Opinion: Bill keeps off-reservation casinos out of communities

As mayors of our respective cities, we have pledged to protect the best interests of our communities. We believe that the recent passage of H.R. 1410, the Keeping the Promise Act, by the U.S. House of Representatives is a significant step in the right direction.

We urge our Arizona senators to take a leadership role on this issue as it makes its way to the Senate.

The Keep the Promise Act is federal legislation introduced by a bipartisan group of Arizona’s congressional representatives that will prohibit additional tribal casinos being built on county islands in cities located in the Phoenix metropolitan area.

It is a topic of grave concern in our respective cities, to the degree that some of us recently passed city resolutions in support of the bill and to publicly express our strong opposition to the construction of tribal casinos in our communities because it is contrary to our cities’ best interests.