FOLLOWING THE MONEY:
WHY
BIG BUSINESS BACKS PIMA BONDS
By Albert Vetere
Lannon
O
what a tangled web we weave / When first we practice to deceive
--Sir
Walter Scott
The
Yes On Pima County Bonds Committee’s expensive website
(http://www.yesonpimacountybonds.com/) states on every page, “Major
Funding Provided by Diamond Ventures Inc.” Why is millionaire real
estate developer Don Diamond so interested in the bond propositions
to be voted on November 3? It may be the result of the “love fest”
between Diamond and Pima County Administrator Chuck Huckelberry
(Arizona Daily Star,
5/18/14), or it may just be about money, politics and crony
capitalism.
The
Yes Committee is chaired by corporate lawyer Lawrence Hecker. Hecker
has been involved in local politics for years, chaired the Bond
Advisory Committee, and served as Governor Bruce Babbitt’s
Chief-of-Staff when the National Guard was sent to Morenci with tanks
to break the 1983 Phelps-Dodge copper strike.
The
Yes Committee’s treasurer is retired Raytheon Chief Financial
Officer Steve Eggen, recently chair of the TREO business group and
now a “business consultant.”
The
$816 million bonds include a number of gifts to the private companies
and property owners these guys consort with: A Y for the Fortune 500
companies at the University of Arizona Tech Park, two business
start-up facilities, and expansion of the University Medical Center,
now merged with the private Banner Health Corporation operating 28
hospitals in seven states,
The
largest single amount, $95 million, is for unspecified purchases of
“open space.” Without a listing of the specific properties, it
looks like a repeat of 2004 when bond money enriched some real estate
speculators and took properties off the tax rolls, shifting the
burden to homeowners (Arizona Daily
Independent, 3/20/15).
There
is also $5 million for expansion of Davis-Monthan. A few years ago
the county bought some land to expand the air base from Don Diamond
for 200 times its assessed value (Arizona
Daily Independent).
THE ‘SONORAN CORRIDOR’
Chuck
Huckelberry is a champion of the Interstate 11 “Intermountain West
Corridor/Canamex Highway” and has proposed a 56-mile route through
the Avra Valley west of Tucson. That
would bring urban sprawl into a rural valley, families forced from
their homes, traffic noise and air pollution and their effects on
health, impacts on wildlife and archeological sites, potential
groundwater contamination, loss of tourist dollars due to pollution
and noise at Saguaro National Park, the Desert Museum, Kitt Peak,
Ironwood Forest National Monument, etc., and the end of a peaceful
way of life that has lasted for thousands of years.
While
temporary construction jobs would be created, there would be a loss
of permanent jobs along the existing I-10 corridor. According
to ADOT’s numbers, it would also cost three times what
double-decking a few miles of I-10 would cost to accomplish the same
traffic ends.
Huckelberry
inserted the “Sonoran Corridor” into the bond package and Senator
John McCain, with the support of the entire Arizona Congressional
delegation, introduced federal legislation to make the road an
interstate highway.
Originally county maps
showed the highway linking I-10 and I-19 west of I-19 as “I-11,”
but that provoked a reaction from Avra Valley residents, hundreds of
whom pledged to oppose any bonds with I-11 money in them. Most
media attention has been directed to Phase 1 of the Sonoran Corridor,
not-quite-linking I-10 and I-19 for the benefit of Raytheon, the UA
Tech Park, and the Tucson Airport.
Phase 2, however, drops
south right alongside a planned 3000-acre Swan Southlands housing
development on land owned by Diamond Ventures. Phase 3 goes west to
connect with I-19 – and Huckelberry’s proposed Avra Valley I-11
route. It also duplicates a long-planned El Toro Corridor ADOT and
Sahuarita have been working on.
In preparation for Phase
1, Pima County has already bought 382 undeveloped acres near Raytheon
from Diamond and others for $6 million (Arizona
Daily Independent). Critics acknowledge the
missile company’s economic importance to the area, but question
whether public funds should be used to benefit a private corporation
reporting billions in profits.
IT’S A SMALL WORLD
Huckelberry,
as Pima County Administrator – at over $300,000 yearly the highest
paid county employee -- has dealt with real estate powerhouse Don
Diamond and his Diamond Ventures as both ally and adversary.
Huckelberry and Diamond have served together in many civic groups.
Huckelberry has been among the select few invited to Diamond’s
exclusive birthday bashes, and has described Diamond as “extremely
influential…he’s a smart, crafty and intelligent individual.”
The
New
York Times
described Diamond as “Arizona’s answer to Donald Trump – an
outsized personality who invites public officials aboard his flotilla
of yachts (the Ace, King, Jack and Queen of Diamonds), specializes in
deals with the government, and unabashedly solicits support for his
business interests from the recipients of his campaign
contributions.” Those include Senator John McCain (4/22/08).
Among
Diamond’s legal counsel is the Tucson-based firm of Lewis &
Roca. Real estate lawyer and L&R partner Si Schorr, who has
worked for Diamond, chaired the State Transportation Board in 2008
when approval for a “major investment study” of an I-10 bypass
through the Avra Valley was rammed through. According to Inside
Tucson Business,
Chuck Huckelberry supported Schorr’s bypass. Schorr now supports
I-11. It’s a small world.
Wilford
(Wil) Cardon is a multi-millionaire real estate investor based in
Mesa. He ran unsuccessfully in Republican primaries for U.S. Senate
in 2012 and Arizona Secretary of State in 2014. Prominent on his
campaign committee were Don Diamond and Diamond Ventures president
David Goldstein.
Cardon’s
companies own large chunks of vacant land in the path of
Huckelberry’s Avra Valley highway. According to Pinal County
records, Cardon’s BOA Sorte Company owns 175 acres in the Casa
Grande area, where Huckelberry’s highway would begin.
In
Pima County Arizona Corporation Commission and County Assessor
filings show that Cardon’s companies own at least eight parcels
with over 1500 acres along various parts of Sandario Road – near
Amway, Picture Rocks, Manville, Ajo and Valencia Roads. Clearly,
Cardon stands to make a chunk of money if the Huckelberry Highway
goes forward.
And
it may be that the speculators, realizing that continuing drought
will limit the projected 11 percent Pima County growth the bond
proposals are based on, want to make sure they get a return on their
investment now, before Colorado River water gets rationed. Future
developments like Swan Southlands are worthless desert without water.
Cardon
– Diamond – Huckelberry – Hecker – Eggen – Schorr –
McCain – Sonoran Corridor - I-11 – Raytheon – Banner
Corporation - Pima Bonds: It’s a tangled web, but the links are
clear. It’s a shame that taxpayers are being manipulated into
giving more of their hard-earned wages to keep the big boys laughing
all the way to the bank.
Yes
on Pima County Bonds: http://www.yesonpimacountybonds.com/.
Taxpayers
Against Pima Bonds: http://pimabondfacts.com/stop_high_taxes.html.
Albert Vetere
Lannon is a member of the Avra Valley Coalition opposing an I-11
route through the Avra Valley. He can be contacted at
albertlannon@powerc.net.
No comments:
Post a Comment