Tribe’s Plan for Martha’s Vineyard Casino Fails to Get Majority Vote
Referendum comes as judge is set to rule on whether gambling is allowed on island’s tribal lands; tribal chairman says issue might be put to a vote another year
The Aquinnah Wampanoag tribe had proposed adding electronic, bingo-style games to this unfinished community center on tribal lands on Martha’s Vineyard. PHOTO: JON KAMP/THE WALL STREET JOURNAL
A referendum that would have allowed members of the Aquinnah Wampanoag tribe to bring electronic, bingo-style games to an unfinished tribal community center on Martha’s Vineyard failed to win a two-thirds majority vote on Sunday.
Tribal chairman Tobias Vanderhoop said the vote was 110-110 with eight votes disqualified.
“The will of our citizens, based on the result of today’s vote, is that there will be no change to present course of the tribe,” Mr. Vanderhoop said in an emailed statement. He said the tribe’s constitution requires a two-thirds majority vote for referendums to pass and “this initiative did not attain the required number of votes to become binding on the Tribal Council.”
The voting came as the state, town and a local community association sued to block the project, arguing that a 1983 agreement granting the tribe nearly 500 acres on the famous resort island specifically prohibits gambling.
http://www.wsj.com/articles/tribes-plan-for-marthas-vineyard-casino-fails-to-get-majority-vote-1439775334
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