Political stagecraft and public resolve
We are all entering an important phase of protecting our communities from the predatory gambling trade. The casinos' political allies are working at a feverish pitch to bail out the casinos and to shovel misinformation to the people.
During the next two weeks Mayor Nutter and Councilman DiCicco are bent on trying to ram through zoning for both SugarHouse and Foxwoods.
They are trying to fast-track two zoning bills that, if enacted, would actually decrease oversight and public involvement. It would eliminate a layer of council approval, which would leave the public to vent only at the Planning Commission. This takes the cue from Vince Fumo who did the same when he designed Act 71: he delegated the decisions to an unelected agency (in his case, the PGCB) in an effort to escape political accountability.
When it comes to casinos, the zoning bills would cement our Planning Commission as being the local PGCB; a place where decisions are preordained and public grievances are ignored, while the politicians stay conveniently behind the wings.
We caution you not to take the bait during these next two weeks.
We are unwilling to jump for every corrupt bill or hearing. We will show up and so should you, but recognize that these are sham proceedings: this is the staging scripted by those who have committed publicly to fast-track these facilities into our communities. It begins with the Gaming Control Board hearing on May 6th at the Convention Center, at which you can provide comments by registering by this Friday. The next day, May 7th, we will have Act II, Scene II when City Council's Rules Committee holds a hearing on the zoning bills.
They will not address the real issues. They've been telling you since 2006 that these casinos are a "done deal." But we doubt these hearings will allow people to talk about the long and unsure road ahead for these two casino companies. We doubt these hearings will even touch on the fact that neither casino is in any rush at all. SugarHouse, which still needs plenty of approvals and permits, has admitted that it has no financing at all — zip, nada, zilch. When it comes to permits, Foxwoods doesn't have a thing and seems in no particular hurry.
The officials probably won't even acknowledge the fact that they are trying to approve slot parlors for Market Street and North Delaware Avenue that would be open 24/7. Yes, those are the operating hours at Chester and Bensalem.
A 24-hour slots parlor in our neighborhoods, courtesy of your elected officials. Frankly, they are probably clueless about this and many other aspects of these facilities. We'll change that, for sure.
We will attend these hearings but we are focusing the bulk of our resources on implementing our own program. We will continue to build our strength at our West Philly town hall, on May 21st. And, of course, we are also putting maximum effort into our Beat the House event on June 6th. Please register for both events.
We will win on our own terms and by our own rules. We will win by continuing to tell the truth and by standing by our principles.
We'll post more information in the coming days and weeks to explain just how corrupt our officials have become. Hold tight.
Meanwhile, take a moment and read an amazing op-ed in today's Inquirer, written by David McKenna, a Casino-Free volunteer. Have you written a letter to your local newspapers lately? We have contact information available, and when you send your letter in, we may publish it here as well!
There will be no casinos in Philadelphia. Join us and beat the house.
P.S. Please share this with a friend and ask them to join our efforts. That's how we grow and become more powerful, with your help.
