"Doing It Right" Is No Longer an Option

Neighbors,

The time to "do it right" has passed. We have been promised from the beginning that we, in Massachusetts, would "do it right". We were told that every other state that has gone before us had gotten it wrong, that the industry had been in control of the legislation or that tribal gaming rights had trumped the states' rights because they had been "out in front" of the state legislatures.

Well here we are. There are only three days and a wake-up left in the legislative calendar and there's no agreement but one could come at any moment. Secret negotiations, honest-to-goodness secret negotiations are underway at this hour in Boston's Statehouse. The Cradle of Liberty is about to become a slot parlor and the casinos' interests are better represented than are ours. Does anyone honestly believe that the casino lobbyists aren't being consulted during these negotiations? Of course they are and we expect and accept it as business as usual.

The truth is the Massachusetts' legislature and Governor are following the casino industry's playbook. The industry is in the driver's seat. They are on Beacon Hill right now. Their message is being heard while we are shut out of the process.

The most ardent casino supporters among us say, "If they're going to put a casino in my neighborhood, they must do it right!" Will you hold our legislators accountable for what is about to transpire?

Over the next 3 days, the secret negotiations will end, a compromise will be reached and the leadership will tell our representatives which way to vote. Our representatives are not concerned with what's best for us but what's best for the casino industry. Whether you support or oppose expanded gambling in Massachusetts, you understand the need to safeguard our way of life in neighborhoods across the Commonwealth. You know that there is no way to ensure that this bill will protect us. You know that this will be yet another bad policy decision from Beacon Hill.

If you've already called or emailed our legislators and the Governor, call them again. Then call your friends and ask them to call their legislators at 617-722-2000. If you're not sure about calling your friends, ask yourself whether you would be willing to make a phone call if those friends asked you to do the same.

If you've been told that it will be done right, ask how they can make that guarantee, if they won't even have time to read the bill.

More is accomplished by quiet conversations than by boisterous rants. Change comes not from podiums and hallowed halls but from kitchen tables and coffee shops.

When the casino doors open at Suffolk Downs, will you be able to claim, "I fought until the bitter end", or will you lament that, "There's nothing we can do to change it, so why bother?"

I have chosen to stand up and fight. What will your choice be?

John Ribeiro
www.NeighborsOfSuffolkDowns.org