Council of Churches of Greater Springfield launches anti-casino effort
Published: Wednesday, April 18, 2012
By
Timothy Paul Baymon, Archbishop of the Archdiocese of New England of the International Communion of the Holy Christian Orthodox ChurchSPRINGFIELD — The Council of Churches of Greater Springfield has formed a coalition to oppose the siting of a casino anywhere in Western Massachusetts, particularly Springfield.
“We have a cross-section of folks and leaders who are really concerned about what this will do to the soul of our city,” Archbishop Timothy Paul Baymon, president of the Council of Churches of Greater Springfield, said Wednesday.
He said the council of churches is composed of nearly 300 affiliate churches throughout Western Massachusetts, and back in the mid-1990s, was the leading opponent against casinos in Springfield, along with former Mayor Charles V. Ryan and the Rev. Ann E. Geer.
The Council of Churches is making its stance known because of recent comments made by Mayor Domenic J. Sarno, who told The Republican that he will “fight tooth and nail” for a casino in Springfield, citing the needed jobs and revenues it would bring to the city.
Sarno has said he hopes a casino could open sooner than the three- to five-year estimate provided by the Gaming Commission given the city’s great need for jobs and revenue, but the head of the commission, Stephen P. Crosby, said speeding up the timetable is unlikely.
Sarno declined further comment on Wednesday.
Baymon said the mayor’s statements that he is fighting for a Springfield casino and seeking quick action on the issue alarmed the council.
“We’re saying, ‘Not so fast,’ ” Baymon said. “The city has not spoken. We also know what harm it has done and will do to a community.”
So far, Ameristar Casinos of Las Vegas is the only casino operator that has a stake in the city, having purchased the former Westinghouse site off Page Boulevard in January for $16 million. Penn National Gaming of Pennsylvania also said it is looking for a site in Springfield.
Anti-casino demonstrations are in the works, and Baymon said they also plan to utilize the power of social media to get their anti-casino message across. They are using the popular tagline, CasiNo, which also is used on signs by opponents in Monson and Palmer, where Connecticut-based Mohegan Sun wants to build resort casino across from Massachusetts Turnpike interchange 8.
“We’re intensely lining up for major opposition ... Our churches are going to be speaking to this issue. We’ll be making a lot of noise,” Baymon said.
Baymon said outside pro-casino groups are pressuring communities with funds and their ideas for job creation.
There are other ways Springfield can become a better city, “rather than taking the road for a quick fix,” Baymon said. He said casinos deteriorate communities, and he commended Holyoke Mayor Alex B. Morse for taking a stand against casinos.
According to the press release from the Council of Churches of Greater Springfield, gambling is a regressive means of raising state revenues, which adversely affects the poor.
“We oppose anything that would harm this region in order to provide economic gain for the commonwealth. Churches see the effects of poverty every day and work together to meet the basic needs of the poor: food, clothing, shelter, education and employment. We believe that locating a casino in Western Massachusetts will exacerbate these needs and further stretch our social service agencies that are already overwhelmed trying to meet these needs,” the release states.
“The casino brings the hope of economic gain to people who are already desperate and likely to believe that gambling will help their situation ... gambling is an addiction; we should not provide another venue for this or any other form of addiction.”
The release states that casinos in Atlantic City and Las Vegas have fallen into bankruptcy, and cites the financial struggles the Connecticut casinos – Foxwoods and Mohegan Sun – have experienced.
Only one Western Massachusetts casino license will be awarded. MGM Resorts International of Las Vegas is looking for a Western Massachusetts casino site after backing out of Brimfield. Hard Rock International of Florida, in partnership with Paper City Development, targeted Wyckoff Country Club in Holyoke for a resort casino, but the mayor is opposed. The former Pavilion Mall site in Westfield also has emerged as a potential site for a casino as there have been talks with the mayor there, but no players have been named.
Jennifer Baruffaldi, spokeswoman for the pro-casino group Citizens for Jobs and Growth in Palmer, said she respects the opinion of the Council of Churches, but believes the benefits of a casino “far outweigh the negatives.” Baruffaldi, a proponent of the Mohegan Sun project, said she feels the jobs and revenue will help the town – and region.
“I’m just looking forward to Palmer being an economic engine for the western and central region,” she said.
Regarding the concerns about debt, increased crime and addiction that the council raised about casinos, Robert W. Young Jr., another casino supporter from Palmer, said they are valid points and have been addressed in the legislation, as the casinos will pay fees to be used for social service recovery programs.
Representatives from Mohegan Sun and Ameristar did not respond to a request for comment on the Council of Churches press release.
The Council of Churches of Greater Springfield is asking churches, political leaders and residents to oppose and defeat the location of a gambling casino in Springfield or any other Western Massachusetts community. For a casino to open in a community, there must be a binding vote in favor of it.
“It is misguided that the city of Springfield, once a great industrial and prosperous community providing honest wages to a growing middle class, is willing to support an improvident business owned by an out-of-state corporation, the result of which will most likely further undermine our citizens,” stated Rev. Lauren Holme, pastor of Bethesda Lutheran Church.
Back in 1994, Springfield voters defeated casino gambling by fewer than 1,000 votes in a non-binding referendum. Opponents, led by former mayor Ryan and Geer, the former executive director of the Council of Churches of Greater Springfield, argued that crime would follow a casino. Former Gov. William F. Weld had signed an agreement to allow a Wampanoag Indian-owned casino in New Bedford and a single, unrelated casino in Hampden County; it later was defeated by the Legislature.
That year, Ryan, who was chairman of Citizens Against Casino Gambling, said a casino in Springfield would produce 3,000 to 5,000 “casualties” a week.
“They will be our homeless of tomorrow. They will be our suicides of tomorrow,” Ryan was quoted in the newspaper at the time.
Ryan also faulted city leaders for not taking a stand, pro or con, on casino gambling and leaving the fight against casino gambling up to “a 67-year-old lawyer at the end of his career” and the Council of Churches of Greater Springfield.
“We’re going to rally our supporters and be a strong voice,” Baymon said.
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