Page 11 - the NOISE September 2014

STORY BY
CLAIR ANNA ROSE
PHOTO BY
RENE R. RIVAS
When Celia Barotz came to Flagstaff in 1999, she began looking for opportunities to become involved in the community. She served for several years on the Coconino County and the City of Flagstaff Planning & Zoning Com- missions, as well as a number of other city commissions and task forces. In 2009, community members began calling Ms. Barotz, asking if she would consider running for City Council. She considered the idea carefully and in 2009 decided to run, got to work, and surprised herself by coming in first in 2010 and being selected Vice Mayor for the next two years.
“I look back now and recognize that for me, there was real value in working my way up. By serving on a variety of com- missions and task forces I developed relationships with staff and other citizens, learned how the city process works, and got a great education on some of the big issues,” Ms. Barotz says. “When I ran for council I felt many in Flagstaff under- stood where I was coming from, and that they knew me and had something upon which they could base their vote. Once I got into office, I wanted to show the voters they were right in placing their confidence in me.”
There is a steep learning curve when you join council and Ms. Barotz understands the amount of work it takes. She says, “Learning how to govern takes time. Now I have experience and institutional memory. My law, real estate, land use, and media- tion experience have really helped me a lot in my council work.”
For Ms. Barotz, listening is extremely important. “I try to be an active listener, to get at what people are saying and to un- derstand their arguments,” she shares. “I go the extra mile to connect with citizens. I’ve worked hard to link people to their city government. It’s true that I spend a lot of time calling people back, meeting with constituents, and trying to answer their questions. I want people to feel heard and know that I care what they have to say.”
That elected officials should reflect the whole community is important to Ms. Barotz. She is always considering how she can represent the largest number of people and doesn’t be- lieve in representing a small group of people at the expense of the larger community.
“The City Council doesn’t always agree on the big policy questions, but we make decisions and we move forward. We are not paralyzed by our differences,” Ms. Barotz explains. “The City Council is in charge of setting city policy. The first thing I learned, after being sworn in, was that the definition of a policy question is one for which there is no right answer. I am always mindful of the fact that although we all believe very strongly in our views, there is no one right answer.”
“While I might not have always agreed with the majority on council, I am proud of the fact that I have pushed hard on important issues serving with two different City Councils and today we see those decisions influencing the direction of this community,” Ms. Barotz says. “We passed the non-discrimina-
FLAGSTAFF COUNCILMEMBER CELIA BAROTZ: ASSESSING HER FIRST TERM &
Regional Plan should inform all of our policy decisions and not just land use,” she says. “Water is an important subject of discussion,” she expresses further. “The questions about our water supply are far from resolved. We adopted a water policy, which is an excellent start, but that’s not the end of the conversation. We have plenty of unanswered questions about how we might further treat our reclaimed wastewater and how much it would cost, and whether it makes any sense to build the Red Gap pipeline. In 2015, the City Council will once again be revisiting water rates and seeking public input on whether we should change them.”
“Traffic congestion is a huge problem,” Ms. Barotz expresses. “It will take time to figure out the solutions and how we will pay for them. The conversation can’t start soon enough.”
Ms. Barotz supports the city’s economic gardening efforts that include the business incubator (NACET) and the new business accelerator currently under construction, as well as a host of other initiatives designed to strengthen the econo- my such as the Economic Collaborative of Northern Arizona (ECONA), the STEM Consortium, the construction of the APS substation that will provide power to the Airport Business Park, the search for a second airline, and the business expan- sion/attraction revolving loan fund.
Ms. Barotz shares her hopes for Flagstaff’s future. “As we grow we should be very mindful of what makes Flagstaff so special,” she states. “As we make policy choices, we must be sensitive to why people choose to live here. We don’t want to wake up in 20 years and suddenly realize that all of the things that bring people to Flagstaff have disappeared. This means we have to weigh our choices carefully. There’s no doubt we’re growing and changing, but I sense that many in Flag- staff want our leaders to make sure we make sensible choices that reflect a measured approach, and we remain very mind- ful of the many things that make Flagstaff unique.”
“Week in and week out, when I’m driving home from City Hall late on Tuesday nights after long meetings and difficult decisions, and the streets are quiet and the stars are high in the beautiful dark sky, I frequently think about how much I love Flagstaff,” Ms. Barotz says. “I think a lot about the ques- tions that come before council. I’ve put my heart and soul into my council work for the last four years and I hope the voters will give me the opportunity to continue in this leader- ship role. There’s not much in life that is certain, but one thing I know for sure is that the voters can count on me to work just as hard in the next four years as I have for the last four to make choices consistent with the values many cherish and are right for Flagstaff.”
| Clair Anna Rose has made sure her voter registration is current. clairannarose@gmail.com
LOOKING FORWARD
tion ordinance, re-wrote the entire zoning code, which included streamlining the approval process and adding a host of afford- able housing incentives. We continue to invest in creating a cli- mate where entrepreneurs can succeed, ensuring Flagstaff is an attractive place to do business without completely dismantling our regulatory framework. We came out of the great recession able to maintain our service levels even though we cut our bud- get. We have maintained our commitment to our social safety net through the service contracts with agencies, which help the most vulnerable among us. We’ve done an excellent job of maintaining our tourism revenues during the recession. We’ve restored city employee salaries, which had been cut during the recession and we’re addressing the staffing issues unique to the police department.”
Other accomplishments of the City Council during Ms. Barotz’s term include a ban on texting while driving, huge growth in ridership of NAIPTA, our public transit system, the wildly successful Mountain Link route that goes through NAU campus, a rainwater harvesting ordinance, the installation of solar panels on three city facilities, and the adoption of our new Regional Plan 2030. The council preserved Picture Can- yon and Observatory Mesa and by the time this article is pub- lished, the council will have taken the final step to ensure the 26 acres adjacent to Buffalo Park and the Shultz ‘Y’ parcel are permanently protected.
Ms. Barotz shares that a powerful memory from her first term was the rally against SB 1062, the state legislation bill that would have permitted businesses to discriminate against gay and lesbian customers based on their personal religious beliefs. “I remember the moment I was reading about the bill and I thought that we, as a community, needed to hold a rally and make a bold statement against it. The idea spread like wildfire on Facebook and in less than 72 hours several hundred like-minded people gathered in front of City Hall to express their opposition,” she recounts. Governor Brewer ulti- mately vetoed the bill.
Ms. Barotz explains what she believes the City Council should focus on in the next few years, “We should continue to look at how we can ensure over the longer term that we can provide the city services that people have come to expect within the limitations of our revenue stream,” she says. The council must always go the extra mile to ensure accessibility, accountability and transparency. I’m proud of the fact we’re going to be posting council votes online, which we have nev- er done before, so that citizens can go back and see how their elected officials voted. I would like us to look at more creative ways we can help people connect to city government.”
When she ran for City Council in 2010, Ms. Barotz talked a lot about the importance of the re-write of the Regional Plan that would happen during her term. Now that a new plan has been adopted, she feels it is important to implement it. “The
PROFILE
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