Developers, Developers, Developers

When did this profession become a dirty word?

More than twenty years ago, then-Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer made his mark on the history of internet memes with a chant about how the .NET platform was going to succeed:

”Developers, developers, developers, developers” also describers the discourse in this year’s municipal elections. Nearly every candidate challenging an incumbent has accused his or her opponent of being “bought and paid for” by developers.

In Meridian, Councilwoman Liz Strader opened by saying that she refuses to take any money from developers.

In Boise, an editorial from the Idaho Statesman complained that a PAC funded by “wealthy developers” was attacking incumbent Mayor Lauren McLean.

Here in Eagle, the Brad Pike campaign posted this screenshot from the Sunshine report:

Note that he doesn’t say who are developers and/or special interests, he simply asserts that there is a certain number of them. I’m on that screenshot, having donated to incumbent Mayor Jason Pierce. Am I a special interest?

I understand that in contentious campaigns you use every weapon at your disposal, but there is something un-american about declaring an entire profession off-limits from politics. When people use developer as a slur, they are trying to paint a picture of dark sinister forces trying to steal elections from good hardworking citizens.

But what exactly is a “developer”?

The Cambridge online dictionary says a developer is

a person or company that makes money from buying land, building new houses, offices, etc., or by changing existing buildings to sell or rent

So basically, developers build things. They build homes, offices, restaurants, and even parks, all of which bring value to the community. Could you live without these things? While I am honored that so many of you have chosen to support me, if I disappeared tomorrow you would find a way to live without my contribution. If every developer disappeared, then we would soon have no homes to live in, no offices to work.

Developers are not simply coming in and running roughshod over the city you love either. They are either buying land from a property owner, or working on behalf of a property owner to improve it. I see people arguing on social media that city councils and mayors should simply stop development, which is absurd. We still have private property rights in Idaho, thankfully, so if I want to take an empty field that I own and develop it, so long as it fits the city’s existing guidelines they can’t tell me no.

An empty field off the main road in Eagle that is awaiting development

Now, I’m sure much of the suspicion about developer contributions toward political campaigns comes from fear that these developers are buying seats on the city council who will then allow said developers to do whatever they want. The question is, does that actually happen? In the four years since Jason Pierce was elected mayor of Eagle, no new apartment complexes were approved, rather the council instead worked with developers to plan neighborhoods with lots of open spaces. According to Pierce, Eagle’s density is 1 home per 1.5 acres, compared to Meridian which has 6 homes per acre.

Yes, Mayor Pierce supported annexing Avimor, which was approved by the council, but they worked together with the Avimor developers to ensure that 50% of the land will be some sort of open space. We’re not going to see the foothills turn into California precisely because we have a mayor and council who were able to work together with developers for the good of the whole community. Would a mayor and council who spent their entire campaigns demonizing these people be able to do the same thing?

There is an irony to the Pike campaign is accusing Mayor Pierce of being bought by developers. Earlier this year, a development company proposed a four story building on the corner of Eagle Rd. and Old State St. to the council. The reason they had to do this was because a fourth floor would require an exception to Eagle’s building guidelines, which put a height limit on downtown buildings.

Council members Charlie Baun, Melissa Gindlesperger, and Helen Russell voted no. Brad Pike voted aye. What does this suggest? It tells me that the attack on Pierce for taking money from so-called developers is simply a lowbrow tactic in a contentious election. Rather than arguing about ideas, campaigns that are running behind just throw out accusations and demonize entire groups of people for cheap political points.

If you recall, I recently posted about a maximum donation to the Pike campaign from an apartment developer:

As I was writing this, I saw a $1,000 donation from an apartment developer called Zion Residential appear on Pike’s Sunshine report. By the time I prepared to publish, the donation was gone. I and several others had posted about it on social media, wondering why a high density developer would support Brad Pike, so perhaps his campaign decided to return the money. I really have no idea. Hopefully the October campaign finance report sheds more light on the issue.

I reached out to the Secretary of State’s office and they confirmed that the donation from Zion Residential had indeed been recorded as a timed contribution, but that Pike’s treasurer had deleted the record shortly afterward, claiming that the donation had been returned. Perhaps Pike was concerned that his attacks on developers would fall flat if he is also taking their money at the same time.

The question remains why an apartment developer would donate to Pike. Do they think a Mayor Pike will be more amenable to high density development than Mayor Pierce has been? Unfortunately we will not know until after the election if any smaller donations were recorded, as the deadline for the October report is on November 10 — well after Election Day.

There is a reason that growth has skyrocketed in the Treasure Valley, and it’s not because an evil cabal of developers wants to cover the pristine foothills with houses. No, it’s because people from all over America are moving to Idaho, to live here and become part of our great communities. There is a disturbing tendency to want to freeze our cities and towns in a moment in time, to stop all future growth, but that’s impossible. The best we can do is to manage that growth in a smart manner, which requires mayors and council members who can work with developers rather than treating them as enemies.

Donations from developers should be looked at with the same critical eye as donations from anyone else, whether it is police and fire organizations, manufacturers, the healthcare industry, PACs, or politically-involved people like me. Do your homework, evaluate everything, but don’t demonize an entire profession for political theater.

Growth and development are inevitable. Rather than trying to turn the people who make that growth possible into villains, let us instead work together to make our community good and beautiful.