People Against a Casino Town
News from PACT
Casino opponents gear up for round two
 

NEWS RELEASE

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
January 23, 2004

CASINO OPPONENTS GEAR UP FOR ROUND TWO

Florence, Oregon - The Lane County Circuit Court today granted Governor Kulongoski's motion to disallow use of a "mandamus" procedure to bring before the court the question of whether the governor is violating the Oregon Constitution in implementing a Florence casino State-Tribal Compact.  People Against a Casino Town (PACT), the grass-roots organization opposing the casino, is seeking the judicial determination.

"The governor may have won today's procedural skirmish" said PACT president Susie Dewberry, "but, the people of Oregon
are the ones who would really lose.  Despite the governor's dodges and delays, we are determined that the citizens of
Florence and the rest of Oregon will have their day in court. They are entitled to know, in the words of the Albany
Democrat-Herald, 'If the Oregon ban on casinos means nothing and has been superseded by something else, then all citizens
should be entitled to ignore it, not just the governor and the leaders of the tribes.'

"The taxpayers of Oregon are being asked to fund the governor's expensive search for legal loopholes, even as he is asking the same taxpayers to dig into their pockets and pass Measure 30. Paying for education and public safety is one thing. Spending state resources on procedural gambits to avoid the substantive issues is quite another.

"Our attorneys are fine-tuning the next steps to be taken to prevent the governor from continuing to ignore his sworn
obligation to respect and uphold the State Constitution." said Dewberry.

"Federal law requires that the state and the tribe enter into a valid compact before a casino can open its doors.  In proceeding with a compact, Governor Kulongoski has chosen to ignore the State Constitution's provision against casinos - as well as the legitimate concerns of Florence-area residents," said Dewberry, "PACT believes the Governor's decision was illegal, and that the resulting compact is void."

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Constitution of Oregon, Article XV, Section 4(12): "The Legislative Assembly has no power to authorize, and shall
prohibit, casinos from operation in the State of Oregon."

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