Councilmember Gary Sherwood has done it again. On September 17, 2014 he appeared before the Senate Committee on Indian Affairs hearing on Senate Bill 2670. The bill, if approved by the Senate, would have the effect of stopping the Tohono O'odham from building a casino in Glendale.
It appears that his statement is not true. In fact, the Cardinals have sent a letter to the Chair of the Committee, Senator Jon Tester, as well as the Vice Chair Senator Barrasso, Senator John McCain, Senator Jeff Flake, Mayor Jerry Weiers and all members of the Glendale City Council, categorically stating that they do not support the casino project. The Arizona Coyotes released a public statement indicating that they have never expressed support for the casino project.
Looks like Sherwood was shooting from the hip…err…his lips…again. Sherwood is on a personal path of self destruction with a history of public statements that have all but destroyed his credibility. No wonder the people of the Sahuaro district, which he represents, seem all too willing to sign a recall petition against him.
On a separate but another questionable note, a blog reader contacted me and asked if Jamie Aldama has the home he owns in the Yucca district registered as a rental property with the City of Glendale and if he is paying monthly rental property tax to the city. I have no answer and the city maintains no online listing of rental properties. I suggest the Ocotillo voters go to the source and ask Mr. Aldama. It begs yet another question. Why is Jamie Aldama still sitting on the citizen's Planning and Zoning Commission representing the Yucca district if he doesn't live there and is running as a candidate for the Ocotillo council seat? Councilmember Chavira (Yucca district) should have replaced him when Aldama announced for Ocotillo. Why didn't he? Perhaps he was just lazy and didn't want to deal with the hassle of finding a replacement or perhaps he thought he was giving Aldama greater credibility as an Ocotillo district candidate with Planning and Zoning credentials. There's no love lost between Chavira and Alvarez. She supported him a lot…I mean tons… in his run for his council seat only to be double crossed by him when Chavira voted for the arena management agreement. Alvarez was counting on him to be the fourth vote that would kill the deal. This kind of politics is certainly not for the faint hearted.
The people you should be chastising are the Cardinals and Coyotes, not Councilman Sherwood…he is telling the truth. They both have, albeit behind the scenes, verbally expressed their support for the casino…until now. Representatives of both organizations did so to me during the time I headed the West Valley's largest business organization, as did the Renaissance Hotel, Tanger Outlets and managers of several other Westgate area hotels and retail, eating/drinking establishments. In fact, the only opposition expressed to me that I recall was from DeVry University.
I am personally opposed to Indian gaming…anywhere…period. However, Councilman Sherwood is being made out to be a liar when the real liars are the Coyotes and the Cardinals. The Gila River Indians are behind this smear campaign on Gary Sherwood and are funneling tons of money to people and groups that will support their opposition to the casino. They bought the naming rights to the Arena so they can muscle and intimidate Westgate businesses. They are big advertisers of the Coyotes and Cardinals…hmmm. Who has everything to gain from all this…the Gilas.
Professional sports teams also typically distance themselves politically from gambling issues because of the implications of fixing games, etc associated with gambling. But, they are happy to take gambling advertising dollars!!! Not a surprise that, at the urging of the Gilas' (I'm sure), both the Cardinals and Coyotes have now stated they "do not support the casino".
The real criminals in all this political BS, and that's exactly what this is, are the Gila River Indians. Their tactics are akin to organized crime…only they can do it through legal maneuvers nowadays. This is exactly why I am opposed to Indian gaming….anywhere.
As my father always told me…there is no honor among thieves! There is no honor among ANY of these tribes (TO's included) when it comes to gaming…and that's a shame.
While I respect your assessment and your right to express your views and by the way, you always do so respectfully, I do not agree. At one time, there was honor among these thieves until the TO shattered it.
There has NEVER been any honor among the tribes… nationwide, when it comes to gaming. Compared to commercial gaming, Indian gaming is virtually unregulated, except very loosely by the Federal government, and they fight with each other all the time, especially over gaming "rights". I spent nearly ten years of my professional career working with commercial and Indian gaming in Iowa, Illinois and Arizona and these shenanigans cropped up all the time with the tribes. In fact, I helped write language and was lobbyist for Iowa's riverboat gaming laws.
