• “I am really opposed to driving in my community and seeing a big casino. I have no objection to gambling, but I do not think this proposal is good for the land, and the profits are not going to be reinvested in Rohnert Park.” Bob Ginn, retired schoolteacher, voicing his opinion after a city council meeting regarding gambling halls coming to the area.
August 2003, San Francisco Chronicle
Government Policymakers
• “We are trying to make sure that local governments have a role to play and their voices are heard.” Richard Pombo, Congressman of the eleventh District of California, comments on his bill that would tighten regulation for Indian tribes to build casinos away from their reservations.
November 2005, Contra Costa Times
• “I recognize the value of providing gaming in historically recognized lands that Indians have owned, in many cases, for a couple of centuries, but I do not believe expansion of gaming in urban areas is good for California.” Former Governor Gray Davis expressing his interpretation of Proposition 1A and his belief that moving Indian casinos into urban areas is not negotiable.
January 2003, Contra Costa Times
• “What we can realistically expect from a casino is residents leaving their hard earned money at the slots in an easy fix effort to break the cycle of poverty.” Gayle McLaughlin, Richmond City Councilmember, commenting at the U.S. Bureau of Indian Affairs and City of Richmond Point Molate Resort and Casino Draft EIS Scoping Session.
March 2006
• “I respect the sovereignty of the tribe, but it makes it disappointing when they choose a location that violates the fundamental sovereignty of this country when it comes to land-use authority.” Mike Reilly, Sonoma County supervisor, commenting moments after the Sonoma County Supervisors decided to formally oppose a Rohnert Park casino.
October 2003, Press Democrat
• “The purpose of Proposition 1A was to create a limited expansion to the state’s general prohibition upon casino-style gaming that would allow Indian tribes to conduct gaming on ‘remote’ Indian lands. The voters of the state were lead to believe that the prospect of urban gaming cropping up throughout the state was not a legitimate concern.” Marc A. Le Forestier, California Deputy Attorney General, in a brief filed against an Indian tribe’s plan to turn San Pablo Casino card room into a Nevada – style casino.
December 2002, The Oakland Tribune
• “Any other developer in the county would have to pay substantial fees to mitigate traffic impacts. At the reservation they’ll have a four – story parking structure sitting right on a creek; no place in the state of California can you do that legally.” Gail Marshall, Santa Barbara County Supervisor, contending tribes are using their status as a sovereign government to skirt environmental laws.
May 2001, Los Angeles Times