Tucson Is A Very Insecure City. By Emil Franzi THE FIRST--AND maybe last--elections for incorporation are over. The people of Casas Adobes voted to become a city, while the residents of the Catalina Foothills rejected the idea. It's time now for residents of the City of Tucson to take a hard look at the arguments used by their leaders against these proposed suburban incorporations. The debate revealed Tucson may be the most insecure city in the United States, a political entity devoid of civic pride. The righteous indignation expressed toward the very possibility of these proposed new communities ranged from arrogance to narcissism. The foes of incorporation, led by Tucson Mayor George Miller, generally argued the city couldn't afford to let the suburbs incorporate because it would "destroy" the City of Tucson. County residents were treated like escaping felons for opposing Tucson's annexation machine, instead of future citizens who require persuasion. It almost makes one think some Tucsonans believe their city is such a loser that it just couldn't make it without forcibly conscripting those who dwell immediately outside it. We didn't hear any Tucson official saying, "Join us because we're better." Instead, all the arguments were gloom and doom: Will it cost the city coffers a few bucks in reduced revenue sharing? Then it will somehow destroy arts programs. Does that tell us that Tucson thinks so little of them they'd be the first programs to be kissed good-bye during next economic down-turn? Do they really worry that the Tucson Symphony will get major competition from the Tortolita Philharmonic? And how about the argument that proposed new communities are "elitist enclaves?" Pretty odd coming from Tucson officials who are currently subsidizing a distant, elitist solar village called Civano at the expense of the inner city they claim will decay if new suburban communities are formed. We heard plenty from Miller, a leader so narrow and provincial that he whines about non-city residents using Tucson's roads and believes people who work and shop in Tucson while residing outside the city limits are somehow stealing from Tucson. The money spent by local non-residents when they buy the cars they drive on those roads is usually spent in the City of Tucson, and contributes a good piece of change to city sales-tax revenues. About a third of the city's sales taxes come from non-residents, whom the Mayor snarls at and apparently considers deadbeats. Miller reflects a city so lacking in self-esteem that he proposed two dramatic changes in the way Tucson currently functions--a city charter amendment to elect Council members by ward, and a freeze on zonings--to convince county voters to stop incorporations. The former would require a public vote and Council support; the latter is clearly illegal. Was he pandering or just desperate? We also heard the argument against "Balkanization." The problems in the Balkans, like the problems in the rest of the former colonial world, are caused by artificial boundaries imposed by a unitary oppressor. Were the Balkans better off when they were all under the rule of the Turks? The Turks thought so, but few others did. Should City of Tucson officials ultimately prevail in the courts and eliminate new incorporations in Casas Adobes and Tortolita, they will have only succeeded in permanently alienating thousands of Pima County residents and ultimately making Oro Valley and Marana into powerful civic rivals. Why are two big towns north of Tucson better for Tucson residents than four or five smaller ones? Is Tucson so threatened by Tortolita that the land should be consigned to Marana and Oro Valley so developers can build more strip malls and tract housing? Does having Foothills Mall in Marana instead of Casas Adobes somehow benefit the City of Tucson? The incorporation debate will continue, and so will annexation attempts by Tucson and other communities. But the real question is: Why would anybody want to be part of a city that thinks so little of itself?

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