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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
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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
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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
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| 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.
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Stop the Casino 101 Coalition, Rohnert Park, CA
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