1.27.08
Casino support includes regional political leaders
People of Port Huron
In a referendum 6½ years ago, 54.2% of Port Huron voters approved the idea of locating a tribal casino within the city limits. The advisory vote had been urged by Don Reynolds, co- owner of the Thomas Edison Inn, and Richard Cummings, then the president of the local AFL-CIO labor council. They saw a casino as a way to create jobs in a struggling city with a double-digit unemployment rate. They also observed that Port Huron remains the only community on the U.S.-Canadian border where a casino exists on the Canadian side without competition on the American shore.
Following the 2001 referendum, the casino won the endorsement of the Port Huron City Council, the St. Clair County Board of Commissioners and the local legislative delegation. No organized local opposition has emerged.
Bay Mills Indian Community
Although it is one of Michigan's oldest federally recognized tribes, Bay Mills has only about 1,300 members. Many of its original members broke away in the 1970s to form the Sault Chippewa, now Michigan's largest tribe with about 31,000 members. Bay Mills is based at Brimley, a town in Chippewa County in the eastern Upper Peninsula. The tribe operates two casinos near Lake Superior.
In August 2002, Bay Mills and Republican Gov. John Engler agreed to settle a dispute that dates to the 1850s when Michigan Gov. Kinsley Bingham promised the tribe a 110-acre parcel at Charlotte Beach on the St. Mary River. Despite that pledge, the property was seized by local officials for back taxes and sold off.
The deal with Engler called for Bay Mills to abandon its claim to the 110 acres, where dozens of families own homes, in exchange for the 12½-acre Edison Inn property in Port Huron. The Edison parcel in effect would become a mini-reservation, land held in trust for the tribe by the Interior Department. The land-settlement agreement still requires congressional approval. A bill that would do that sits in the House Natural Resources Committee, where a vote is scheduled for Feb. 6.
Blue Water Resorts
Blue Water Resorts LLC is led by casino developer Mike Malik, a former Algonac city councilman. He first tried to develop a casino in Port Huron in 1993, when city voters narrowly rejected his plan to convert the old Sears store on Michigan Avenue into a gaming facility that would have been owned by Bay Mills and operated by Harrah's.
In 1995, Malik and Tom Celani bankrolled the campaign in support of Proposal E, the statewide ballot proposal that led to three commercial casinos in Detroit. Malik and another partner, billionaire Marian Ilitch, won the rights to develop one of those casinos. When Malik was disqualified from being licensed as a casino proprietor, reportedly because of tax problems, he sold his interest in the MotorCity Casino to Ilitch.
Malik and Ilitch have worked together on other casino proposals in the Upper Peninsula, Hawaii, California and Long Island. Ilitch has said she supports the Port Huron casino but has no financial interest in it.
Thus far, Malik has spent millions of dollars in lobbying, legal, architectural and other fees. It's a roll of the dice. If the Port Huron proposal fails, he loses the money. If the casino opens, Blue Water Resorts stands to receive 30% of net-win revenues for seven years through a management contract with Bay Mills. Depending on how successful the casino is, Malik's seven-year share could be in the neighborhood of a half-billion dollars.
Lobbyist Alan Wheat
The lobbying firm founded a decade ago by Alan Wheat, a former Missouri congressman, leads a large team hired by Bay Mills and Malik to secure a Port Huron casino. Wheat, who served as deputy director of President Clinton's re-election campaign in 1996, is well-connected in Washington. Federal lobbying reports indicate his firm has been paid more than $1 million since 2002 to lobby for the casino.
Congressional supporters
In 2002, the original legislation to allow a Port Huron casino was introduced in the Senate by Debbie Stabenow, D-Lansing, and in the House by David Bonior, D-Mount Clemens. Stabenow has remained a staunch ally of the Port Huron proposal, while Bonior gave up his position as the No. 2 Democrat in the House to make an unsuccessful run for governor in the 2002 elections.
Bonior's seat was claimed by Candice Miller, R-Harrison Township, who has championed the Port Huron proposal even though she is not a fan of casino gambling. Echoing Bonior, she justifies the project using economic and fair-trade arguments: Gambling already exists in the larger community, and Port Huron should be allowed to compete with the two gaming facilities on the Canadian side of the St. Clair River.
Sen. Carl Levin, a former Detroit city councilman, took no position on the Port Huron casino for many years. Last July, he came out in support of the project. Levin, D-Detroit, chairman of the Senate Armed Services Committee, is one of the most powerful figures on Capitol Hill. Without his endorsement, the project had virtually no chance of success.
