PRO CASINO
Submitted by Bob Barrett, mayor of Peoria; Adolfo Gamez, mayor of Tolleson; and Sharon Wolcott, mayor of Surprise.
As mayors of our respective cities, we work every day to help create the best possible environment for our residents to succeed. We also recognize that as neighbors there are unique opportunities in which our cities can work together for the benefit of the entire West Valley.
The Tohono O’odham Nation’s planned West Valley Resort and Casino is an excellent example of one of these opportunities. The potential it brings — thousands of new jobs, permanent positive economic development, and exciting entertainment opportunities, all at no cost to taxpayers — is why it enjoys overwhelming public support. It is why our respective councils voted unanimously to support this project.
It is also why several members of the Glendale City Council recently moved to begin discussions with the Tohono O’odham Nation. We applaud the foresight and independence of those council members for standing up and supporting substantive dialogue.
CON CASINO
Submitted by Jim Lane, mayor of Scottsdale; Mark Mitchell, mayor of Tempe; Jerry Weiers, mayor of Glendale; Thomas L. Schoaf, mayor of Litchfield Park; and John Lewis, mayor of Gilbert.
As mayors of our respective cities, we have pledged to protect the best interests of our communities. We believe that the recent passage of H.R. 1410, the Keeping the Promise Act, by the U.S. House of Representatives is a significant step in the right direction.
We urge our Arizona senators to take a leadership role on this issue as it makes its way to the Senate.
The Keep the Promise Act is federal legislation introduced by a bipartisan group of Arizona’s congressional representatives that will prohibit additional tribal casinos being built on county islands in cities in the Phoenix metropolitan area.
It is a topic of grave concern in our respective cities, to the degree that some of us recently passed city resolutions in support of the bill and to publicly express our strong opposition to the construction of tribal casinos in our communities because it is contrary to our cities’ best interests.
