As I indicated yesterday, I will post questions on a new topic each Sunday for the four candidates in East Boston's race for state representative to respond to if they choose to. We'll see how this works, and if a reader or candidate believes that the format needs to be tweaked then email me and we'll adjust if the suggestion makes sense. Here is today's question(s):Casino gambling has quickly become a major issue in Massachusetts. The residents of Middleborough approved an agreement that would allow the Mashpee Wampanoag tribe to locate a casino in that town, pending approval of Gov. Patrick, the state legislature and the US Department of the Interior. The governor is also debating whether to legalize such operations under non-Native American ownership. Just recently Mayor Menino said that he’d like to see a “full-blown entertainment complex” at Suffolk Downs, including a casino. If elected, would you vote to allow casinos in Massachusetts? What are the biggest factors that lead to your decision? Are you in favor or opposed to locating a casino at Suffolk Downs? What are the positives and/or negatives of such a facility for residents of East Boston?
15 comments:
A number of candidates have indicated they are interested in using this forum to connect to the voters. Are candidates going to start to repsond? Or, is there too much at stake in publishing their views. I have been checking the blog daily for a response and have been disappointed in the lack of replies to date.
A newly arrived Eastie resident.
Let's be patient. I have been assured by Mota's campaign that her response will be posted soon, and Berninger's campaign indicated that the forum was a good idea. I am trying to make sure that her campaign, as well as those of Basile and Drago, are aware of the question so they have an opportunity to respond as well.
The subject of enhanced gambling in the Commonwealth has received a great deal of attention in recent weeks. It is an important topic for residents and policy makers to examine and one that warrants a thorough and considered discussion. I include residents in the process because it will be the residents who will either benefit from the presence of casino gambling or who will bear the brunt of any negative aspects of the industry. Personally, I think the time for enhanced gambling has arrived, but we need to tread carefully and proceed with all facts at hand in order to make prudent decisions.
Mayor Menino has promoted the concept of Suffolk Downs as a destination resort, one that, hopefully, will bolster the city's revenues and help stem the tide of rising property taxes for Boston residents. While those are laudable goals, it seems premature to count the coffers before the first slot machine is plugged into an outlet. We need to ask ourselves an important question: how can we improve the road system leading to and from Suffolk Downs? Route 1A and Bennington Street in East Boston, as they currently are designed, cannot hope to accommodate the expected additional traffic that a casino would generate. It's inconceivable that either road could be widened, given their proximity to waterways, oil tank farms, and the residential neighborhoods in East Boston and Beachmont. If Route 1A were to be widened to provide one more lane, what would happen to the oil delivery infrastructure that services the region? I'm not an engineer, so I would reserve judgment on that aspect until all feasibility studies were completed.
I believe that any consideration of Suffolk Downs as a viable site for casino gambling must include the revitalization of the horse racing industry at that venue. It is a historic enterprise in East Boston and it should be included in any master plan that envisions Suffolk Downs as a chosen property for gambling. Too many jobs would be lost if the Commonwealth abandons the idea of a resurgence of racing and sites casinos elsewhere. At the very least, slot machines must be offered at all the racing venues in the state. For an ideal situation to occur, a well-designed resort at Suffolk Downs must include provisions for employment of workers benefitting from a strong union presence. Those provisions must be in place for track workers, casino workers, restaurant workers and hotel workers. Welcoming a new industry to the Commonwealth without protecting the workers in that industry would be a big mistake.
Much has been written and broadcast in media outlets about the negative side to casino gambling, the side that may attract crime, prostitution and addictive behaviors. We must include in the master plan for casino gambling a blueprint for public safety and other resources to mitigate those ill effects. We must insist upon strong law enforcement at the venues and we must not condone a laissez-faire attitude simply to accommodate this new industry. Also, the Commonwealth must realize that gambling addiction is a real problem for some people. We need to research how other states have addressed that addiction and we should gauge their success as we draft the master plan for gambling in Massachusetts.
I would like to see the Commonwealth receive the most revenue it can from any casino gambling site that is developed. We must broker the best deal for the residents of Massachusetts, from whatever entity offers a plan to locate enhanced gambling here. We cannot afford to invest in infrastructure improvements without seeing a healthy return on that investment. That being said, I do not believe that Massachusetts could support multiple locations for this type of gambling. Local residents alone cannot be expected to provide the bulk of the gamblers. We must find the best way possible to attract visitors from other states.
Cities and towns in Massachusetts conceivably could realize true property tax relief from enhanced gambling, but we must proceed cautiously and not jump at the first offer that comes our way. Above all, government must adhere to an open public process for this master plan, being especially inclusive of the opinions of host communities, because the public has the most to gain or to lose from this new venture.
Thank you for the opportunity to respond to the forum question.
Enough said...Berninger has my vote!
Ultimately the decision of whether to allow a casino at Suffolk Downs must be made by the people of Eastie, as we will be most directly impacted. I am concerned about what a full-blown casino at Suffolk Downs would mean to our community and will ensure that we engage in a thorough process where all the facts on every side of the issue can be heard and considered, where all stakeholders and all local families can have our voices heard, and where the concerns of our community are the determining factor in the outcome.
Since the Mayor’s unexpected pronouncement, I have weighed the positives and negatives and talked to my neighbors about the prospect of a casino in East Boston. I will closely follow the Boston Redevelopment Authority, state officials, and other official planners for this project. I will continue discussing this issue with Eastie residents at every stop on the campaign trail. When elected, I will facilitate community meetings on this issue and broaden the community process to include all voices. Above all else, we must ensure that the planners and decision-makers truly solicit and respect the views, ideas and opinions of Eastie before any final decision.
