When it was disclosed last week that Eastbourne Investments Ltd. — a bossy developer pushing to build a "big-box" store on the South Side — was behind a memo by Tucson Mayor Bob Walkup, I wasn't surprised.
Real estate developers have always had a big hand in Tucson's politics. Eastbourne, while new to town, went further by suggesting language in the mayor's memo to influence the outcome in its favor.
Walkup wrote a memo to "get the ball rolling" on the development at East 36th Street and South Kino Parkway. City Councilmen Steve Leal and Jose Ibarra criticized the mayor for trying to take credit for an informal agreement pounded out between the city and Eastbourne.
It was all done so skillfully — and in a way that is so quintessentially Tucson — that it makes me wonder if Eastbourne really is new to Tucson. I suspect the company may have written some other local memos, such as the controversial letter of March 20, 1880, when the first Southern Pacific train rolled into Tucson.
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The arrival of the iron horse opened Tucson, then served by horse-drawn wagons, to the west and east. Some Tucsonans, intoxicated with the notion that they would be connected to civilization, wrote a glowing memo to the pope in the name of Mayor R.N. Leatherwood.
"To his Holiness the Pope of Rome, Italy. The mayor of Tucson begs the honor of reminding Your Holiness that this ancient and honorable pueblo was founded by the Spaniards under the sanction of the Church more than three centuries ago, and to inform Your Holiness that a railroad from San Francisco, California, now connects us with the Christian world."
Then, like now, Eastbourne was overstating things a bit. Local residents, embarrassed by the gushing memo, wrote a fake papal response.
"His Holiness the Pope acknowledges with appreciation receipt of your telegram informing him that the ancient city of Tucson at last has been connected by rail with the outside world and sends his benediction, but for his own satisfaction would ask, where the hell is Tucson?"
Even before that episode, Eastbourne may have had a hand in trying to influence Tucson's development on Aug. 20, 1775.
Hugo O'Conor, an Irishman leading a small Spanish detachment, established the Tucson Presidio on the east bank of the Santa Cruz River. He wrote a proclamation to celebrate the Presidio San Agustín del Tucson.
In part, it said: "It is situated at a distance of eighteen leagues from Tubac, fulfills the requirements of water, pasture, and wood and effectively closes the Apache frontier."
O'Conor portrayed a perfect place for a new colony. Strange that there was no mention of whether the water and mesquite bosques could sustain a population that was sure to grow.
I have a feeling that Eastbourne, looking to secure building rights in the new development, suggested to O'Conor how to word the memo. Maybe the company's honchos told him that if he wrote a glowing report, the Presidio could be built, and his name would be remembered forever.
Maybe my imagination has gotten the best of me today. But it's no one's imagination that developers historically have influenced Tucson's politics and policies. And this may not be the first time a developer has helped to ghost-write a memo from a Tucson mayor, as Eastbourne did last week.
After last week's big-box memo, Tucsonans may respond by making Eastbourne history in the Old Pueblo.
Vacant Tucson stores could transform into new housing
