ADI News Services
The Goldwater Institute filed a lawsuit Friday against the City of Tucson, arguing the city’s bid preference policy violates state law and the U.S. and Arizona constitutions. They cite a city hall project in Florida that drove costs $10 million higher than the city could afford, and an Iowa city that’s out millions in taxpayer dollars because officials insisted on using an excessively expensive landfill for a hauling project, as bid preferences that are yet another crony tool governments are using to play favorites.
Goldwater hopes that their lawsuit could stop the back-scratching practice in its tracks.
Bid preference policies enable government officials to award contracts to bidders who may not give the lowest quote, solely because they operate or are headquartered within a predefined area.