The bill that would allow a Port Huron casino was introduced eight months ago by Rep. Bart Stupak, D-Menominee, whose Upper Peninsula district include Bay Mills' tribal lands. Miller and Rep. Patrick Kennedy, D-R.I., co-sponsored Stupak bill. Kennedy's support is seen as critical because he and Rep. Dale Kildee of Flint are co-chairmen of the 99-member Congressional Native American Caucus.
Others who have spoken in favor of a Port Huron casino are Rep. Nick Rahall, D-W.Va., and Rep. Don Young, R-Alaska, the leaders of the House Natural Resources Committee. Their position has been that Miller knows what is best for her district.
Gov. Jennifer Granholm
Until two months ago, it was widely assumed that the governor would not endorse the Port Huron casino.
From 1994 until 1998, when she was elected attorney general, Granholm worked as the top legal adviser to Wayne County Executive Ed McNamara, the boss of Michigan's most powerful political machine. In that role, she worked closely with Bernard Kilpatrick, who was McNamara's chief of staff. His wife and son, Rep. Carolyn Cheeks Kilpatrick and Detroit Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick, are outspoken opponents of the Port Huron casino.
Granholm came out in favor of the Port Huron casino after modifying the Engler agreement. Aides said her support is based on two factors - the millions a casino would pump into the coffers of the cash-strapped state government and her desire to use tourism as an engine to drive Port Huron's moribund economy. The new deal also gives Bay Mills the option of locating the casino at a 19.6-acre site at the foot of Court Street in Desmond Landing.
Sault Chippewa
When Engler and Bay Mills struck their agreement in August 2002, the Sault immediately condemned the deal as reservation shopping. The tribe also noted its own claim to Charlotte Beach.
The Sault changed its position four months later. On his final day in office, Engler reached a similar settlement with the tribe, which owns the Greektown Casino in Detroit. The Sault agreed to give up its Charlotte Beach claim in exchange for a casino in either Romulus, Flint or southern Monroe County.
The Sault chose a site near Metro Airport in Romulus. Rep. John Dingell, D-Dearborn, a powerful lawmaker who has served in Congress since 1955, is sponsoring legislation for the Romulus casino. His bill also is scheduled for a Feb. 6 vote.
It is widely believed that MGM Mirage and Detroit lobbyists are far more worried about the prospect of a casino in Romulus than in Port Huron.
- Compiled by Mike Connell
People of Port Huron
In a referendum 6½ years ago, 54.2% of Port Huron voters approved the idea of locating a tribal casino within the city limits. The advisory vote had been urged by Don Reynolds, co- owner of the Thomas Edison Inn, and Richard Cummings, then the president of the local AFL-CIO labor council. They saw a casino as a way to create jobs in a struggling city with a double-digit unemployment rate. They also observed that Port Huron remains the only community on the U.S.-Canadian border where a casino exists on the Canadian side without competition on the American shore.
Following the 2001 referendum, the casino won the endorsement of the Port Huron City Council, the St. Clair County Board of Commissioners and the local legislative delegation. No organized local opposition has emerged.
Bay Mills Indian Community
Although it is one of Michigan's oldest federally recognized tribes, Bay Mills has only about 1,300 members. Many of its original members broke away in the 1970s to form the Sault Chippewa, now Michigan's largest tribe with about 31,000 members. Bay Mills is based at Brimley, a town in Chippewa County in the eastern Upper Peninsula. The tribe operates two casinos near Lake Superior.
In August 2002, Bay Mills and Republican Gov. John Engler agreed to settle a dispute that dates to the 1850s when Michigan Gov. Kinsley Bingham promised the tribe a 110-acre parcel at Charlotte Beach on the St. Mary River. Despite that pledge, the property was seized by local officials for back taxes and sold off.
The deal with Engler called for Bay Mills to abandon its claim to the 110 acres, where dozens of families own homes, in exchange for the 12½-acre Edison Inn property in Port Huron. The Edison parcel in effect would become a mini-reservation, land held in trust for the tribe by the Interior Department. The land-settlement agreement still requires congressional approval. A bill that would do that sits in the House Natural Resources Committee, where a vote is scheduled for Feb. 6.
Blue Water Resorts
Blue Water Resorts LLC is led by casino developer Mike Malik, a former Algonac city councilman. He first tried to develop a casino in Port Huron in 1993, when city voters narrowly rejected his plan to convert the old Sears store on Michigan Avenue into a gaming facility that would have been owned by Bay Mills and operated by Harrah's.
