People Against a Casino Town

News from PACT

7/14/03 PRESS RELEASE PACT Says, “The Fight's Not Over" -- In response to the announcement that Governor Kulongoski had decided not to appeal a Federal Magistrate’s ruling about the legality of a casino being placed in Florence, PACT Spokesperson Susie Dewberry issued the following statement: "As we’ve stated many times, the court case was only one piece of our overall plan to defend our community against the efforts of the gambling industry to build a casino in Florence.  This decision is certainly not the end of our fight. "It is unfortunate that our Governor, a former Supreme Court Judge, allowed financial considerations to carry more weight than justice for the community of Florence.  It would not be the first time that money clouded a Governor’s vision. "Again, as we have stated many times, PACT has never relied solely on an appeal.  The fight is not over by any stretch of the imagination. The future of Florence is too important to give up the fight. "We will continue to pursue Congressional solutions, and have already planned a trip to Washington D.C.  We have painted our “NO CASINO” signs with very durable paint.  We are working on local initiatives to guarantee no city services are ever provided to any casino development. "Our Legal Fund was created to initiate litigation, on numerous levels, that we believe will make a major shift in the situation.  Our litigation will probably focus on Gubernatorial powers as well as matters contained with the compact itself.  We had planned to take a more leisurely approach to the litigation alternatives, and the Governor’s decision has not  changed our plan, or our objectives - it has only moved up our timing schedule. "My son frequently tells me, “keep battling mom”.  It does bother me that I have to explain to my boys that being right does not win every battle.  But I will tell him it will win the war. "

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