It's taken the North Fork Rancheria of Mono Indians in California more than a decade to win state and federal approval for its off-reservation casino but it all could be unraveled by voters on election day.
Opponents of the casino collected enough signatures to put Proposition 48 on the ballot this November.
A no vote would overturn the bill that ratified the tribe's Class III gaming compact.
"Everyone will benefit, but now we are just getting caught up in red tape. It's frustrating. We just want to do a good thing," Vice Chairwoman Maryann McGovran told The San Francisco Chronicle.
According to BallotPedia,
the Table
Mountain Rancheria has contributed more than $2 million -- the largest
amount -- to the campaign against the compact. The Table Mountain Casino is about 31
miles from the North Fork site.
An investor and bondholder in the casino owned by the Picayune Rancheria of the
Chukchansi Indians has contributed another $1.7 million, while the
Chukchansi Economic Development Authority has contributed $25,000, according to
BallotPedia. The Chukchansi
Gold Resort & Casino is about 38 miles from the North Fork site.
The spending far outweighs the support for the compact. The North Fork
Rancheria and its partner, Station
Casinos, have only raised $325,000 to defend their project, according to
BallotPedia.
A description of Proposition 48, from the California
Secretary of State, follows:
Proposition 48 - Referendum to Overturn Indian Gaming Compacts
Get the Story:
If
signed by the required number of registered voters and timely filed with the
Secretary of State, this petition will place on the statewide ballot a challenge
to a state law previously approved by the Legislature and the Governor. The law
must then be approved by a majority of voters at the next statewide election to
go into effect. The law ratifies two gaming compacts (with the North Fork
Rancheria of Mono Indians, and the Wiyot Tribe); and it exempts execution of the
compacts, certain projects, and intergovernmental agreements from the California
Environmental Quality Act. (13-0007)
Tribe's hopes for huge Madera casino hinge on ballot battle
(The San Francisco Chronicle 9/18)
Bureau of Indian Affairs Documents:
Press
Release | Fact
Sheet: North Fork Rancheria Decision | Section
20 Determination: North Fork Rancheria
Federal Register Notices:
Indian
Gaming (October 22, 2013)
Land
Acquisitions; North Fork Rancheria of Mono Indians of California (December
3, 2012)
Related Stories:
Maryann McGovran: Vote for North Fork
Rancheria's gaming deal (9/15)
Rival tribes outspend North Fork
Rancheria on gaming referendum (9/4)