Although they are both trying to keep an open mind, one of the
area’s state representatives says he outright opposes an Indian
casino in San Benito County, and the other says he will oppose it
if locals do.
Hollister – Although they are both trying to keep an open mind, one of the area’s state representatives says he outright opposes an Indian casino in San Benito County, and the other says he will oppose it if locals do.
Assemblyman Simon Salinas, D-Salinas, said he is against the proposed California Valley Miwok casino, and State Sen. Jeff Denham, R-Merced, said he will adopt the stance of his constituents.
“I want to be clear: My position (on the casino) is no,” Salinas said. “I have a concern about Hwy. 25 … it can’t handle the increased traffic. And we don’t even have enough affordable housing for our current workforce. The community has a right to voice its opinion in no uncertain terms. If somebody brought a nuclear power plant to Salinas, I wouldn’t say, ‘Well, let’s look at the plusses and minuses.’ I’d say, ‘no.'”
And although Denham has not taken an official stance on the issue, he did say he would be taking whatever the public sentiment may be to Gov. Schwarzenegger.
“I’ve got a very close relationship with the Governor. We meet often, and he said many times that he will look to local government before making any decisions,” Denham said.
The county government is still mulling over the possibility of the casino the California Valley Miwok tribe has teamed up with investment group Game Won to build. The proposed casino would be similar in size to Yolo County’s Cache Creek casino, which is 66,000 square feet with 1,762 slot machines.
But any decisions the local leaders, including Salinas and Denham, may have made so far would be premature, said California Valley Miwok Project Manager Gary Ramos.
“I believe they don’t have enough information to make a decision. We spoke with the governor’s office before we even started and we made a pledge that we wanted to get local and county input,” Ramos said.
The tribe will have an economic impact report detailing the economic benefits the casino would have on the area ready early next month, he said, and before local leaders can see that they can’t see the big picture.
Among the benefits the report will show, he said, the county will receive 10 percent of what the tribe has to pay the state in gaming revenue. An additional 10 percent of that will go to Hollister. Ramos also said the casino would help ease unemployment in the county by providing 1,700-2,000 jobs. Hiring preference, which is usually given to tribal members, will be given to county residents, he said. Because the California Valley Miwok tribe has only five members and because unemployment is such a problem in San Benito County, Ramos said the tribe felt it was important to give local residents preference.
But Salinas said he still was not convinced.
“I’ve never heard of a casino (being) part of the economic development of San Benito County,” he said. “And besides, I don’t know of many jobs that pay enough to live out here.”
Ramos said the tribe is confident it will be able to create union jobs, and that even casino workers who make minimum wage can do quite well in tips. A dealer can make $60,000-$80,000 a year, he said.
“These are going to be good-paying jobs. We are really looking to put together an employee package that not only pays good wages but offers good benefits,” Ramos said.
Denham said he is against anything the community does not support. And as for local support in San Benito County, he said he doesn’t see it yet.
“The only way I would ever support (a casino) is if the citizens and leaders of San Benito County reached a unified consensus supporting the proposal,” Denham said in a letter to concerned constituents. “If a tribe cannot gain support from locally-elected officials and the community-at-large, then any plans for a casino should be withdrawn. A casino and its related impacts should never be forced onto a small rural county over the objections of its citizens and its leaders.”
Because Schwarzenegger has pledged not to sign gaming compacts with tribes without overwhelming support from locals, Denham is confident the Miwoks won’t be able to push anything on the county its residents don’t want.
But Ramos said Salinas’s and Denham’s opposition won’t decrease the tribe’s chances of getting a compact.
“I think it’s way too early for this to hurt us with the governor, because I really believe they (Salinas and Denham) don’t have enough information yet, and that’s because it hasn’t been disseminated yet. We’re trying to do this (economic report) within a reasonable time frame, but we don’t just want to jump out and tell people things to make them happy. We want to make sure we take the time to get this right,” Ramos said.
Jessica Quandt covers politics for the Free Lance. Reach her at 831-637-5566 ext. 330 or at [email protected].
