Rodgers v. Pima County

Pima County residents work hard to provide for themselves and their families, so it’s easy to understand why they would prefer that their tax dollars be spent to repair crumbling roads and infrastructure rather than on sweetheart deals with private companies. That is probably why voters overwhelmingly rejected $815 million in bond proposals last November, including $98 million slated for tourism promotion and $91 million for economic development and workforce training. Nevertheless, Pima County supervisors have voted to borrow $15 million to fund the construction of a balloon launch pad and company headquarters for the private benefit of World View Enterprises, a company that intends to engage in luxury adventure tourism. World View plans to charge wealthy passengers $75,000 per ticket to ride in a capsule strapped to a specialized weather balloon, high up into the atmosphere. The privately held, for-profit company hasn’t actually transported any tourists yet. But Pima County has agreed to build the balloon facility for World View by November 2016. In return, the County gets below-market rent payments and a vague and unenforceable promise of jobs—if World View can get its tourism business started. This agreement violates the Arizona Constitution—specifically, the “Gift Clause,” which forbids the government from giving or lending taxpayer money to private enterprises. The Pima County agreement serves no public purpose and it fails to provide the county with a fair return on investment. The deal is also illegal under state competitive bidding laws designed to encourage free and full competition by preventing favoritism, fraud, and public waste. The county shirked its duty to have its property appraised and offered at public auction before leasing it out, and to solicit competitive bids for design and construction. Instead, county staff negotiated with private firms in secret—even using a code name for these secret meetings, “Project Curvature”—and then awarded the design and construction contracts to preselected favorites.

Case Logistics

The plaintiffs in this case were Karl Hirshman and Richard Rodgers, Tucson residents who paid both property and sales tax to the city, as well as Bruce Ash, a local Tucson business owner who remitted transaction privilege tax to the City of Tucson through his company, Campbell Fair.  The defendants were City of Tucson officials acting in their official capacities. 

The case was filed in the Superior Court of Arizona in Pima County on February 6, 2014.  The Court ruled for the plaintiffs on November 21, 2014.

Case Documents

Backgrounder (April 14, 2016)Demand Letter to Pima County (March 28, 2016)Complaint (April 13,2016)Rodgers’ Response to Huckelberry’s Motion to DismissRodgers’ Motion for Summary JudgementRodgers’ Reply in Support of Motion for Partial Summary Judgement & Response to Cross-Motion for Partial Summary JudgementWorld View Woods Decision

Legal Team

Jim ManleyJim Manley is a senior attorney at the Goldwater Institute’s Scharf-Norton Center for Constitutional Litigation. Before joining the Goldwater Institute, Jim served six years as a staff attorney at Mountain States Legal Foundation. In his first case after graduating from law school, he secured a victory at the Colorado Supreme Court protecting the right to self-defense on college campuses. His cases defending free speech, the right to keep and bear arms, taxpayer rights, and property rights have set important precedents in state and federal courts.

A native of Michigan, he graduated from Arizona State University, with a double major in Political Science and Journalism. He earned his J.D. from the University of Colorado Law School, where he served as an Associate Editor of the Law Review and President of the Federalist Society. Before attending law school, Jim was a professional ski instructor in Telluride, Colorado, and a Reagan Fellow at the Goldwater Institute.

Veronica ThorsonVeronica Thorson is a staff attorney at the Goldwater Institute’s Scharf-Norton Center for Constitutional Litigation. Veronica earned her JD with pro bono distinction from the Sandra Day O’Connor College of Law at ASU, where she was an associate editor for the Arizona State Law Journal and a member of the Federalist Society. During law school, she completed an internship and a clerkship with the Goldwater Institute. Before law school, Veronica received an MFA in creative writing from ASU, where she was awarded an inaugural Virginia C. Piper Summer Fellowship for her fiction. She earned her BA in English from New Mexico State University, graduating with Distinction in University Honors.