Casino opponents differ on strategy
Supporters of R.P. project request greater understanding of tribe’s history, intentions
Published: Thursday, May 1, 2008
By DAN JOHNSON
ARGUS-COURIER STAFF
While opponents of the proposed Rohnert Park casino are united in their cause, they are offering somewhat different perspectives on how their goal can successfully be reached.
Some people, such as former Petaluma City Councilman Mike Healy, still are hoping that an advisory measure regarding the casino will be put on the Nov. 4 ballot, and expect that a resounding vote against it could influence Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger, who has said that he will take community sentiment into account when deciding whether or not casinos will be built.
Others, such as Marilee Montgomery, media relations representative for Stop the Casino 101 Coalition, believe that a lawsuit based on possible flaws in the yet-to-be-released environmental impact study could quash the project.
Meanwhile, Susan Moore, president of the Friends of the Federated Indians of Graton Rancheria, is appealing for more understanding of the tribe’s situation and its efforts to boost the surrounding community.
Advisory measure
Typically, before the EIS is released, the Bureau of Indian Affairs reviews it to determine if the land will be put into federal trust. Also, lawsuits could be filed based on flaws in the EIS. Before a casino could be built, a compact agreement with Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger must be reached and Dirk Kempthorne, secretary of the U.S. Department of the Interior, would need to approve the pact.
In November, Healy approached county Supervisor Mike Kerns about putting an advisory measure on an upcoming ballot. In February, the board decided not to put the measure on the June 3 ballot. Kerns supported the measure, but other supervisors voiced concerns about its cost and questioned its impact.
Gloria Colter, the county’s assistant registrar of voters, estimated that the cost of putting the measure on the ballot would range from $58,831 to $117,662.
“That number appears to be high, though,” Healy said. “After reviewing the situation, I think that a more reasonable estimate would be around $25,000.”
He also contends that a strong opposition vote would be significant.
“The key question is if it can influence any key decision-makers. The answer is, ‘Yes,’” Healy said, adding that he intends to speak with the Sonoma County Board of Supervisors about putting an advisory measure on the Nov. 4 ballot.
After the February vote, Kerns said the Board of Supervisors might re-consider drafting a measure.
“But I’m not sure there’s enough support to do it. The other supervisors weren’t very happy when I brought it up before, so I’m a little bit hesitant. And I’m really focusing on getting the SMART measure passed in November,” said Kerns, a member of the executive committee for the SMART campaign.
“I’m a big proponent for not putting too much on a ballot, too,” he added.
Montgomery isn’t sure that such a measure would be effective, anyway.
“I support it philosophically, but don’t know if it’s necessary at this point and I don’t think that it would impress the governor at all,” she said. “But our attorneys, who have extensive experience in environmental and Indian law, have said in no uncertain terms that the casino can be stopped on environmental grounds alone.”
Legal action
Montgomery expects that a separate entity will be set up to file a lawsuit after the EIS, which is being conducted by the National Indian Gaming Commission, is released.
“A lawsuit could take three to five years to go through the courts. If the environmental impact study is flawed, it would be thrown out,” she said.
“I agree with Marilee that the EIS study should be scrutinized, and can be challenged in court,” Healy said.
The commission completed a preliminary report, a draft environmental impact statement, which says that the casino could bring an additional 18,000 vehicles to Highway 101 and local roads each day and deplete levels of nearby water wells, but also create 2,400 union jobs and provide millions of dollars for public safety and environmental preservation.
“The draft EIS is seriously flawed,” Montgomery said.
Sonoma County officials said that the report failed to address issues such as traffic congestion, police and fire protection and compulsive gambling.
Casino supporters
Moore feels that traffic would not be an around-the-clock problem.
“It would mainly be an issue on nights and weekends,” she said. “And it wouldn’t cause the rush-hour traffic of the subdivision and shopping center that were planned for the site.”
Moore says that the tribe is conscientiously trying to address all concerns, including water usage.
“No one is trying harder than this tribe to conserve and recycle water. The shopping center wouldn’t have done it. The tribe is fully committed to protecting the environment,” she said.
And Greg Sarris, chairman of the 1,000-member Federated Indians of Graton Rancheria, has said that under the tribe’s November 2004 memorandum of understanding with Sonoma County, both parties are legally bound to execute an intergovernmental agreement to address impacts identified in the EIS.
Moore feels that the tribe’s situation needs to be viewed in a greater context to be appreciated.
The Southern Pomo and Coast Miwok occupied what is now southern Sonoma County and northwest Marin County, and at their peak had a population of around 20,000. Current members of the tribe are all descendants of 13 members who survived early European incursions.
In 1920, the Bureau of Indian Affairs purchased a tract of land near Graton for bands of homeless Indians from Marshall, Bodega, Tomales and Sebastopol. The land was split among three members of the Graton Rancheria tribe, all now deceased, when Congress abolished all of California’s 41 rancherias.
The tribe’s federal recognition was restored, and in 2003 it partnered with Station Casinos in Las Vegas to buy 360 acres west of Rohnert Park. Before deciding to build a casino on the property, the tribe explored other options, including organic food processing, a cheese factory and a winery, but claims it didn’t have the funds to achieve success and wasn’t able to obtain them from other sources. So, the tribe approached Station Casinos about establishing a partnership.
“Any good economist will tell you we made a prudent decision,” said Greg Sarris, chairman of the Federated Indians of Graton Rancheria, in an article by R. V. Scheide in the Dec. 4-10, 2003 issue of the "North Bay Bohemian."
Some supporters of the casino argue that beside benefiting the greater community, a casino finally would provide a group that historically has been the victim of overt discrimination with a chance to succeed.
“They have so little, and their life expectancy is under 50 years,” Moore said.
She feels that the Rev. James Coffee, pastor of Community Baptist Church in Santa Rosa, helps illuminate the perspective she shares regarding the tribe.
“He once said, ‘What right do we have to say ‘no’ to them, considering all that has been taken from them?” Moore said.
(Contact Dan Johnson at dan.johnson@arguscourier.com)