In 1995, Malik and Tom Celani bankrolled the campaign in support of Proposal E, the statewide ballot proposal that led to three commercial casinos in Detroit. Malik and another partner, billionaire Marian Ilitch, won the rights to develop one of those casinos. When Malik was disqualified from being licensed as a casino proprietor, reportedly because of tax problems, he sold his interest in the MotorCity Casino to Ilitch.
Malik and Ilitch have worked together on other casino proposals in the Upper Peninsula, Hawaii, California and Long Island. Ilitch has said she supports the Port Huron casino but has no financial interest in it.
Thus far, Malik has spent millions of dollars in lobbying, legal, architectural and other fees. It's a roll of the dice. If the Port Huron proposal fails, he loses the money. If the casino opens, Blue Water Resorts stands to receive 30% of net-win revenues for seven years through a management contract with Bay Mills. Depending on how successful the casino is, Malik's seven-year share could be in the neighborhood of a half-billion dollars.
Lobbyist Alan Wheat
The lobbying firm founded a decade ago by Alan Wheat, a former Missouri congressman, leads a large team hired by Bay Mills and Malik to secure a Port Huron casino. Wheat, who served as deputy director of President Clinton's re-election campaign in 1996, is well-connected in Washington. Federal lobbying reports indicate his firm has been paid more than $1 million since 2002 to lobby for the casino.
Congressional supporters
In 2002, the original legislation to allow a Port Huron casino was introduced in the Senate by Debbie Stabenow, D-Lansing, and in the House by David Bonior, D-Mount Clemens. Stabenow has remained a staunch ally of the Port Huron proposal, while Bonior gave up his position as the No. 2 Democrat in the House to make an unsuccessful run for governor in the 2002 elections.
Bonior's seat was claimed by Candice Miller, R-Harrison Township, who has championed the Port Huron proposal even though she is not a fan of casino gambling. Echoing Bonior, she justifies the project using economic and fair-trade arguments: Gambling already exists in the larger community, and Port Huron should be allowed to compete with the two gaming facilities on the Canadian side of the St. Clair River.
Sen. Carl Levin, a former Detroit city councilman, took no position on the Port Huron casino for many years. Last July, he came out in support of the project. Levin, D-Detroit, chairman of the Senate Armed Services Committee, is one of the most powerful figures on Capitol Hill. Without his endorsement, the project had virtually no chance of success.
The bill that would allow a Port Huron casino was introduced eight months ago by Rep. Bart Stupak, D-Menominee, whose Upper Peninsula district include Bay Mills' tribal lands. Miller and Rep. Patrick Kennedy, D-R.I., co-sponsored Stupak bill. Kennedy's support is seen as critical because he and Rep. Dale Kildee of Flint are co-chairmen of the 99-member Congressional Native American Caucus.
Others who have spoken in favor of a Port Huron casino are Rep. Nick Rahall, D-W.Va., and Rep. Don Young, R-Alaska, the leaders of the House Natural Resources Committee. Their position has been that Miller knows what is best for her district.
Gov. Jennifer Granholm
Until two months ago, it was widely assumed that the governor would not endorse the Port Huron casino.
From 1994 until 1998, when she was elected attorney general, Granholm worked as the top legal adviser to Wayne County Executive Ed McNamara, the boss of Michigan's most powerful political machine. In that role, she worked closely with Bernard Kilpatrick, who was McNamara's chief of staff. His wife and son, Rep. Carolyn Cheeks Kilpatrick and Detroit Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick, are outspoken opponents of the Port Huron casino.
Granholm came out in favor of the Port Huron casino after modifying the Engler agreement. Aides said her support is based on two factors - the millions a casino would pump into the coffers of the cash-strapped state government and her desire to use tourism as an engine to drive Port Huron's moribund economy. The new deal also gives Bay Mills the option of locating the casino at a 19.6-acre site at the foot of Court Street in Desmond Landing.
Sault Chippewa
When Engler and Bay Mills struck their agreement in August 2002, the Sault immediately condemned the deal as reservation shopping. The tribe also noted its own claim to Charlotte Beach.
The Sault changed its position four months later. On his final day in office, Engler reached a similar settlement with the tribe, which owns the Greektown Casino in Detroit. The Sault agreed to give up its Charlotte Beach claim in exchange for a casino in either Romulus, Flint or southern Monroe County.
The Sault chose a site near Metro Airport in Romulus. Rep. John Dingell, D-Dearborn, a powerful lawmaker who has served in Congress since 1955, is sponsoring legislation for the Romulus casino. His bill also is scheduled for a Feb. 6 vote.
It is widely believed that MGM Mirage and Detroit lobbyists are far more worried about the prospect of a casino in Romulus than in Port Huron.
- Compiled by Mike Connell
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