for registered candidates will be counted.

Voting for an unopposed candidate is not required. Unless someone else steps up, Adams will serve a third term as mayor. Perhaps the public will decide to send him a message by leaving the box next to his name unmarked.