Constitutionality of the Dec. 11 vote must be heard
By KEVIN CHIRI
Slidell news bureau
SLIDELL – With little more than two weeks until St. Tammany voters go to the polls on Dec. 11 to decide whether to allow a casino to be built in Slidell there has been a late wrinkle thrown into the mix that could make more trouble for the already besieged California company hoping to move its license south.
The 1st Circuit Court of Appeals has revived a lawsuit filed by Slidell Pastor John Raymond, challenging the constitutionality of the scheduled vote. Judge John Keller from the 22nd Judicial District Court previously heard Raymond’s suit, but refused to rule on it since he said he didn’t see reason to warrant the trial until after the vote was held.
However, Raymond appealed the case to the 1st Circuit and last week they decided that Keller must rule on the merits of the case before the election is held. If Keller sides with the Raymond suit and puts a halt to the scheduled vote it could create big problems for the casino company which needs to have their license utilized by the end of the year, either here or back at the abandoned Diamondjacks site in Bossier City. Neither the casino ownership nor the La. Gaming Board wants the license back north after a Spectrum Gaming Study stated Louisiana needs to move not one, but two of their licenses to St. Tammany Parish—making it clear how badly the state wants to force a casino on St. Tammany.
Most observers believe a parishwide vote to allow gaming anywhere would have very little chance of passing in St. Tammany, which is why Rep. Mary DuBuisson wrote the bill naming the Slidell location that casino supporters believed would pass more easily since many west side voters wouldn’t care either way.
There was a lawyer conference scheduled for Tuesday at which time a trial date was expected to be set.
Peninsula Pacific Entertainment (P2E) announced in February their hopes to build the first ever casino in St. Tammany Parish, aiming at a site off the Oak Harbor exit of I-10 in Slidell.
After the Louisiana Legislature passed Act 362 earlier this year that gave the St. Tammany Parish Council the authority to call the election, one that must have public backing or the casino won’t happen, the state bill and scheduled vote in December led to three lawsuits from locals who challenged the constitutionality of the vote.
Raymond, along with Attorney Chuck Branton and Slidell business owners Chandler and Jason Goltz, all filed suit claiming parish residents should not be allowed to vote on a specific location until they first voted on gaming parishwide. Raymond’s revived suit that is now heading for trial is pressing the answer to that question before the public is handed what he believes is a fraudulent and flawed ballot.
That is because parish voters previously turned thumbs down on gaming in St. Tammany when all state parishes were given the vote in 1996 after the Legislature approved gambling for Louisiana. The vote at that time was an overwhelming 62 percent of the electorate saying they didn’t want St. Tammany to be a gaming parish.
The current claim by the attorneys is because they believe the Louisiana Constitution states a parish must first approve gaming parishwide before selecting a set location, and since St. Tammany already said “no” to gaming, they must reverse that decision before deciding on a location. Keller declined to rule on those claims when he first heard the case, but told attorneys they could appeal if they wanted to.
That’s exactly what Raymond decided to do and now the Court of Appeals has ordered Keller to hold the trial and consider the merits of the lawsuit, all before the scheduled election.
Casino opponents, strongly led by over 500 members in a business group named Stand Up St. Tammany, responded to the initial decision by Keller to allow the Dec. 11 vote, stating they were ready for the vote anyway.
“Bring it on,” said Stand Up St. Tammany President Chris Jean. “We are confident we can win this election. The people are making it clear they do not want this casino here and we’ve watched the momentum grow and grow against this casino.
“Most of us are not against gambling, but the deal from this P2E company is really terrible. They are offering St. Tammany and Slidell so little compared to some other deals they have made in other states—and ultimately we believe the small businesses in St. Tammany, and particularly in Slidell, will be severely hurt by the revenue the company will take, and then leave town with,” he added.
P2E has signed a Community Agreement with the parish that promises 5 percent of the net gaming revenue to St. Tammany, however, Slidell Mayor Greg Cromer believes it could hurt his city since he believes small businesses could lose between 5 and 15 percent of their business to the many restaurants at the casino.
“If we lose even 10 percent of our business, and the sales tax that goes with it, then we lose about $2 million in sales tax a year, and all they are offering us is our share of the 5 percent, which could be as little as $500,000 a year. It could be a devastating deal for Slidell and that’s why I am personally voting ‘no’ on the casino,” Cromer stated.
Raymond said he considered not filing the appeal, but the more he thought about it the more he was concerned about Act 362 remaining on the books, and becoming a precedent for any casino company to get a vote for a casino anywhere in the parish.
“We need to defeat Act 362 so they can’t try this again,” he said. “That’s why I decided to appeal and force Keller to consider the merits of whether this vote is constitutional or not. My gut told me I had to move forward with this and now that we got the backing of the Appeals Court I’m glad I did.”
Both P2E and Stand Up St. Tammany are ramping up public advertising in the casino battle as the vote draws near. While P2E is spending what will reportedly be well over $1 million on radio, TV and newspaper advertising, not to mention regular glossy flyers that come in the mail to parish residents more than once a week, Stand Up St. Tammany has been an unexpected strong opponent for the casino company.
Stand Up billboards began to pop up all over the parish more than a week ago, with Jean stating they have purchased “over 50 of them that will be up until the election.”
Additionally, the business group has published a 16-page tabloid section on the casino that is being distributed weekly in The Slidell Independent, and will continue to run in the paper all the way until the election. Jean said they also plan to utilize the tabloid with their own mailout to voters and offer it in other ways to voters in the coming weeks.
Stand Up St. Tammany supporters were seen this past weekend on street corners on the east and west side of the parish, waving signs against the “bad deal” they call the casino proposal.
P2E has quietly been holding smaller events with local community members inviting friends to a reception where plenty of free food, drinks and perks are handed out.