UNITE HERE, Hollywood Park and Bay Meadows File Referendum

Last Friday papers were filed with the State Attorney General's office seeking a Feb. 5, 2008 referendum on the amended compacts ratified last month that would allow up to 17,000 additional slot machines for the Agua Caliente Band of Cahuilla Indians in the Coachella Valley, the Morongo Band of Mission Indians near Banning, the Pechanga Band of Luiseño Indians near Temecula, and the Sycuan Band of Kumeyaay Indians in San Diego County.

The papers were filed by UNITE HERE, the union representing hotel and restaurant employees, filed referendum requests as part of a coalition that includes the Bay Meadows and Hollywood Park horse-race tracks. On the sidelines considering joining the fight are at least two tribes with casinos in Placer and San Diego counties.

The attorney general's office will prepare wording for the referendum petitions. After that, opponents have until Oct. 10 to collect 433,971 valid voter signatures to qualify each of the four compact referendum measures -- one for each agreement with the four tribes- for the Feb. 5 election. That means that more than 2 million signatures must be collected by early October, which could cost at least $4 million just by itself. It is predicted that the cost of the political campaigns leading up to the vote, where spending on political consultants and advertising is very heavy, could be $30 million to $40 million for each side.

Representatives of the tribes vowed to fight the challenge. The state would lose billions of dollars over the life of the deals if the referendums succeed, they said. "Any attempt to overturn these compacts will have a negative impact on what is already a very stressed California state budget," said Patrick Dorinson, a spokesman for the Morongo tribe.

Gov. Schwarzenegger, who negotiated the agreements last summer, will "defend the compacts aggressively," said spokeswoman Sabrina Lockhart.

Sources:
http://www.pe.com/localnews/indianaffairs/stories/PE_News_Local_R_casinos28.8b332b.html http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la-me-compacts28jul28,1,7384984.story?track=rss&ctrack=1&cset=true