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Oregon casino ballot measure rejected
The state
rejected a package of ballot
measures Thursday
that could have allowed construction of the state's first non-Indian casino. State deals gambling backers a blow Initiatives - Two men who seek to build a casino at the former greyhound park have their draft ballot measures thrown out again Friday, March 24, 2006 JEFF MAPES The Oregonian The state rejected a package of ballot measures Thursday that could have allowed construction of the state's first non-Indian casino. The two Lake Oswego entrepreneurs backing the project, proposed for east Multnomah County, said they would rewrite the measures and try to qualify them for the November ballot. But critics said they doubt whether financial consultant Bruce Studer and attorney Matthew Rossman have enough time to get any casino measures before voters this year. The secretary of state rejected the measures after questioning the legality of linking the two ballot measures, one that would repeal the state's constitutional ban on casinos and another that would direct the state to site a casino at the now-closed Multnomah Greyhound Park in Wood Village. Acting on the advice of the attorney general, the secretary of state said it was unconstitutional to make the enactment of one ballot measure contingent on the passage of another. In early February, the state rejected an earlier version of the initiatives for the same reasons. Representatives of the Oregon tribes, who have been preparing to wage a multimillion-dollar fight against this new competition for the gambling dollar, cheered the news. The Oregon Tribal Gaming Alliance, which represents the nine tribes that operate casinos around the state, hired Portland attorney Charles Hinkle, who developed the legal reasoning adopted by the attorney general's office. Studer and Rossman "are trying to open the door, allow themselves to be the only group to rush in and then slam the door for everybody else," said Len Bergstein, a consultant for the Confederated Tribes of Warm Springs. "I think they're having a lot of trouble finding constitutionally permissible ways to do that." Studer said he and Rossman are having the measures rewritten so they are no longer linked, and they plan to refile with the secretary of state Friday. "We're confident we can do it," he said. "We know it's a big job. . . . We'll be on the ballot in November. This is not going to derail us." However, the two face a daunting task to qualify the two initiatives before the July 7 deadline. Once they file their new measures, it will be at least six weeks before they can gain approval to collect signatures from registered voters. They will need at least 100,840 valid signatures for the constitutional measure and 75,630 signatures for the statutory measure. Tim Nashif of the Oregon Family Council, which led the 2004 fight to put an initiative banning same-sex marriage on the ballot, said his group collected more than 240,000 signatures in a similar time frame. But Nashif, a casino opponent, said Studer and Rossman lack the same extensive grass-roots support and instead will have to rely on paid canvassers. "I would never say anything like this is an impossibility," he said, "but we did it under very unusual circumstances." Studer and Rossman say they have been working for more than two years to develop a casino complex that would eventually have 3,500 video gambling terminals and a variety of table games. They also say they want to build a hotel and several other restaurant and entertainment attractions at the greyhound track, which they have an option to purchase. The two, who say they are operating independently of any casino company, said they will release the names of their financial backers after their measures qualify for the ballot. They have proposed giving 25 percent of the gambling proceeds to the state, most of which would be turned over to education. One of their major selling points is that their casino would keep gambling dollars from flowing across the river to Washington, where the Cowlitz tribe is seeking approval to build a massive casino north of Vancouver in La Center. However, the two face opposition on a number of fronts. In addition to the tribes, the Oregon Restaurant Association fears a loss of revenue for restaurants and bars that depend on video lottery revenue. There's also fear that the proposed casino could actually lower revenues to state government by cutting play on video lottery machines, which provide a much bigger percentage for the state. Kerry Tymchuk, chairman of the Oregon Lottery Commission, said the lottery plans to do a study that would quantify the economic impact. "I think a lot of people, including myself, have qualms about a commercial casino," he said. The proposal has also created debate in east Multnomah County. It's been backed by Wood Village Mayor Dave Fuller, who said the casino would shore up the city's budget. But mayors in the surrounding cities have expressed concern about its effect on traffic, crime and social services. Jeff Mapes: 503-221-8209; jeffmapes@news.oregonian.com ©2006 The Oregonian http://www.oregonlive.com/news/oregonian/index.ssf?/base/news/1143170732104640.xml&coll=7 |
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