Deadline passes for casino measure

<p>The deadline has passed for the Sonoma County Board of Supervisors to put an advisory measure regarding the proposed Rohnert Park casino on the Nov. 4 ballot, but they might discuss putting one on a subsequent ballot if legislation being proposed by a North Bay assemblyman is passed by the state Legislature.</p><p>The legislation, proposed by Assemblyman Jared Huffman, would require either local voter approval of state casinos or an intergovernmental agreement between the tribe and the immediate area involved to offset environmental impacts.</p><p>Huffman is in the process of refining the bill, and if passed, it would affect the decision by the Bureau of Indian Affairs — part of the Department of the Interior — to take land in Rohnert Park planned for a casino into federal trust for the Federated Indians of Graton Rancheria.</p><p>The text of the law should be completed soon, but the Legislature might not vote on it until the end of the year, Huffman said.</p><p>“If his bill goes through and becomes law, maybe we will re-visit creating an advisory measure — perhaps even for a special election — because there would be a strong argument to put it on a ballot,” said Supervisor Mike Kerns.</p><p>Kerns says that all five county supervisors are against creating the casino.</p><p>“The board has been very clear that we stand in opposition to it. We certainly have lobbied and will continue to lobby representatives and the governor’s office through letters and phone calls,” he said.</p><p>Kerns and board member Mike Reilly expressed support for an advisory measure, but another vote from among the remaining three supervisors was necessary for passage.</p><p>“There were some last-minute efforts to see if there was a third vote, but this amounted to trying to contact people who were on vacation,” said Petaluma attorney Mike Healy, a strong supporter of an advisory measure. “Now the Stop the Casino 101 Coalition will ask the remaining six candidates running for supervisor seats to pledge that they will put an advisory measure on the next (June 2010) ballot.” </p><p>Kerns had mixed feelings about the supervisors not putting an advisory measure on the Nov. 3 ballot.</p><p>“I have some regrets,” he said. “I argued that giving people the right to voice their opinion is part of what democracy is all about, and a strong vote against casinos might have added some weight in the governor’s negotiations with the tribe. However, the people of Sonoma County have made it very clear that they don’t support Indian casinos,” Kerns said.</p><p>Sonoma County voters opposed propositions 94-97, which passed and thereby extended gaming compacts with Southern California casinos by 10 years and permitted additional slot machines.</p><p>Kerns also said that he was concerned that putting the measure on the November ballot could have limited supervisors’ effort to get the Sonoma-Marin Rail Transit measure passed.</p><p>“Absolutely. That was an issue for me,” he said.</p><p>(Contact Dan Johnson at dan.johnson@arguscourier.com)</p>