Tim Steller’s opinion: World is paying attention to Tucson, for better or worse | Subscriber

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No guarantee

Also in a progressive mindset, Romero said in her state of the art address on Thursday that we “should envision Tucson as the sustainable, economically dynamic and progressive city of the future”.

It’s a strong vision, but the potential and reality are now far apart. On Friday, the University of Arizona’s Eller College economist George Hammond said in his annual economic outlook that of all seven Arizona cities measured – including areas as small as Lake Havasu and Sierra Vista – the Tucson area performed worst in our recovery from the other Job loss due to the COVID-19 recession.

Five of the seven areas have more than recovered from the recession, but Flagstaff only restored 85% of its lost jobs and Tucson only 78% back. Hammond blamed the concentration of hospitality jobs and our elderly population for our slow recovery, which left us both vulnerable to the pandemic.

When Romero spoke on Thursday about the completed strategic plans for transportation and housing affordability and ongoing plans for economic development, culture and climate, it was good but worth striving for. And when Garcia, whose job it is to sell Tucson, spoke of the loving attention our city has received, it was understandable but hopeful.

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