The TO's are just as shady as the Gila's and others… no better, no worse. The TO's didn't shatter anything..these Arizona tribes have fought behind the scenes and sometimes publicly over gaming ever since the state approved it. This particular issue is just close to home, so it is receiving more scrutiny than past squabbles as they did not directly affect Glendale. I know you don't like the TO's…but they aren't any less "honorable" than any of the other tribes. By the way, the Salt River and Gila tribes are acquiring more land in the SE Valley under "shell" corporations, just like the TO's, in case the casino is built in Glendale. This was told to me by one of the Gila's lobbyists, so there truly is no honor among the thieves.
I don't personally support any Indian casino…have no stake in it…just want the truth to be told…and no one is telling it. FYI, pretty much all of this info is available on line from credible sources for anyone who knows where to look and wants to spend the time researching it.
You are correct…this is not just too close to home…it is at home!
Right on…funny though…I don't hear ANYONE making the case that gaming is NOT really "economic development"…just a shift of entertainment money from one place to another. Indian casinos DO create some jobs…temporary construction and mostly minimum or near minimum wage positions…but is that what municipalities anywhere really want? You need to weigh the benefit of the jobs created versus the dollars that will be shifted from existing entertainment venues and then ask, "Is it really worth it?" In the case of Indian casinos, the answer is NO…because they take nearly ALL the money.
Commercial gaming is taxed at a very high rate and if commercial gaming were in this equation, the answer would be simple…Glendale would be crazy not to want a casino development. The tax windfall would be outstanding. But sadly, this is not the case with an Indian casino unless it is negotiated up front.. and Glendale got a really chintzy deal on this one (if it comes to fruition).
It always makes me sick to hear about the thousands of jobs this casino will create…in reality it will be only a few hundred. The TO's don't have 1500 full time jobs total between their existing 3 casinos! The Arena and Stadium didn't have as many construction jobs as the TO's claim the casino will create. It is total BS.
Indian casinos pay very little in taxes or contributions to the community compared to to the amount of money they take in..which is obscene. And, they don't HAVE to show their true revenues, only REPORT revenues to the state…who doesn't have the legal right to audit them. They have the state over a barrel and they know it. Arizona's compact is a financial joke. The tribes rake in the money and give the state a paltry amount to keep them happy.
If Arizona is serious about gaming, they should allow commercial gaming and let free enterprise determine who survives. The Indians are afraid of that…because they can't compete with commercial gaming.
Even though close to home, the truth of the matter is that the TO casino will have little impact, negative or positive on the area, despite what many people believe. It will not impact home or commercial values, as is commonly believed…there is just no evidence to support that belief. Strangely enough, there is little, if any proof, of the long term positives or negatives of Indian casinos…anywhere.
So, here's the bottom line…why should the Gila and Salt River Tribes reap all the Valley gaming dollars? If all we have are Indian casino's in Arizona, why not let Glendale have one? Who cares what tribe runs it? That land will never be developed for anything else as long as the TO's own it, so why not reap SOME benefit instead of NONE AT ALL. I believe the Feds will approve the casino, so all of this conjecture is pretty meaningless anyway.
Sorry to rant about this…but there is just so much BS that is being thrown around on both sides of this issue that the average person has no idea what is true and what is not. And, probably no one cares what I have to say anyway…but it sure is fun to debate!!!
I care and so do the readers of my blog. Good information!
I don't doubt the tribes are acquiring land. They are "protecting" themselves. That is the point of these bills, to keep this from happening, especially within city limits, albeit a "county island".
If this legislation isn't passed, we won't have to worry about the tribes building casinos, it will be the state that begins building, to collect revenue.
Read the Arizona Republic article dated 4/20/13 written by Sherwood where he lists all the reasons we shouldn't have a casino and says Trent Franks is right. I like that saying – "Follow the money" I live in the his District and thank heavens someone had enough money to fund a recall of Sherwood – the average citizen couldn't afford it.
Connie, If you have the 4/20/13 article by Sherwood can you email it to me?