Our last opinion piece about the business sector taking an active role in the election process, took on a life of it’s own. The Pima County Democratic Party put out a press release painting the article as extremist, right-wing activism. We quote: “Tucson is a progressive city. It cares about its people and its environment, inviting business to the table but refusing to let them buy the table and hog it for themselves. Tucsonans aren’t going to stand for the ranters to rule.” The Tea Party group shot back and the AZ Star picked up the entire saga. We’d like to thank all the above for giving a couple local radio talk show hosts such great material. ‘If we’re taking flak, we’re over the target’ is our motto.
You’ll note that the article didn’t mention political parties or candidates. We didn’t call for the head of a democrat and we didn’t put forth a republican savior. Tucson’s issues supersede politics. But years of ineffective political leadership from both parties have delivered us smack dab at the edge of very big cliff. The absence of a true small business voice has led this community to some ruinous decisions.
The American Dream and Small Business
Most people want a good job that pays the bills and leaves some money leftover for the retirement fund. They want to leave their job, help the kids with the homework and sit down to a quiet family dinner. People want to raise their children in a safe community that shares their values. We all want a home, neighborhood and city to be proud of. For most people the American Dream is simple.
The reality is that this simple American Dream is funded by small business. Over 90% of Tucson’s private sector jobs are created by small business. The priorities of our small businesses and of local families are importantly interwoven. You want to talk about social justice and progressive politics – how about putting people to work? What’s good for the families of Tucson is a healthy business environment that includes lower taxes, an even-handed and quick development review process, low crime rates and transparent government. Healthy families need a local government who views small business as an important asset to a healthy community. Sadly, instead of creating a system that benefits us all our local politicos make it easy for a select chosen few. These preferred Players unfortunately run the show.
Who is the Player?
The Player knows which political butts to kiss and who to write the campaign checks to. The Player gets their projects through quicker, they get rent discounts, street lights, public art, artist lofts, $1 building leases and underpasses designed to accommodate their properties. The Player gets light rail stops, their land purchased for public projects, old fire stations for modern museums. Their development projects include payouts to artist groups or youth centers. The Players take bed tax dollars and pass them to non-profits without a second thought to their private stakeholders. The Player acts as a consultant one day and casts the key vote on the panel that decides how to spend your tax money the next. The Player knows the game so well that they stack the deck, count the cards and watch the suckers fall by the way side.
Economic recovery cannot and will not happen without a measurable up tick in good old American entrepreneurial spirit. Does Tucson welcome that spirit? Do we as a community go above and beyond to lay out the welcome mat? Is our taxing and regulatory environment geared to encourage the risk taker?
So what is the average business owner or citizen to do? As we move through early ballot season of the local elections, look very carefully at the candidates and the incumbents. Have our incumbents helped to create a playing field that serves the Player or the small business community as a whole? Have you seen your city council taking their photo ops with the Players? Have players benefited above and beyond the average small business owners?
The Age of the Players has grown full circle under the Rio Nuevo mess. The electorate is now aware of the back room deals and the voters can connect the dots and are asking tough questions. Your time to make a decision is upon us. Early ballots were mailed out last week and polls open November 3rd. Get the facts, research the candidate’s propositions. Wake Up Tucson, look at the direction of our community and do your part.
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Joe,
I just saw you on the news speaking at today’s Tea Party event.
Then I saw a cut away of someone holding an image of Obama as the “Joker” with “socialist” printed underneath.
Joe, you are not fooling anyone with your claim to be critical of both parties.
At first I was only disappointed in you. You WERE seen as a credible, independent person. You had such promise. Now I am just disgusted with you.
It is so obvious that you sold out. Or maybe, sadly, you were never a unique voice of reason to begin with.
You can’t have it both ways, Joe. You don’t show consistency.
For example, you could have been more specific about which Democratic candidates work with those “players” you mention and which do not.
You could have pointed out which Democratic candidate acted more independently and actually took on those same “players” you mention.
But you didn’t do that.
What you did do is come out of nowhere and provide a “soft” endorsement of the Republicans in a very calculated manner–the same Republicans that are connected to those “players” you profess to dislike so much.
And then you attended, participated and (it appears) helped organize this Tea Party event.
Joe, you chose a side when you didn’t have to. But, what is worse, at the beginning you were trying to do something different that was beyond choosing sides, beyond partisan politics.
But, nah, in the end you sold out. In the end you chose a side.
You chose to stand with Tea Party extremists.
I used to say, “Nah, Joe is not like those hateful people. Give him a break. Yeah, he is a Republican. A conservative. But he is also smart. Independent. He has integrity.”
Not anymore.
Sandra–Part of your problem and many that you hang out with is that any thought other than yours is automatically the wrong opinion because it does not come out of your playbook. You guys have little debate even within your own party and when a dem does have the guts to speak up the reply from your minions is “shut up.” The liberal movement will eventually die off partly due to this sort of thinking.
So when I see you referring to Joe as a “sell out” I hope he would wear that as a badge of honor since if he wasn’t saying something that pissed you off enough to call him a name he must not be doing a very good job.
