An email from Gayle McLaughlin, the Green mayor with the largest constituency in the US, from Richmond, California:
Dear Friends,
At 12:30 a.m. this morning (after a long City Council meeting that started at 6:30 pm last night), we approved a resolution to discontinue consideration of a casino use for Point Molate. The Richmond City Council found that a casino use for Point Molate would be detrimental to the general welfare of the people of Richmond. We concurred with the 58.3% of Richmond voters last November who defeated Measure U by saying that a casino use at Pt. Molate was not in the interest of the people of Richmond. Sometimes it’s better to gamble online with online casino free credit.
What a historic night it was! I want to thank the nearly one hundred public speakers who spoke on the item (76% of speakers were against the casino). Thank you also to the hundreds of individuals who sent emails, almost 100% against the casino. The views expressed by all of you shows that people are more in favor of online casinos nowadays. Many of the best in New Jersey can be located by visiting https://www.usgamblingsites.com/new-jersey/. There is as much fun to be found in online gambling as a physical casino; with sites like dream palace casino offering over 400 games to play, your choice of gambling experiences from the comfort of home has never been so good which begs the question of why people still go to casinos.
Now that the casino is behind us, let us focus our energies on advocating for use for Point Molate that reflects the current era in Richmond — an era of empowerment and liberation, where people are no longer held hostage by big corporations or big developers. Cities rise and fall based on the way they focus their energies. We have overcome a major stumbling block, by rejecting the casino, that has divided our energies for too long. It is a political and social necessity that we unify and put our collective energies into play on projects that will truly help us rise together.
The good jobs and healthy image we all seek require our undivided attention. Our work for a sustainable Richmond must continue to gain momentum, as we build on our history of resiliency and overcome challenges together…leading with our dreams for a better future. Our belief in each other and in the power of community defining its own destiny must continue to deepen – thus furthering us on our journey for a more just and equitable society. We can and must reflect this vision at Pt. Molate and throughout Richmond. To those who say we must “take what we get” even if it is a dead-end road for our city, let us remind them of April 5, 2011 as the day democracy prevailed with a chorus of voices saying: No, No CasiNO!
Thank you for your courage, your perseverance, and your passion,
Gayle McLaughlin
Mayor, City of Richmond
It’s surprising to me to see that government officials of any political stripe are rejecting a casino. Where I come from, they fight to bring them in. Casinos are taxed to the hilt, required by law to make huge charitable donations, and bribe elected officials with huge contributions in exchange for the scarce licenses.
What we need is to simply treat a casino as we would any other business, let them operate but force them to compete. Then they’d neither be cash cow nor social parasite.
im not as liberal as I once was, but I think everyone needs to agree– casinos fucking suck. they are a leech on the economy in the worst, life-ruining sense. three cheers for this green mayor