Glass City Jungle

Two releases in today on Issue 3 – the first one from Ohio Jobs & Growth Plan reporting that the Toledo NAACP has endorsed Issue 3 and the second one in from TruthPAC that’s a statement from State Representative Lou Blessing urging the FOP to withdraw their endorsement of Issue 3.

TOLEDO NAACP ENDORSES STATE ISSUE 3; CLEAN SWEEP OF NAACP ENDORSEMENTS IN ALL FOUR CASINO HOST CITIES

COLUMBUS, Ohio, Nov. 2, 2009 – The Toledo branch of the NAACP today announced its support of State Issue 3, completing a clean sweep of the NAACP branches in the four proposed casino host cities.

The Toledo branch joins the Cleveland, Cincinnati and Columbus branches in endorsing Issue 3. In its announcement, the Toledo NAACP cited the benefits of Issue 3 to the entire Toledo community as well as the developers’ pledges to work to involve minority citizens and businesses as they develop the casinos.

The full text of the Toledo NAACP announcement:

“The Toledo Branch of the NAACP whole-heartedly endorses the passage of Issue 3 because of the positive economic impact it can have on our entire community. Economic ventures that come into our community must include a comprehensive plan of inclusion. We have seen what happens when there are not strong commitments from developers “up front” for inclusion of minority businesses in their construction and employment efforts.

“Given our discussions with Penn National and research of the inclusion efforts, we are confident that they will follow through on the commitment to support the African American community as a whole and be a good corporate partner.

“The Toledo Chapter of the NAACP strongly supports ISSUE 3!”

State Issue 3 – the Ohio Jobs and Growth Plan – is a proposed amendment to the Ohio Constitution that authorizes one first-class casino in each of the state’s four largest cities (Cleveland, Cincinnati, Columbus and Toledo). The plan will generate $11 billion in economic impact during construction and the first five years of casino operations. It will create 34,000 new jobs for Ohioans, and will provide an estimated $651 million in tax revenues each year, with the vast majority of the money designated for all of the state’s counties, its major cities and every public school district in the state. Annual tax revenues are projected to increase to $772 million by 2017.

Primary backers of the proposal are:

* Penn National Gaming, Inc., a prominent operator of gaming facilities and horse racing tracks, including Raceway Park in Toledo; and
* Dan Gilbert, through his Rock Ventures partnership. Gilbert is majority owner of the NBA Cleveland Cavaliers and operator of Quicken Loans Arena in downtown Cleveland, Cleveland Clinic Courts, the Lake Erie Monsters, Veritix and Fathead, as well as Chairman and Founder of Quicken Loans, which operates a 350-person Internet web center in downtown Cleveland. Gilbert, who began investing in Ohio in 2005, employs more than 2,500 people throughout the state.

THE FOLLOWING STATEMENT CAN BE ATTRIBUTED TO STATE REP. LOU BLESSING:

I have already expressed concern that if voters approve Issue 3, Ohio would have the weakest casino oversight in the nation.

Today, my concerns intensified as one of Issue 3’s main financial backers, Dan Gilbert, ridiculed a career police officer who traveled to Ohio last week to discuss Mr. Gilbert’s arrest for illegal bookmaking.

During an appearance on WMJI radio, Mr. Gilbert disputed comments made by Lt. Det. John Fiedler and said “manure was coming out of that old man’s mouth….” Lt. Det. Fiedler had a distinguished, 25-year career with the Michigan State Department of Police where he served as head of the organized crime unit. In 1981, he supervised an undercover operation that ultimately led to the arrest of Dan Gilbert for running a bookmaking operation that police valued at $114,000 and said included threats made to students who could not pay their debts.

I do criminal defense work. Defendants often blame the police officer for their own wrongdoing. These are the people who are never remorseful – who never change their ways. They inevitably wind up back in Court.

Mr. Gilbert ran a bookmaking operation in college and was busted by a state police sting. People can change and make up for their mistakes. Unfortunately, Mr. Gilbert chooses to challenge the detective’s findings and furthermore heap ridicule on all police officers by saying the “manure was coming out of that old man’s mouth.”

It is obvious to me that Mr. Gilbert has no respect at all for police officers. It is high time for the FOP to withdraw its endorsement of Issue 3.