By Bruce Ash
Tucson used to say yes ……..to opportunities. Yes………to new jobs. Yes………..to new high quality development. Yes……….to bold new plans that create jobs and wealth.
We can recall when our city council understood democrat John Kennedy’s axiom that a rising tide raises all boats. When we were saying YES it worked here. Lots of business owners made a lot of money and so did all of their employees. Tucson believed in the 5 C’s—COPPER, COTTON, CATTLE, CITRUS and CLIMATE. As a result the car dealers, the hotels, newspapers, builders, retailers were all flush. Employees saw personal assets rising as well as their income. Tucson’s institutions were being built and whether it was the symphony, spring baseball, professional golf tournaments or a new skyscraper. Tucson had arrived and all of us were ecstatic about our town’s bright future. Not so these days.
The first act the new city council voted on last December declared a climate emergency to create a green and sustainable city authority controlled under UN Agenda 21. But the city cannot multi task. It does not fix the roads–they blame others. And the street medians are still filled with weeds. The council opposes good jobs today the same way they chased out Motorola and ended the Butterfield Cross-town Freeway.
I am not deliberately trying to be critical. We desire constructive progress–not promises. NOW is the time to finally say YES again.
Yes to making Tucson a safe place. Yes to developing all our resources. Yes to new jobs under the 5 C’s. Yes to beautifying the city. Yes to creating opportunity.
Yes we can do better and we must but our future all starts with YES.