Chamber’s MacQuiddy navigates through Greeley’s racial divide

Sarah MacQuiddy recently stood before the Greeley City Council and took repeated arrows from friends and associates in the business community – individuals with whom she typically is allied.

MacQuiddy was there to speak out on a business issue facing the council – a familiar role.

But this issue was different. This issue dealt with race.

MacQuiddy, president of the Greeley Chamber of Commerce, went to the council meeting to express the chamber’s support for Rancho Liborio, a Latin-themed grocery store proposed for a site at West 10th Street and 43rd Avenue, near the Greeley Country Club. The Greeley City Council  eventually approved the project.

But some neighbors – many of them prominent in the business community – objected to the store, voicing opposition because of concerns about traffic, noise, the size of the lot and other factors – all legitimate concerns.

But Rancho Liborio’s supporters suspected that some opposition had less to do with the number of delivery trucks and more to do with race. What, they wondered, would have been the reaction to a proposed Whole Foods Market, rather than a Latin-themed store?

Comments made by some opponents at Greeley Planning Commission hearings, before the City Council and in letters and voice messages left at the Greeley Tribune fed assertions of racism.

One comment from the Tribune’s “Two Cents” line: “Why would they build this store in an area where there is less than 5 percent Latino population? The proposed site already has three grocery stores in a five-block stretch with Safeway, Wholesale Food Outlet and Wal-Mart. Why wouldn’t they build it in an area with a higher percentage of Latinos and in an area that is underserved by grocery stores?”

Others have promised to move out of the area.

Part of the Rancho Liborio controversy arose when store owners announced a desire to slaughter chickens onsite. Those plans were withdrawn because of opposition from city officials over what would be an industrial use.

But that hardly quieted opponents, who mounted fierce opposition to the store. Many didn’t appreciate the chamber taking a position in support of Rancho Liborio. [Disclosure: I recently joined the Greeley Chamber of Commerce board of directors.]

MacQuiddy, a 1978 graduate of the University of Northern Colorado, took over the Greeley Chamber as president in May 2005 after leading the Greeley Convention & Visitors Bureau since 1996.

During those years, she has worked with many of the business leaders who were “in her face” at the council meeting. Indeed, one prominent business owner has canceled his company’s membership in the chamber because of the issue.

Such actions are unfortunate and fail to take into consideration the following facts:

n A chamber of commerce must speak out in support of business uses allowed under current zoning.

n A new grocery store – whether it be Rancho Liborio, Safeway, King Soopers or Whole Foods Market – is good for the economy.

n A racial divide is not healthy for Greeley or any community.

MacQuiddy knows all of these to be true, and she knows something else: Despite all the arrows, she – and the chamber – did the right thing.

Christopher Wood can be reached at (970) 221-5400 or via e-mail at cwood@ncbr.com. His fax number is (970) 221-5432.

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