Amber Smith OP-ED: Tucson Has Become the Bullies It Claims to Stand Against
Editor’s note (August 15, 2025): The debate over Project Blue isn’t over. The conversation continues with Amber Smith’s op-ed, taking aim at Tucson’s decision, warning of lasting consequences for the region’s economic future, and the need for collaboration instead of confrontation. The following is the opinion and analysis of the writer:
Project Blue was a once-in-a-generation opportunity: a $3.6 billion data-center campus promising 3,000 construction jobs, 180 permanent positions averaging $64,000 a year, and a major investment in reclaimed water infrastructure, including an 18-mile pipeline and aquifer recharge facility. This wasn’t a vague proposal—it was the product of years of due diligence and negotiation, with concrete commitments that would have strengthened Tucson’s infrastructure for decades.
And yet, on August 6, the Tucson City Council abruptly shut it down. In a meeting that devolved into jeers, shouting, and victory chants from opponents, council members voted unanimously to end all talks and halt annexation. The developers walked out. The scene wasn’t a model of civic engagement—it was a display of disrespect that made national headlines, not for our vision, but for our inability to uphold basic decorum.
This failure isn’t just about one project. It’s about a pattern. Tucson’s leadership says they want to fund transformative priorities: free public transit, housing the unhoused, higher pay for public safety, and safer roads. But there are only two ways to do that—grow the tax base or raise taxes.
Last spring, voters overwhelmingly rejected Proposition 414, a sales tax increase for public safety, housing, and climate resilience, by a 70–30 margin. The message was clear: residents don’t trust the city to prioritize core services like parks, police, fire, and road maintenance over feel-good policies.
Take fare-free public transit. On paper, it’s about equity. In reality, the very people who need the buses most often can’t safely ride them. Repeated safety incidents—from violent assaults to open frequently, have turned buses and stops into places people avoid. In April, a man attacked two people with a hatchet at a bus stop near Sabino Canyon Road; in July, a knife fight erupted onboard involving a 15-year-old. Riders report drug use, harassment, and intimidation as regular occurrences. Free bus passes mean nothing if people are too afraid to get on board.
And while City Hall keeps the buses free and the slogans lofty, it shuts down one of the few realistic ways to fund its priorities without squeezing an already struggling tax base. Higher taxes on a community with significant poverty cannot grow the revenue pie in a meaningful way—economic growth does.
Any real success in Tucson in the past five years has come not from city government, but from private investors and community leaders who keep pushing forward despite political headwinds. These are people willing to take the hits because they believe in this city. Unfortunately, they’re working in an environment where “No” is the default answer.
For me, it’s less about the “no” and more about the tone. It’s not what you say, but how you say it—and how you act. Tucson has to learn to negotiate with respect, to keep discussions alive instead of shutting them down to applause. Project Blue wasn’t perfect, but it was a serious offer to invest in our city’s future. Does the City not believe in finding common ground? We live in a desert worthy of preservation, but how can we pay for this preservation?
Three years of engineering, planning, and respectful negotiation proved that growth and environmental stewardship can work hand in hand. That work has consistently been the playbook that Tucson continues to ignore and now blatantly squandered.
The private sector has proven that when you engage in solution-driven dialogue, you can align investment with community values. My hope is that our neighbors seize this opportunity, not just to claim the economic gains Tucson rejected, but remind the rest of our country- and potential future companies- how Southern Arizona can work together toward shared prosperity.
If Tucson won’t say yes, another Southern Arizona community can and should — claiming the jobs, infrastructure, and economic growth the City willfully turned away. The rest of the region can move forward together while Tucson cements its reputation as the city of “no,” watching opportunity leave and poverty deepen. Collaboration, not confrontation, is the path to our collective future — the only question is which community will lead it.
For over 25 years, Amber Smith has been a driving force in building stronger communities across Arizona, beginning her career with the late Senator John McCain. Guided by a lifelong commitment to service and impact, she has led across sectors—spanning government affairs, economic development, and nonprofit leadership—with a clear throughline: bringing people together to solve big challenges. As CEO of Pipeline Connects, Amber leads Arizona’s effort to close opportunity gaps and strengthen the workforce ecosystem. Under her leadership, the organization is disrupting the traditional career pipeline by connecting education, training, and employment systems—ensuring every Arizonan, from students to job seekers, has access to clear and connected career pathways.
