EDDINS:
"This campaign [Casino-Free Milford] has been the proverbial David-vs.-Goliath battle. Our strength has not been money. Our strength is people."
......and people, it's time to vote 'NO!'
"This campaign [Casino-Free Milford] has been the proverbial David-vs.-Goliath battle. Our strength has not been money. Our strength is people."
......and people, it's time to vote 'NO!'
Thursday, November 14, 2013
Finance reports show lopsided spending on Milford casino issue
By Susan Spencer, TELEGRAM & GAZETTE STAFF
MILFORD — Supporters and opponents of a proposed $1 billion Foxwoods resort casino will be campaigning in high gear this weekend, leading up to Tuesday's townwide vote on the project.
Campaign finance forms filed with the town clerk this week show Foxwoods has spent more than 50 times as much as its opponents on the campaign.
Casino-Free Milford, a grass-roots group opposed to the development, chaired by Milford residents Steven Trettel and John Seaver, raised $23,770 and spent $13,796 between April 1 and Nov. 1.
Mashantucket Pequot Gaming Enterprise, doing business as Foxwoods Resort Casino in Connecticut, spent $792,172 during that period. Foxwoods paid more than $600,000 to the Rendon Group, strategic communications consultants, for campaign services alone.
Campaign finance forms filed with the town clerk this week show Foxwoods has spent more than 50 times as much as its opponents on the campaign.
Casino-Free Milford, a grass-roots group opposed to the development, chaired by Milford residents Steven Trettel and John Seaver, raised $23,770 and spent $13,796 between April 1 and Nov. 1.
Mashantucket Pequot Gaming Enterprise, doing business as Foxwoods Resort Casino in Connecticut, spent $792,172 during that period. Foxwoods paid more than $600,000 to the Rendon Group, strategic communications consultants, for campaign services alone.
Citizens for Milford's Future, a pro-casino group launched in September, received $23,500 from Foxwoods and spent $4,945 so far, largely for events and advertising in local papers.
Michael Kaplan, a local lawyer and chairman of Citizens for Milford's Future, said, "We're having our day of action on Saturday."
He said supporters were encouraged to meet for a rallyat the Hoboken Club, 252 Central St., get assignments and fan out to hold signs, go door-to-door and make phone calls.
Mr. Kaplan said a local steering committee made the decisions to spend the money on events and produce some of their own ads.
Although funded by Foxwoods, he said, "They did not consult me and we didn't consult them" on how to target their campaign money.
"We are very busy this weekend," said Casino-Free Milford's spokeswoman Geri Eddins. "We feel really good about winning the vote on Tuesday, although we also realize we have to get every single one of our supporters out to the polls. We're trying to do neighbor-to-neighbor, just as we have from the beginning."
Ms. Eddins said the group's hundreds of volunteers will hold signs, knock on doors and make phone calls. Three pickup trucks will drive around town with large signs, like mobile billboards.
Noting the sizable difference between the opponents' and Foxwoods' spending on the casino vote, Ms. Eddins said, "This campaign has been the proverbial David-vs.-Goliath battle. Our strength has not been money. Our strength is people."
Voters must approve the Foxwoods host community agreement Tuesday and a zoning bylaw change at a special town meeting Dec. 9 for the casino license application to move forward.
On Wednesday, state Gaming Commission officials questioned the suitability of the proposed casino's owner, Crossroads Massachusetts LLC, which had not yet identified a majority equity partner.
If town voters give the casino the OK and state regulators approve its suitability to file a Phase 2 application, the project would compete with a Wynn Resorts proposal in Everett and possibly a reconfigured Suffolk Downs application in Revere for the sole Eastern Massachusetts resort casino license.
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