Local opinion: Last man standing: Tucson’s entrepreneurial giant

The following is the opinion and analysis of the writer:

I just heard that Jim Click sold his car dealership empire.

While I grew up in Tucson, graduated from high school and UA, I was living in Phoenix when Jim first came to town. I owned an ad agency there and represented a Phoenix area Ford dealer, Earnhardt Ford. The owner, Tex Earnhardt, told me about this new young guy in Tucson and that I should go see him and try to get his business. So I did.

That was 1972 when I first met Jim and made my presentation. Our styles were clearly different, so we parted ways amicably.

When I retired in 2007 and moved back to Tucson, I saw him again at a friend's funeral. He greeted me with a handshake and said, “Hi Ray, still involved in advertising?” Even though I’d only met him once, 35 years before, he still remembered who I was. He truly is an amazing person.

I don’t have to enumerate Jim’s accomplishments and work to make Tucson a better place, everybody knows those. However, the most significant aspect for our city is that Jim represents the final figure among the distinguished entrepreneurs, the giants, who have played a pivotal role in shaping Tucson.

When I left Tucson in 1965, Tucson was thriving because of the dynamic local business community. The power of great retailer families; Levy, Steinfeld, Jacome, Bloom, Ronstadt, Peterson and so many others.

The print media had two locally owned newspapers that were delivered to our doors daily. TV and radio stations had local ownership and/or management. As a young radio guy, I could just walk down the hall and talk to the owner who wrote my weekly check.

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Banking was either totally locally owned, or at least Arizona-controlled and managed by Tucsonans who worked for our benefit.

All these business people put Tucson first and worked for our success.

Then, overnight, virtually, it all changed.

Big retailing, media, and banking became owned by outside giants with not much interest in Tucson except the money that they could pull out.

In sports, we lost Major League Baseball spring training and the regular PGA golf tour, for years a staple of our Winter season.

Tucson became poorer financially every year. Compared to Southwest competitors Las Vegas and Phoenix, our median household income was less. Regarding population growth, in 1975 Las Vegas was smaller than us. Now it has two and a half times the population. Metro Phoenix was three times our size; now it is over five times as large.

The influential business figures from the past would never have allowed this situation in our city. Jim Click is the only one remaining, and now he is departing. His absence will leave an enormous gap.

Jim, you may not know how important you have been to this community, but I guarantee, without your standing strong these many years, I can’t imagine where we would be. You will be missed. Enormously.