The lack of a true voice in the process is what I hear most from our neighbors as people are worried about the implications of casino gambling. Most of us are uneasy about how a casino would affect traffic on Route One and in the tunnels and whether it would result in more crime, drugs and addiction in our community. We need to be asking ourselves if we are prepared to address these issues if a casino is opened at Suffolk Downs.
Suffolk Downs is valuable space and our community deserves the benefits of its redevelopment. The facility and surrounding area should be revitalized and a casino would bring in jobs and raise much-needed revenue for the Commonwealth. We must though, explore other development options to improve the area, create jobs and raise revenue. We must look at what kind of jobs we will create and how working families will be affected by their creation. As residents of East Boston we know that, without a real community process and a thoughtful consideration of the long term impact, it is our community that will suffer most. I look forward to the ongoing discussion about this issue and to advancing the interests of our families as State Representative.
Thank you.
-Gloribell Mota,
Candidate for State Representative
Gloribell responded on August 3, 2007 10:12 PM
http://thehubsterblog.blogspot.com/2007/07/hubster-forum-week-1.html
Exactly! we can have a major development without a casino. we should be planning for a large family entertainment complex without a casino that just shifts around the money of hard working East boston residents.
A debate between candidates for state rep.
Moderator; Do you think fire engines should be painted red?
Mota yes,
Basille yes,
Berninger yes,
Drago….. Mr. Drago?
Moderator; Do you think police uniform should be blue?
Mota yes,
Basille yes,
Berninger yes,
Drago….. Mr. Drago?
Moderator; Do you think it’s a good idea that the sun comes out in the day and the moon at night?
Mota yes,
Basille yes,
Berninger yes,
Drago….. Mr. Drago?
Mr. Drago, what are you doing in this election?....... Mr. Drago? Excuse me, Mr. Drago?
Mr. Drago would you care to answer that question?
No idea……….. thought so.
oh jeeze, wrangler91!
Apologies to Mr. Basile for spelling your name wrong. Won’t happen again.
at leaset you spelt BERNINGER right!
Mr.Drago thinks that he has already won this election! Please I beg all of you to go out there and tell voters that he'd be a step backwards. I hope any of the other three candidates will win or else i'm moving out of town!
Mr. Drago's answers are "whatever the mayor wants". Its really sad
Gambling, casino gambling, enhanced casino gambling, whatever it’s called it will have an effect on the citizens of Massachusetts and the citizens of East Boston. This is a complicated issue that requires serious thought.
We can see that Mr.Basille needs to think about this issue some more.
We get approximately 600 words from Berninger, 400 from Mota, and about 120 from Basille. This will be one of the most important issues to affect the quality of life not only for the people of East Boston but Chelsea, Revere, and Winthrop. It will require thinking out of the box, operative word “thinking”. We can’t do this on the fly.
I can remember my parents, aunts and uncles talking about the airport, when it was a landing strip. The people back then never thought that their landing strip would be handling 1000 takeoffs and landings and 60,000 people a day. They never thought their beloved Neptune Road Park would be destroyed by Massport.
New residents of East Boston might not know this but at one point Massport started buying up the property around Orient Heights, if you wanted to sell your house one call to Massport and it was gone. The plan was to buy up enough property then take the rest by eminent domain, knock them down and expand the airport. Some of the houses were knocked down. We must learn from the past.
I want my elected officials to be talking about this issue NOW! I want them to be talking about this with their counterparts in Chelsea, Revere, and Winthrop. I want pro-active leadership.
I know when our elected officials in Washington start talking about the “Farm Bill,” the “Highway Bill,” and the “Energy Bill” that these bills will be written by the farm, highway, and energy lobby, benefit them, and cost me money. These lobbies have access to the decision makers and spread their influence. The people, who build, run and own casinos have the money to buy influence in the same way. They pay their lawyers and lobbyists millions of dollars a year to get around local officials.
We must know that our State Representative has thought about this issue now and for the future. We have to have the confidence that our State Rep. is the smartest person in the room.
I WANT TO SEE A THOUGHT PROCESS!!!
So let’s look at what we have. Mr. Drago who has not thought about this issue at all apparently. Mr. Basille who needs to go back to the drawing board and think about this issue again or maybe for the first time. Ms. Mota who needs to look deeper at the issue, not just on the surface and Ms. Berninger who has given us some substance. When these four people are in a room together, based on this issue, I know who the smartest person in that room is and the voters will to.
Two of these candidates have political signs up all over East Boston, bumper stickers on a lot of cars and standouts every weekend, are we to vote for the person with the most signs, the most stickers, or should we look below the red, white, yellow and blue graffiti spread out all over East Boston and ask these people for some substance.
My understanding is that the Basille and Drago campaigns talk to each other about who gets to put signs up and where. Maybe they should get together and come up with an original thought about an issue that they may be facing in the upcoming legislative term and give the voters something to think about. Instead of spending their money on signs maybe hire someone to craft a stand on this issue.
They don’t seem capable of it on their own.
Angelo Riccimo here...and I have a question: I would like to know if Jeff is aware of the Casino infrastructure plan? My understanding is that there are serious talks of turning the Esquire Club and the old Three Eggs and a Yoke on the EB/Revere line into "gentlemen's" clubs to support the casino. Actually, I have no problem with this since those parts of Revere and East Boston are not family type areas. Plus, night clubs will bring excellent job opportunities to our area. I just want to know what Jeff's stance is on the matter. If the other candidates know anything about this I would love to hear from them too.
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