I was admitted to the State Bar of Arizona in April 2026.
For detailed professional background, see LinkedIn at https://www.linkedin.com/in/rachaelsedgwick/ .
Thursday, April 23, 2026
Friday, October 27, 2023
UPDATED 10-Point Plan & Thoughts
Sedgwick for Santa Cruz County Supervisor
District 1
10-Point Plan
TRANSPARENCY
1. Include The Public in Decision-Making: Act to Form Committees & Associations
*County Committees to:
* Gather input & report to the Board
* Potential Community Committees:
* Board Agendas & Presentation Visibility Committee
* Board Meetings & Social Media (see below re streaming online)
* Building & Development (Industry) Committee
* Property Taxes & Truth in Taxation, Sales Taxes Committee
* Neighborhood Associations (see ACCOUNTABILITY) Committee
* Request Standing County Committee Agenda Item(s)
* Invite Committees to share input
* Board to discuss, determine action item if necessary
2. Limit Executive Sessions
* Take Oath of Transparency
* To use executive session only to ask sensitive or confidential legal questions that risk PUBLIC SAFETY or LEGAL LIABILITY, not to hide information from the public
* Place EXECUTIVE SESSION Agenda Item At End, Immediately Before Action Item
* OPEN MEETING LAW requires the Board of Sups to conduct public business in public.
--> The Board regularly retires to executive session immediately after administrative reports to the Board, and the Supervisors do not return to public meeting for hours. This makes it a very bad idea to attend Board meetings in person (most of us cannot take an entire day off work just in case the Supervisors need to have a 2- or 3- or 4-hour executive session in the middle of the Board meeting).
--> Several times (every time?), the Board has retired to Exec Session for so long that public attendees are kicked of Zoom and are thus essentially barred from attending the public portion of the meeting when the Supervisors actually discuss public action items and take votes. This is questionably illegal. It is certainly not in following the spirit of the Open Meeting Law.
3. Request: Board Policy for Zoning & Development & Other Proposals
* Consult County Committee:
* Collect input re: how Board should systematically research, consider, and approve or reject proposals.
* Publicly discuss and approve policy
* Follow policy with integrity
* Evaluate and update policy as necessary, based on community feedback
4. Request: Update & Maintain County Website
* Update links, archive outdated info, ensure no broken links
* Stream board meetings on website
* Use website to encourage TOURISM
* Not just to “walk where the conquistadors once walked,” but to enjoy:
* HIKING & NATURE,
* SHOPPING,
* BEST MEXICAN FOOD IN ARIZONA,
* HANDMADE CRAFTS &
* FESTIVALS
* Info in ENGLISH & SPANISH
5. Request: Stream Board Meetings Online
* Stream live board meetings on County website, social media (Facebook YouTube, Roku, etc.)
* Work with local news sources to encourage views, attendance, and involvement
* Stream other public meetings, as appropriate
3. Public’s Rights: The public has a right to: Public has no right to: Attend, Speak, Listen & Videotape A.R.S. § 38-431.02(A)(1) through (4).
ACCOUNTABILITY
6. Hold Open Office Hours at County Complex & Remote/On-Site
* Monday – Friday
* answer emails, phone calls
* LISTEN/RESPOND to criticism & concern
* Add action or discussion items to agenda when appropriate.
7. Request: Hire GRANT WRITER (1-year contract)
* After 1 year, position is grant funded
* Potential grants for Santa Cruz County:
* Early Child Education
* EXAMPLE: Pima County: Pima Early Education Program Scholarships (PEEPS)
* Conservation & Restoration
* EXAMPLE: See Grants.gov: National Fish Passage Program Bipartisan Infrastructure Law: Restoring River, Floodplain, and Coastal Connectivity and Resiliency
* EXAMPLE: See Grants.gov: Partners for Fish and Wildlife FY24
* Energy & Utilities
* EXAMPLE: See Grants.gov: SOLAR FOR ALL Infrastructure:
* EXAMPLE: Fiscal Year 2023 Building Resilient Infrastructure and Communities(BRIC)
8. PUBLIC-PRIVATE PARTNERSHIP
* Partner with local businesses & organizations to bring in additional funds
* Help develop Neighborhood Associations across SC County
* EXAMPLE: Kino Springs Golf Course
* FORM: Kino Springs Neighborhood Association
* Create teen clubhouse, invite food trucks, host farmer’s market
* Establish a shooting range near the Border on currently neglected lands
* Public-Private Partnership
* Find private or public/grant funds to open or purchase property
* FORM: Royal Road Neighborhood Association
* Partner with ADOT to develop timeline for fixing & updating roads so 2023 roads fiasco is NEVER repeated
* EXAMPLE: Monte Carlo
* FORM: Monte Carlo Neighborhood Association
* Partner with County Arts Programs Director to establish garden, park, paint murals
* EXAMPLE: Partner with for-profits, nonprofits, schools
* Develop community gardens in schools and neighborhoods across SC County
* EXAMPLE: Partner with Utility Companies
* Encourage wastewater usage; research, negotiate rebates to clients
* Encourage solar, wind, water power; rebates
* EXAMPLE: Partner with Railroad Companies & nonprofits
* Develop schedule of trains
* Use social media and apps (Sat Nav, etc.) to alert community of train crossings in advance
* Encourage social media: EXAMPLE: Nextdoor.com
PROGRESS
9. Work with administration to collect data & establish baseline for 2023 re:
* jobs,
* roads,
* development,
* conservation,
* technology
* etc.
10. Meet data-based goals with Neighborhood Association & County Committees
* S: specific
* What do we want to improve?
* Keep it Simple 😉
* M: measurable
* How will progress be measured?
* How will we know we progressed?
* A: achievable
* Is it possible to progress in this specific way?
* R: relevant
* Does it matter?
* How will things improve if when we succeed?
* T: time-based
* Exactly how long will/should it take?
* Use a calendar
* Set measurable intervals
* Baby steps
***RINSE & REPEAT: Gauge progress, set new goals
* Use data to ensure progress
* Include community surveys.
* Plot & present data
* create visuals for community to understand how, why we are progressing
* establish/reestablish priorities
* Use data to set new goals
THOUGHTS
Many people have reached out after hearing that I'm running for Supervisor in Santa Cruz County. Many are congratulatory and excited at the idea of bringing a capable, educated woman onto the Board. However, several people have pointed out that they will take a wait-and-see approach because the current District 1 Supervisor has been in office for 27 years. "He's been in office soooo long," as if that is somehow a good reason to keep him in office.
In the past 27 years, Santa Cruz County has stagnated, in terms of jobs, development, and opportunities to thrive. I do not claim that this is entirely the responsibility of the D1 Supervisor; however, he is one of the most senior local politicians in SC County and has had more capacity than 99% of the people in this County to do something beneficial for us.
What has been done? I believe an INNOVATION CORRIDOR was promised long ago, but it has yet to appear and there are no plans apparent.
In 2017, the following were identified as challenges and opportunities in SC County by (See https://www.ams.usda.gov/sites/default/files/media/LFLPNogalesAZ.pdf):
In 2023, the same challenges and opportunities remain. If you are ready to tackle some of these challenges and opportunities, support my campaign.
Reach out if you want to sign my petition to get on the ballot or send a small donation. Thank you!
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