Kudos to Superintendent of Schools Ovick!

Your Turn: Voters right on casino issue in Richmond

On behalf of the children of the city of Richmond, I want to thank the voters for their resounding defeat of Measure U. The greater community of Richmond can do better than to place its future on gambling with a "mega gambling casino" destination.

Although the supporters predicted more jobs and money for the community, the community can do better. Considering we live in the midst of a knowledge-based economy, is it really necessary to throw future aspirations to the purported success of a casino?

The children of the Richmond community do not need to navigate their childhood through an environment of increased crime and domestic violence as a result of "quick money" from gambling.

The Mississippi Gulf Coast experienced a 43 percent increase in crime in the four years after casinos arrived, as reported by the Mississippi Coast Crime Commission.

U.S. News and World Report found crime rates in casino areas 84 percent higher than the national average.

The negative impact of gambling is greater on the poor than on people of greater wealth simply because the money from the poor is a disproportionately greater percentage of their income "... it is like a regressive tax! Lastly, gambling addiction reaches beyond 15 million Americans. It is the family members, including the children, who must encounter the brunt of this addiction.

As the elected county superintendent of schools, I am pleased with the voters of Richmond.

Let's hope that the other local and county elected officials will listen to the will of the voters in the city of Richmond.

Joseph A. Ovick, Ed.D. is the Contra Costa County Superintendent of Schools.