Politics & Government

Milford Casino Vote 'Good News' Says Somerville Mayor

Checking in on what recent votes and decisions about casinos in Massachusetts mean for Somerville.

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On Tuesday, residents in Milford voted down a proposal, by Foxwoods, to build a casino in their town.

The vote had potential impacts on Somerville, because the Milford casino was one of three proposals in Eastern Massachusetts competing for just one available casino license. Another proposal, by Wynn Resorts, would bring a casino to the Mystic River in Everett, right on Somerville's doorstep, and Curtatone has opposed that proposal.

Although the Milford vote increased the chances the Everett casino would move forward, Curtatone, when asked if the vote was good news or bad news, said, "It's good news. The mounting momentum against casinos ... is just testimony that when people take a closer look at what it means, they're opposed to casinos."

"My opposition to casinos is bigger than what's happening near us," he said.

Elsewhere, voters in Palmer, East Boston and West Springfield have also recently voted against casinos in their communities.

Repeal the Casino Deal campaign


Curtatone has also been involved in the Repeal the Casino Deal campaign, which seeks to reverse the Massachusetts Expanded Gaming Law, passed in 2011, that allowed casinos to come to the state.

The campaign seeks to repeal the law through a ballot question in 2014. Campaign organizers set out to collect 70,000 signatures, and according to BostonHerald.com, they collected 90,000. Campaign organizers must also win a case in front of the Supreme Judicial Court because Attorney General Martha Coakley determined the question was not eligible for the ballot, the news website reported.

The response "was overwhelmingly supporting," Curtatone said about collecting signatures for the campaign.

Suffolk Downs


The other proposed casino in Eastern Massachusetts, at Suffolk Downs, faces an uncertain future. The casino would have straddled East Boston and Revere. Earlier this month, voters in Revere supported the plan, while voters in East Boston rejected it.

On Thursday, proponents said they would move forward with a casino proposal that's just in Revere, but the state gaming commission said it needs more time, given the East Boston vote, to decide if that would be legal, according to WBUR. If the gaming commission rejects the new Suffolk Downs proposal, the casino in Everett could be the only player left.

Curtatone said, "We're not going to stand idly by" in regard to the Everett casino proposal.

He said the state gaming law is flawed because "the impacts of the casino operation go well beyond the boarder of a community."

Questions about Wynn proposal


Meanwhile, investigators are looking into whether a man with a criminal background is a hidden owner of land connected to the Everett casino proposal, according to Boston.com. Criminal connections could jeopardize the proposal, as the state's gaming law seeks to prevent criminal organizations from being involved in casinos.

"There's no guarantee [the Everett] proposal passes" the test, Curtatone said, in general, about the Wynn casino.

What will Boston's new mayor say?


At some point, Boston Mayor-Elect Marty Walsh will likely need to take a position on both the Suffolk Downs and Everett casino proposals, because both are right on Boston's border. Where residents of East Boston officially voted against the Suffolk Downs proposal, many residents of Charlestown have balked at the Everett proposal, which is so close to Charlestown some felt part of the land was actually in that Boston neighborhood.

Curtatone said he hasn't spoken to Walsh yet about casinos. "I hope to be meeting with the mayor-elect soon" to discuss a variety of issues, Curtatone said.

Poll documents NIMBYism in regard to casinos


A recent poll found that 61 percent of Massachusetts adults support casinos coming to the state, but 55 percent don't want one in their own community.

Curtatone said the poll shows a growing number of people are opposed to casinos and that it's important for "surrounding communities to have a say."

Also, "The people of Massachusetts have yet to have a say" on the gaming law, he said.

The mayor, as he has in the past, said there was $130 million in federal and state funding that went to support the development of Assembly Row in Somerville. He said those funds helped leverage $1.5 billion in private investment and are expected to create "tens of thousands" of permanent jobs.

A casino in Everett "undermines all that great work," he said.

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