Have a great Arizona day………
Sandra – Keep checking back for detailed PLAYER reports. We’ve asked all of our authors on Tucson Choices to post any and all of the stories or back room deals about the Players. You’ll be surprised at a few of them and maybe even agree with some.
Hopefully we can get most of the stories posted before the elections. We know the mainstream media checks in on this blog. Hopefully they’ll run with a few of these Player Reports and do their own in depth stories. We’ll be sure to cover them on our radio show right up until election time.
I’ll repost old articles we’ve run in the past from various authors to kick off the series.
Thanks for reading and leaving a comment.
Joe
You are welcome, Joe. Enjoy the rest of your Sunday.
I know you pretty much have chosen to close ranks with your Republican friends now.
Having Bruce Ash defend you is not helping you. Maybe he is helping your base, but he is also pushing away what is left of your ever shrinking list of moderate friends.
The unfortunate thing is that, after the elections are over (regardless of winners or losers), you will never regain the respect you once had by both conservatives and progressives.
That part is over.
But please do keep the Player reports coming and keep pretending you didn’t once equally attribute these little back room deals to both Democrats and Republicans.
SALC, Realtors Association, Diamond, Click, Mike Hein supporters, Ash, Senator Paton, Goodman, Studwell, etc., etc.—this is a short list of your old, and some of your new, friends.
Looks like you will need to set more places at the table for Thanksgiving dinner this year.
Ahh, but your new friends can afford to pay for everything (and then some) so you will be ok.
“took on a life of it’s own”
it’s is a conjunction – it is. In this instance, you want the pronoun, its.
Will edit copy for food…
At one point in time the British considered the original Tea Party participants colonial extremists; however, we have come to know these early Americans as simply a handful of the first American Patriots. Taxation without representation (or quite simply accountability) is what spurred this rebellious act and today is considered one of the key events in the American Revolutionary movement. This movement created a country that allowed its people to “change their stripes” on the laurels of their creativity, hard work, and determination: as a result Americans have lived like no other people in the world. We are the beacon of hope for all of the oppressed around the world and you call us extremists when we try to hold our government accountable for putting our country into economic oppression.
I call this Patriotism at its finest.
This is not a right wing, left wing, socialist, conservative, progressive, regressive, suppressive, or whatever else people are calling themselves these days: this movement is about what is right.
Thank you for all of your hard work and I am sorry you lost a friend Joe but you have gained a friend in me. I hope that you save me a seat for Thanksgiving; i’ll bring Tea and Crumpets.
At one point in time the British considered the original Tea Party participants colonial extremists; however, we have come to know these early Americans as simply a handful of the first American Patriots. Taxation without representation (or quite simply accountability) is what spurred this rebellious act and today is considered one of the key events in the American Revolutionary movement. This movement created a country that allowed its people to “change their stripes” on the laurels of their creativity, hard work, and determination: as a result Americans have lived like no other people in the world. We are the beacon of hope for all of the oppressed around the world and you call us extremists when we try to hold our government accountable for putting our country into economic oppression.
I call this Patriotism at its finest.
This is not a right wing, left wing, socialist, conservative, progressive, regressive, suppressive, or whatever else people are calling themselves these days: this movement is about what is right.
Thank you for all of your hard work and I am sorry you lost a friend Joe but you have gained a friend in me. I hope that you save me a seat for Thanksgiving; i’ll bring Tea and Crumpets.
OH! You’re my new favorite blogger fyi
Reading the article and many of the others in a similar vein over that last few months I’m reminded that for an individual business owner you are going to do what you have to do to keep your business up and running. If the political environment created by the powers that be means you have to become a player or ‘rig’ the system to your favor. You’re gonna do so. While the actions of the ‘player’ may be reprehensible or an insult to most I can’t really place the blame on a business owner. They’re playing the game created by the political class.
Wouldn’t it be nice if the ‘game’ was a simple one. The political class kept their noses and minds concentrated on the things the citizens hired them to do… good roads, good police protection, good fire protection… Then the business wouldn’t need to payoff the corrupt. You might actually create an environment where people want to expand and grow a business that concentrates its efforts on running the business and not on finding ways to pay more to a system that is all about who knows who and who needs something ‘special’ to grease the skids and get things done.
Maybe its just a dream of the delusional.
Sandra Barnes. You think the people who attend Tea Parties are extremists? Really? Have you attended one at all? Or are you too scared to? What a joke!
And you must not listen to their radio show (Joe and Chris) if you think they only go after Dems. Mayor Walkup is criticized just as much if not more than the rest of the group. I only get to listen once or twice a week and can figure that out.
From listening (to their radio program) and reading (this blog), Joe and Chris are truly for small business (maybe just business in general). And the current city council is about as far from it as possible. If “moderates” cant see this, then the heck with them.
No need to defend Bruce Ash, he does a great job speaking for himself. Keep it up Bruce.
Just my opinions…
–Charlie W.