Small business group seeks removal of long-time chamber president Jack Camper
Camper proposes 'united coalition'

By Roger Yohem, Inside Tucson Business
Published on Friday, December 25, 2009

Publicly, there may be no more vocal booster for Tucson than Jack Camper. But behind the scenes, a group of small business owners are blaming the president of the Tucson Metropolitan Chamber of Commerce for ignoring their concerns and contributing to an overall anti-business attitude in local government.

The group, which is calling itself Tucson First, wants Camper gone. The chamber’s board says no way.

Eric Ruden, owner of Essential Pest Control, and Joe Higgins, who owns three small businesses and hosts a radio talk show, met with Camper Dec. 11 and asked him to resign by Dec. 15 because the interests of the small business community were not being served by chamber.

(Higgins and his radio co-host Chris DeSimone write a regular opinion column in Inside Tucson Business. This week’s column is on this subject and appears on page 21.)

“This is not about Jack Camper,” Ruden said in an interview. “This is being driven by businesses that are hurting. In this economy, the political landscape in Tucson is a nightmare for small business. The business community is too fragmented, no one is taking care of us.”

Ruden said Tucson First represents about 50 small businesses. He wouldn’t identify them but said many are ex-members of the chamber. Both Ruden and Higgins said they are ex-members of the chamber.

Contributing to local government’s anti-business attitude is the fact that there is no unified voice taking charge of issues for the small business community, according to Ruden. This has led to separate groups with fragmented messages. He specifically named the Northern Pima County Chamber of Commerce, Marana Chamber of Commerce, Tucson-Southern Arizona Black Chamber of Commerce, Tucson Hispanic Chamber of Commerce, Southern Arizona Leadership Council, Tucson Regional Economic Opportunities, Southern Arizona Home Builders Association, Tucson Association of Realtors as well as the Tucson Metropolitan Chamber of Commerce.

In an e-mail distributed widely among local businesses, Higgins wrote the Tea Party group supports Tucson First as they believe the Tucson Metropolitan Chamber of Commerce has been a major problem in the community. He called the Nov. 3 election a tipping point and said if the chamber had put the same amount of effort into supporting Tucson City Council candidate Ben Buehler-Garcia that it did working to defeat Proposition 200, the public safety initiative, there might have been a different outcome.

Members of the chamber’s board reacted angrily to Ruden and Higgins bypassing them in trying to oust Camper.

Board Chairman Ray Bargull, executive vice president for the general contracting firm Sundt Co. Inc., said Camper “has our strong vote of confidence” and rejected Ruden’s charges that small businesses do not have a voice in local regulatory issues.  

“We do not make a distinction between large and small businesses, we represent all members,” Bargull said. “That is a disconnect for me.”

For his part, Camper characterized the situation as a “vicious attack” by Tucson First that will ultimately hurt the entire business community.

“There are procedures in place to bring up issues for discussion,” he said. “They (Tucson First) never asked for an audience, they just blindsided me and the board. They are tearing down a 113-year-old organization that they don’t even participate in.”

Camper has been president of the chamber since 1978. He said the board told him that they will “dig in and fight any effort” to remove him.

Peter Herder, a former chairman of the chamber’s board who has been involved for 30 years in its government affairs efforts, said he was “greatly offended by Ruden’s hostile, arrogant approach.” 

As the economy continues to put financial pressure on all businesses, Herder said he sees a “turf battle” coming among local groups.  

“All these organizations go after a limited source of funding, members and power. The chamber will not take funding from the city or county, so they are free to fight government regulation. Small businesses typically don’t understand how that work by the chamber saves them money,” he said. Other organizations, such as Tucson Regional Economic Opportunities, take money from governmental agencies and as a result “are beholden to political agendas to a point.”

Camper said he wants to “begin a dialog” with all business groups, and possibly hold a summit meeting that would explore “forming a united coalition.”

“It’s no secret business is fragmented,” he said. “Part of the reason is everyone is after the same money, and that dilutes the political power of the entire business community.”

Contact reporter Roger Yohem at This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it or (520) 295-4254.

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