STOP THE CASINO 101 COALITION

Cloverdale Casino

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Coalition to Stop Casino Cloverdale
Founder:  Stephen Gallenson
 
River Park in Cloverdale
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A Message from No Casino Cloverdale

CALL FOR ORGANIZATIONAL COMMITTEE MEMBERS

There is a need now to ramp up our public opposition to the proposed casino in Cloverdale. We have a very small organizational committee in place at the moment, and it is timely to expand that committee now. No special skills are needed, and by expanding our committee, the load will not be great for any individual. The committee’s charter is to plan and organize what needs to be done. The committee will then call on coalition members to help with the execution.

We have many needs, some that come to mind are:
-        On-going review and establishment of coalition strategy
-        Membership database management and communication
-        Expansion of coalition membership
-        Organization of letter-writing campaigns
-        Organization of physical representation at all council meetings and casino sub-committee meetings
-        Political lobbying – Mike Thompson etc
-        Legal issues & general spokesperson – Steve Gallenson is highly qualified and will continue with this
Committee needs will be discussed and expanded upon at the first meeting, which will be planned late March/early April. The committee will meet on a regular basis, as established by the newly enlarged team.

If you would like to join us on the planning committee, please email us now. We will
then contact you individually to find a date for our first meeting.
 

Edited/Updated February 29, 2008
Cloverdale's Vineyards
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CONTACT INFORMATION FOR ELECTED OFFICIALS:  Remember:the best option is to write, call or fax.  If you'd lkie to fax a message to your elected officials but don't have access to a fax machine, email your message to STC101 , and we will fax it for you for free.  You must include your name and street address so that we can make sure your message gets to the corrct legislators.  ALL personal information is held in strictest confidence by STC101, and is not shared with anyone.

WASHINGTON:
 

Senator Byron Dorgan, Chairman
Committee on Indian Affairs
838 Hart Office Building
Washington, DC 20510
Phone:  202-224-2251
Fax:      202-224-5429

 
Senator Dianne Feinstein
331 Hart Senate Office Building, Room 368
Washington, DC 20510
Phone: 202-224-3841
Fax: 202-228-3954
TTY/TDD: 202-224-2501

Senator Barbara Boxer
112 Hart Senate Office Building
Washington, D.C. 20510
Phone: 202-224-3553
Fax: 202-228-2382
CLOVERDALE CITY COUNCIL:
Cloverdale City Hall
P.O. Box 217
City Hall Faxes: 894-3451
City Council Voice Mail (All): 707- 894-1750
Take Action!!!-Click Here 

Downtown Cloverdale
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COALITION UPDATE

•        Our city council has established a casino subcommittee to study the documents submitted by Sealaska/Cloverdale Rancheria to federal agencies to ensure no false claims are being made about city endorsement, and to review potential to add an advisory vote to our November election ballot to determine the desire of the Cloverdale people for a casino in our town.

•        Since our last update, propositions 94-97 were voted in by CA voters. These propositions allow 4 southern Californian Indian tribes to expand their casinos to become amongst the largest in the world. The voters presumably did this to add to the state budget in the hope they will not have an increase in their personal taxes. While none of us want to pay more taxes, some things are NOT worth the cost. Sonoma County voters personally know this cost and voted more than 2 to 1 against these propositions.

•        Sealaska, the large corporate partner in the quest for a Cloverdale casino, will continue to ramp-up their PR campaign and will apply large amounts of resource to influence our townspeople to favor their business venture. So please remain ready to address common misconceptions with your friends and neighbors.  Some of these are as follows:

        i.  this is not a done deal by any means. The land in question has been purchased at fair market value, with a promise to pay $8.25 million if a casino can be built. This is because Sealaska knows they cannot ram this through, and they know they have to have community support. When it falls through, they will simply sell the land, losing little or nothing.

        ii. a casino will not bring business to our downtown. Quite the opposite. It is most likely to divert local customers to the casino for food and drinks, and deter new businesses from moving in. Visitors are most likely to arrive directly at the casino, gamble, then leave town. With a subsequent drop-off in downtown business, we are also likely to see existing businesses moving out.

        iii. a casino is unlikely to attract new residents to settle in Cloverdale. Indeed, some families have already stated the intention to leave if a casino moves in, declaring this is not the environment they want for their families. The stunting of future growth and erosion of current population will place further drain on property values and on our city's sustainability.

        iv. a casino will not bring any tax revenue to our city. If this land becomes a casino, by definition there's no property or sales tax. Alternatively, if the land becomes a commercial endeavor, then both property taxes and sales taxes would accrue to our city. 

        v. a casino will not bring good jobs to town. If people really want to work in a casino they can get jobs close-by at River Rock or ShoKaWah already. Furthermore, not only will the majority of casino jobs be low-level minimum wage, the presence of a casino will likely deter other companies with better-prospect/better-paying jobs from locating here at all. So it will not bring good jobs to town, and is likely to prevent future good jobs from moving here.

        vi. this issue is not about righting wrongs that took place 150 years ago. Nor is it about the merits of individuals or groups. So far as we can tell, the small number of tribal members that do live in Cloverdale are good people. This issue IS about the future quality of life and community for everyone in our small town.

Remember, our task is to make sure we and our friends and neighbors are not influenced by mis-information.

Stop the Casino 101 Coalition, Rohnert Park, CA

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