High Fliers: How Political Insiders Gained an Edge in Sky Harbor Concessions

Mary Rose Wilcox eked out a small profit from a Mexican restaurant she owned in south Phoenix before she used her race and status as the owner of a “disadvantaged” business to land a lucrative concession deal at Sky Harbor International Airport.

The long-entrenched Democrat on the Maricopa County Board of Supervisors reported $10,000 in profits from her El Portal restaurant in an August 2003 financial statement. In December 2004, Wilcox was brought into a joint venture to co-own a Chili’s fr...