 Newsletter Signup
Stay informed with the
NEW Casino City Times newsletter! |
Gaming News
California Senator to Stop Soliciting Gaming Tribes20 June 2003SACRAMENTO, California – As reported by the Desert Sun: “Sen. Jim Battin, R-La Quinta, Thursday said he will stop soliciting Indian tribes with casinos as clients for his private business as a media buyer, a day after a news report disclosed the new line of work he began earlier this year. "`I will not be involved in any business that affects tribes,’ said Battin, a prominent supporter of gambling tribes in the Legislature. He added that a tribe never actually hired him. “…But the nine-year legislative veteran said he didn’t do anything wrong seeking tribal business and is only making the change to avoid a perception that could call his integrity into question. “…The decision by Battin, who sits on the Senate Governmental Organization Committee that oversees gambling, to drop his pursuit of tribal clients came as a relief to a former state regulator of laws on state employee behavior and campaign contributions. “…Battin said Thursday that he started his sole proprietorship earlier this year to capitalize on his pre-political career in television advertising. He said the company legally is called Voter Strategies but bills clients as Voter Strategies Media Placement and Buying. “…He said the promotion campaign pitched to the Barona Band of Mission Indians in San Diego County and a few other tribes, which he wouldn’t name, was intended to reinforce `their already positive public support’ in the face of criticism of their casino activities…” |