small. According to his campaign platform he wants nothing

less than to make Sedona a world model for the environment,

spirituality, the arts, and sustainability. Like the famous line in

you build it [the tourists] will come," and Sedona's

environment and residents will be healthier for it.

And with Washington to Wall Street focused on renewable

energies like solar, wind, and ethanol; and supporters like

Olympic skier Suzy "Chapstick" Chaffee in his corner (Ms.

Chaffee is running for the Sedona City Council), it's hard to

doubt him. That's why he's running for Mayor of Sedona.

But big thinking doesn't seem to paralyze Mr. Turner's ability to

get things done. He seems to know that the secret to success

is to proceed in small increments.

As founder of the environmental group Green Sedona, Mr. Turner successfully

petitioned the City of Sedona to use alternative herbicides instead of regular herbicides;

not only to protect the environment but our health. Wisely, he didn't ask the Council to

create a blanket City ordinance banning the use of regular herbicides, which some

might have done. Instead, he suggested that the City do a test for six months: manual

weeding, alternative herbicides like C-Cide (Vitamin C based), and investigate longer

term solutions like rubber concrete or netting. At the same time, he rallied residents

and the media around his cause and succeeded.

More recently, he did the same thing when he convinced the Sedona City Council to

support the use of natural cleaning products at City Hall. Not everywhere in Sedona,

just City Hall.

Today, environmental issues are a top agenda for the Sedona City Council.

As you would expect Mr. Turner also supports Sedona becoming a National Scenic Area

to preserve its open spaces, solar lighting on 89A instead of 76 light poles to protect

Sedona's dark skies, bike lanes and hybrid cars, and he wants Sedona to be the first

solar city in America to reduce greenhouse gasses and end its dependence on nonrenewable

oil. To fund the latter, he is proposing to utilize renewable energy incentives

(i.e. production tax credits, investment rebates, and renewable energy certificates)

Matthew Turner is the

founder of

GreenSedona,org, a nonprofit

environmental

organization seeking to

make Sedona a world-wide

model for environmental

sustainability, spirituality,

and the arts. He recently

announced his candidacy

for Mayor of Sedona.

with interest), the Citizenrē Corporation pays for, installs, owns and operates solar

panel installation for your home. Your contract is for 1, 5 or 25 years and the energy

savings from the solar panels will offset your regular utility bill.

But is Mr. Turner a one-message candidate? Does he have the experience and breadth

of knowledge to lead the City of Sedona? Checking through his platform issues

suggests that the environment isn't the only thing on his mind.

According to Mr. Turner, "the budget is the most important issue facing the City, we

can't do anything without revenue. The City of Sedona is facing major infrastructure

projects such as roads (89A), sewer, storm drainage and the like; not to mention the

funds already raised to pay for enhancements along SR179. How will the City pay for

these projects that are so important to its citizens?

Increasing the Bed Tax would be a good way of increasing revenue. There are other

cities in Arizona that have higher Bed Taxes than we do.

I would also support the issuance of a General Obligation bond. The proceeds of the

bond could be used to help fund these projects while spreading out the repayment

obligation over time so that the City can repay it in a reasonable manner out of its

regular revenue. This should help the City avoid raising taxes that impact its citizens.

I also think the City needs to take a hard look as its expenses. Take the Roadrunner

trolley, for instance. This is costing taxpayers $365,000 per year. Very few use this for

transportation. The City should have waited until the SR179 construction was finished

because there will be sidewalks and a pedestrian bridge. These may be sufficient to

help tourists circulate through Sedona's shopping districts.

I also believe that as Sedona becomes a model city when I am Mayor, that we will

attract world-wide media attention that will increase visitors and revenue. I don't think

we will need to rely on other sources of revenue when the City becomes a model city

and draws more tourist dollars. Going green will actually save the City money. For

example we saved the city $22,000 a year by switching to green cleaning and natural

pesticides."