Sandra Moriarty
Mayor, City of Sedona
I was born and raised in Seattle, Washington, where I graduated from the University of Washington with a B.A. in Economics. I moved to Sedona in January of 1972, when Sedona was a town of about 4,000, unincorporated, and split between two counties. I worked for the local branch of the Phoenix CPA firm, Walker & Armstrong, LLP, for 31 years, and I am now a self-employed accountant.
Soon after coming to Sedona, I became involved in getting Sedona incorporated. Sedona was already growing, and I thought we needed to make our own decisions rather than have Flagstaff or Prescott control our future. Incorporating Sedona was not an easy task, as state legislation had to be passed to allow us to incorporate across county lines. Voters finally approved incorporation in a December 1987 election, and in January of 1988, the City of Sedona became a reality.
I am proud to have been a member of the first appointed City Council. Meetings were quite different in those days, with no staff in place, no ordinances and no City Hall. By the time we turned things over to the first elected Council five months later, we had a City Clerk, a City Manager, a Police Chief, a sales tax and bed tax, a City Hall and a well-operating city government.
I have always followed City government in Sedona and over the years have volunteered for a variety of organizations and activities, including AYSO (youth soccer), Good Morning Sedona, Southwest Public Recycling Association and the Verde Valley Wine Consortium. I’ve found volunteering to be educational and rewarding, and I always find I get back more than I give. My philosophy is that if you want to see something happen, be a part of making it happen. Sedona is fortunate to have a robust and dedicated cadre of volunteers.
I am especially proud of being one of the “founders” of the City of Sedona, one of the founders of Sedona Recycles, and a founder of Sedona Winefest, which has become one of Sedona’s signature events. All of these were accomplished by working with many other dedicated, wonderful people who shared my goals. That is one of the most important skills I bring to my candidacy for Mayor. I will continue to work with others, including the other members of the City Council, to keep Sedona on the path to excellence.
