Last week I blogged about the Phoenix city council’s intent to change its 17-year-old Minority, Women, and Small Business Enterprise Program, to remove race and sex from the city contract equation. The city will set aside up to 10 percent of government contracts for small businesses, regardless of owners’ race or sex. Officials said the program is no longer needed, and it’s vulnerable to legal challenges.
Mark Flatten of the Goldwater Institute wrote an article for the Tucson Sentinel that sheds further light on the program. Last October, the institute published an article, “High Fliers: How Political Insiders Gained an Edge in Sky Harbor Concessions,” which exposed political favors in the racial preferences program at the Sky Harbor International Airport. An excerpt from the Tucson Sentinel:
“The beneficiaries include Maricopa County Supervisor Mary Rose Wilcox [who is Hispanic], who was brought in as a partner in a Chili’s restaurant concession to meet city-imposed requirements for minority participation. Supervisor Wilcox did not take an active role in running the business, as required in federal law.
…
“Phoenix, which owns and operates Sky Harbor, suspended its use of racial preferences in 2006 [city council apparently wants to make it official], after a federal court ruling in Washington state imposed tighter standards for such programs. But the existing concession contracts using racial preferences have been extended each year since then.”
That non-minority-owned businesses bring in a woman or a racial minority to take advantage of set-asides isn’t shocking. Minority set-aside programs are exploitable.
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