Biden Border Policy Threatens Tucson’s [Un]incorporated Metro

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A Normandy-style border wall and barbed wire fencing secures the U.S. Mexico border near Sasabe, Arizona [Photo courtesy Rep. Bob Thorpe]

Imagine for a moment, you live in a large, southern Arizona Metro (pop. 1.1+ million, ~1300 sq. miles).  A part of is less than 36 miles from the US Border, which is being assaulted daily by illegal invaders.  Your national government actually promotes this with a willful strategy of neglect, based upon its own cynical political agenda.  This Metro you live in is only partially policed, because nearly 40% of it is UN-INCORPORATED.

Of course, this is Tucson, the “Dirty T,” as the college kids say.

Moreover, the sole law enforcement you do have, the local Pima County Sheriff, must also cover the remaining county of appx. ~7900 sq. miles, stretching some ~140 miles further west.

The un-incorporated parts of this Tucson City Metro (nearly ~400,000 people) are broken down into some 12 official U.S. “Census Designated Places” (CDP), which are mostly contiguous, save for one (GreenValley).  Half of these CDPs could be combined into 3 standalone cities of more than 60,000+ people, each.

These 3 hypothetically-combined cities, were they to incorporate, currently generate so much sales tax revenue (now plundered by the County), they would not need any additional taxes whatsoever.  Moreover, their complementary locations, lifestyles, cultures, and any future development, allows for a myriad of local government efficiencies.  So much so, that Pima County government is simply terrified of the prospect they might incorporate.

In fact, it has been the single unspoken dictum of the entire Huckleberry 29 year reign as County Administrator, “No more municipal incorporations.”

One would think any serious, pro-Tucson professional, political, or economic group that could fog a mirror, could have figured this out long ago, huh? 

And yet, people consistently lament how passive & clueless Tucson is….well, duh-oh!  It’s structured to be passive & clueless; change the structure and you change the outcome.  Those in denial, (i.e. ‘I want a small college town in the mountains’), need to ride around the Metro; take an entire day.  Hopefully,  you can understand what you’re really seeing.  If you cannot, move to Flagstaff, Boulder, or better yet, Asheville NC.

All of this is potential good news.  With some visionary leadership, the absolute possibility for a booming and capable Tucson in what’s left of the 21st century, in a southwestern location with Baja access to the Pacific, could greatly stand to benefit from a [newly] reordered world economy.  That last part is happening before our eyes.

But the dark side is equally troubling.  If the Biden Administration cannot immediately be brought to heel over its insane border policy, Tucson will be first on the receiving end, and all kinds of negative consequences.  We’re starting to see them now, and the demographic wave is just a ripple.  This one fact alone may end up being the single biggest reason for these orphaned Tucson CDPs to incorporate.

Except this time, “better late than never” won’t work.

Related Works:

PimaCo’s 12 Sad Tax Milkcows

3 Muni Combos End PimaCo’s Corrupt Reign

Muni Incorps Opportunity for Young, New Leaders

 Sellers is a Southpark Republican living in incorporated Oro Valley; his background is federal technology commercialization

About Bill Sellers 105 Articles
Sellers is a South Park Republican who lives in incorporated Oro Valley. His background is federal tech-transfer commercialization. Contact him at readbill19@usa.net Sellers is also a grad of Clemson's Architecture School and the University of NC School of Business. He was a founding member of the Albuquerque Friday Morning Breakfast Group which elected numerous conservatives. He has lived in the SouthWest & PacNorthWest more than 40 yrs.