David Wichner Michael Guymon firmly believes business and government can work together to make Tucson a better place for everyone.
People are also reading… Guymon also spent nearly three years as executive director of the Metropolitan Pima Alliance, a nonprofit group founded in 1997 to bring representatives of business, government and nonprofits together to discuss the development and growth-related issues. “These are things that have an immediate effect on businesses here in Tucson, so we want to make sure that as these plans are unfolding, as these public-comment periods are occurring, that business has a voice in how these plans are crafted,” Guymon said.
Though the Chamber conducted a nationwide search for a CEO to replace Smith, Marquez said Guymon was perfectly suited to his role leading the chamber after his long experience in local politics and economic development. “Their No. 1, top issue was our roads are horrible condition,” Guymon said. “And obviously that matters for the people that are trying to get to and from their place of business if they moved the company.”
The Chamber and other business groups have long opposed minimum wages on the grounds they should be set by the free market, and that minimum wages are a burden to smaller employers that limit hiring and curtail growth. Guymon noted that a pending bill in the Legislature would penalize cities with ordinances setting minimum wages above the state level — currently Tucson and Flagstaff, which has adopted an even higher minimum wage — by allowing employers to claim a credit for the difference in minimum wages they pay, which would be deducted from the city’s state funding.
The chamber has won a commitment to focus more on theft from Tucson Police Chief Chad Kasmar and has tried to help with police recruiting through high schools and the military. Guymon said that with city permit approvals taking months, instead of days at Pima County or other jurisdictions, it’s become a competitive issue for Tucson.