Lakeville voters overwhelmingly reject casino
LAKEVILLE — While Freetown may have spoken loudly and clearly against a proposed Indian casino earlier in the week, Lakeville virtually shouted from the rooftops on Saturday.
Just five days after Freetown residents trounced the Wampanoag Tribe of Gay Head (Aquinnah)'s plan to build a $167 million resort casino by a three to one margin, Lakeville voters crushed it, 1,735 to 172, better than 10 to 1. Twenty-seven percent of the town's voters took part.
Still, the magnitude of the defeat doesn't mean the proposal is going to go away. The vote was nonbinding and, while the voting still was being conducted, tribal Chairwoman Cheryl Andrews-Maltais reiterated her intention to continue pursuing the tribe's dream.
"This is the state's process, and we're following the state's process," she said.
"The Aquinnah Tribe has the right, under the federal Indian Gaming Regulatory Act (IGRA) ... to develop and operate an entertainment and gaming facility. The tribe is prepared to pursue its rights in court, if necessary," Andrews-Maltais said.
Not so!
As she had said following the Freetown vote, Andrews-Maltais again questioned whether the results truly reflected the feelings of the community.
How many ways can voters say NO! ????
"One of the things we've been hearing is, 'Why vote?' " she said. "People say, 'The governor won't talk to you. We could get harassed if we express our opinion, so why vote?' "
Final results were delayed by the malfunction of one of the town's three ballot boxes, but the outcome was clear when Town Clerk Janet Tracy announced the count from for the other two precincts, including a total of 45 to 797 in Precinct 1. The voting took place at the George R. Austin Intermediate School.
An overwhelming majority of those questioned as they left the polls said they opposed the proposal because they feared it would irreparably change their community.
"It's too close to the high school, and it would change the town dramatically," said John Cataldo. "I like it the way it is."
Melissa Hopkins agreed. "People move to Lakeville because of its rural nature and this would change it," she said.
"I moved away from the city to get away from things like that, and I don't want to see a casino here,"
Maria Gateman agreed.
There were moral arguments as well.
"I don't believe in gaming," Claire Young argued. "I don't believe its good for the state. I don't believe it's good for the town."
A casino is "not an engine for economic growth," Larry Simpson argued. "It's a parasite that's sucking money out."
The partisans on both sides of the issue who arrived early to carry signs were greeted by a soaking downpour.
"We're waterlogged," said casino foe Sally Massa. "We're just drying out now," as the rain abated in the afternoon.
"We've been rained on, we've been poured on, we've been windblown," Andrews-Maltais said.
But through it all, the weather hardy remained.
Next Saturday, Taunton residents will be voting on a Mashpee Wampanoag plan to develop a $500 million casino at the traffic-challenged junction of Routes 24 and 140.
The federally recognized tribes were given a head start on locating a casino in the southeastern part of the state by the new Expanded Gaming Act, which authorized one slot parlor and up to three resort casinos. The casino set aside for SouthÂeastern Massachusetts will be presented to a tribe if, by July 31, it is able to obtain property, hold a referendum in the host community, negotiate a compact with the governor and have it approved by the Legislature and convince the State Gaming Commission that the land can be taken into trust by the federal government. If those terms are not met, the commission would be free to seek applicants for a commercial casino license for the area.
The governor so far has refused to negotiate with the Aquinnah on plans for the Freetown-Lakeville casino or its efforts to develop gaming on its sovereign land on Martha's Vineyard, claiming the tribe gave away its gaming rights in a 1987 land deal.
"Despite questions about the tribe's legal right to develop and operate a gaming facility, knowledgeable independent commentators support the tribe's position," Andrews-Maltais said.
The Mashpees have been more aggressive and are much further along in the process, already having begun negotiations for a compact and worked out an Intergovernmental Agreement that would give Taunton $33 million in upfront costs and up to $13 million a year as mitigation for hosting the casino. The City Council last week approved that agreement on a 6-1 vote with two abstentions.
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