A California lobbyist for the Ilitch Family revealed first term state Senator Patricia Wiggins (D-Santa Rosa) would sponsor a second piece of legislation aimed at winning legislative ratification of agreements to allow a Detroit-based casino syndicate to develop two off-reservation casinos in Barstow, Calif. The deadline to submit bill requests to the Office of Legislative Counsel was January 26.
GOP politico, now Ilitch Family lobbyist, Keith Olberg revealed this information during a "Casino Update" at a Barstow City Council meeting January 16.
Wiggins was elected to the California Senate in November 2006 to fill the coastal Humboldt County seat vacated due to term limits by Wesley Chesbro (D-Arcata).
Chesbro attempted to shepherd the same plans through the legislature in 2006 but a Senate Committee chaired by Dean Florez (D-Bakersfield) failed to take any action on the plans in March 2006 and an Assembly committee chaired by Jerome Horton (D-Inglewood) voted to reject the agreements in June. The agreements with the Los Coyotes and Big Lagoon Rancheria Bands of Indians, which must be ratified by the legislature this year or they expire, were originally signed by Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger in 2005.
Wiggins was elected to the California Senate in November 2006 to fill the coastal Humboldt County seat vacated due to term limits by Wesley Chesbro (D-Arcata).
Chesbro attempted to shepherd the same plans through the legislature in 2006 but a Senate Committee chaired by Dean Florez (D-Bakersfield) failed to take any action on the plans in March 2006 and an Assembly committee chaired by Jerome Horton (D-Inglewood) voted to reject the agreements in June. The agreements with the Los Coyotes and Big Lagoon Rancheria Bands of Indians, which must be ratified by the legislature this year or they expire, were originally signed by Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger in 2005.
During the 2006 legislative session only six members of the legislature vowed publicly to support the plans and one of those was Chesbro who is no longer in office.
The addition of Wiggins could bring the total supporters on the record back to six out of 120 total Sacramento legislators.
Wiggins would be expected to take up Chesbro's torch given the only remotely compelling public policy case for relocating off-reservation casinos clear across the state to Barstow is tied to preservation of the Big Lagoon reserve in the nothern most section of Wiggins' District. Wiggins' constituents would expect her to take on the cause which has failed thus far to capture the interest of any other member of the legislature.
While the agreements would guarantee no future casino development on the Big Lagoon Rancheria lands it doesn't prohibit other development or future uses which could impact the Big Lagoon. The Big Lagoon Rancheria is sovereign territory. The family that makes up the Big Lagoon Indian tribe has consistently made that point clear and has reported recently the acquisitions of additional acreage to their current reservation (trust lands) for other development purposes. Some believe that was a threat designed as leverage in negotiations with the legislature.
Ilitch's Team has known since last summer that it would need to find a new author for legislation in a 2007 session with Chesbro's departure. Unless there is a significant show of support from an additional block of legislators at this anticipated announcement and if the author they've secured is Wiggins, it would further signal the agreements are on the same doomed path they took in 2006. If Wiggins refused to carry the legislation on Ilitch's behalf that would also be troubling news.
Ilitch's Team has known since last summer that it would need to find a new author for legislation in a 2007 session with Chesbro's departure. Unless there is a significant show of support from an additional block of legislators at this anticipated announcement and if the author they've secured is Wiggins, it would further signal the agreements are on the same doomed path they took in 2006. If Wiggins refused to carry the legislation on Ilitch's behalf that would also be troubling news.
No comments:
Post a Comment