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Detroit Residents Rally Against Governor

DETROIT, Michigan – (PRESS RELEASE) -- Hundreds of City of Detroit elected officials, community leaders and residents rallied today at Seven Mile and Meyers in the heart of the community to send a message to Governor Granholm that they don't like having one set of rules for Detroit and another for the rest of the state.

Supporters filled out and mailed postcards addressed to the Governor telling her they do not like her endorsement of a position that it's okay to expand gambling in Michigan and plan to provide 24-hour Internet gambling to young people without voter approval. The Governor has come out in opposition to Proposal 1, which would require the rest of Michigan to go through the same process Detroit went through to build and open casinos in the city.

Speakers at the rally ranged from State Representatives to community activists, from the Chief Financial Officer of the city to casino employees and from faith-based leadership to ordinary citizens. They all had the same message for the Governor -- that what is good for Detroit should be good for the rest of the state and to vote "Yes" on Proposal 1.

"It is amazing to me that our Governor has appeared in recent commercials supporting a position that would allow politicians to approve such things as 24-hour Internet gambling targeting young people and expanding casinos without voter approval," said Rev. Horace Sheffield III Executive Director of Detroit Association of Black Organizations. "She needs to look at what the voters are saying and what we are saying here in Detroit.

"We are here to send a message to the Governor that we are not buying into the hype. Before any gambling expansion takes place we the voters want to make sure a local vote takes place along with a statewide one, just like we had to do in Detroit."

Proposal 1 would require any new state-sanctioned casino-style gambling plans to be approved by voters in affected communities and by voters statewide -- the exact process Detroit's casinos had to go through to be approved.

"Proposal 1 merely requires everyone else to follow the same rules Detroit followed when casinos came to Detroit," said Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick. "Detroit conducted a local vote and then had to win a statewide referendum to start an industry that has generated 8,000 new jobs and critical revenue for the City. Passage of Proposal 1 will assure that others who want to bring gaming to their area will have to secure the approval of voters the same way Detroit did."

"This is a matter of fairness and equal treatment," said Rev. Sheffield. "It is particularly important to Detroit because gambling interests are lobbying the Michigan Legislature to open race tracks, so-called 'racinos' and other new gambling outside Detroit, that would threaten the jobs of Detroiters at Detroit casinos. It is just amazing to me that the Governor would take such a blatantly anti-Detroit position on this."

Under so-called "racino" legislation (HBs 4609-4611) pending in a House- Senate conference committee, the Lottery would begin operating 18,000 or more new slot machines at Michigan horse racetracks as early as next year without a vote of the people. But just like in the early years of the Lottery, Michigan schools would get little of the new Lottery slot revenues. Instead, the bills divert most of the racino revenues to horse racetrack owners and the state's general fund.

"Today the law says all Lottery revenues must go to Michigan schools. But now, some state lawmakers are trying to change the law and pull a fast one on voters by using the Lottery to make horse racetrack owners rich and to increase their own spending," said Gwen Scales, Detroit community activist and supporter of Proposal 1. "If Proposal 1 passes on Nov. 2, Detroit voters will be able to decide if this latest Lottery diversion heist is a good idea or not. Detroit voters deserve to be able to vote on future gambling expansions in our state and in their communities."

"As a Detroiter and casino employee, I urge all Detroiters to vote Yes on Proposal 1," stated Warren J. Black, a Floor Supervisor at MGM Grand in Detroit. "Casinos have created a lot of opportunity for people in Detroit. There are a lot of people like me -- people who have been able to establish themselves independently for the first time in their lives. These are real people with real jobs. I know. I am one of those people. Thousands of Detroiters work in the casinos and their jobs will be in danger if new casinos open up all over Michigan."

The racino bills have passed both the House and Senate in different versions. Under the House racino package, 60 percent of the revenues would go to horse racetracks and other largely horse-related recipients. The general fund would get 40 percent of the revenues, of which only about one-third would go to schools. Under the Senate version, 70 percent of the revenues go to the state Treasury. Of that amount, 94 percent goes to the general fund and only 6 percent to schools.

The racino bills represent another attempt by the Legislature to break the so-called "promise of the Lottery" to send all funds to education.

"Some politicians in the Legislature and elsewhere in state government are trying to divert funds once again from Detroit schools," Sheffield said. "Detroit voters can stop this heist -- or at least get a chance to vote on it themselves -- by voting 'YES' on Proposal 1."

Under Proposal 1, Michigan voters would decide future State-proposed gambling expansions -- just as Michigan voters have always decided State- proposed gambling expansions in the past, including the Lottery in 1972 and the three Detroit casinos in 1996. Proposal 1 is opposed by gambling expansion supporters who are trying to evade voters by lobbying the Legislature to open nine new horse racetrack casinos in Michigan as early as next year. It is expected that each of the nine racetrack casinos would have 2,000 or so slot machines, which would amount to a near doubling of the number of slots in Michigan -- without a vote of the people.

The Let Voters Decide - Yes on 1 Coalition has more than 40,000 members statewide, including Detroit Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick; U.S. Rep. Candice Miller, R-Harrison Township; State Sen. Buzz Thomas, D-Detroit; U.S. Rep. Mike Rogers, R-Brighton; Eaton County Sheriff Rick Jones, a Republican; Isabella County Commission Vice Chair Sharon Tilmann, a Democrat; the Detroit Regional Chamber of Commerce; 23 is Enough, an anti-gambling group in Grand Rapids and west Michigan; Positively Muskegon; the Rev. Wendell Anthony, President of the Detroit Branch NAACP; the Detroit Black Chamber of Commerce; former Chippewa County Prosecutor Patrick Shannon, a Democrat; former Michigan State Police Director Col. Ritchie T. Davis, who also served on the Michigan Gaming Control Board; two former teachers of the year; nearly two dozen state legislators; and thousands of ordinary citizens from across the state. (A list of members can be found at http://www.letvotersdecideyes.com .)

Proposal 1 is simple. A "yes" vote on Proposal 1 means that Michigan voters get to vote on any proposed expansion of gambling in their communities by the State. Proposal 1 is consistent with Michigan history. Whenever State-sanctioned gambling has expanded in Michigan, voters have made the decision -- the Lottery in 1972, and the three Detroit casinos in 1996. The proposal has no effect on existing Michigan Lottery games. Under the amendment, the Lottery is free to establish new games in the future short of placing Video Lottery Terminals/slot machines or table games into community- based locations such as neighborhood bars and restaurants. The State/Lottery could operate casino-style gambling in the future if voters approve.

The three Detroit casinos and the Lottery would continue to operate because they have already been approved by Michigan voters. Current Indian casinos would also continue to operate because they are regulated by federal law.

Under their constitutions, 10 other states permit certain types of gaming activities only when they are authorized by a local vote of citizens in the municipality or county where gaming would take place -- Alabama, Colorado, Delaware, Kansas, Louisiana, Maryland, New Jersey, Rhode Island, South Dakota and West Virginia. In addition, the constitutions of five states require a statewide vote of the people for gambling expansion or authorization -- Colorado, Montana, New Jersey, Rhode Island and Washington. Starting with our state's first constitution in 1835, the Michigan Constitution has always contained an amendment specifying the level of gambling activities allowed in our state.

The message was clear today, that Michigan voters especially in Detroit, are voting Yes for Proposal 1.

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