La Crosse Tribune: Voters reject casino again

For the second time in five years, La Crosse County voters Tuesday again turned down an Indian casino proposal by a wide margin.

With 36 of 37 precincts reporting late Tuesday, 57.5 percent of voters rejected the Ho-Chunk Nation's request to develop a casino. The vote was 21,887 yes to 29,657 no.

"The people of the Coulee Region have clearly expressed their feelings and they've sent a message and a mandate far into the future," said the Rev. Ted

DeWald of United for a Greater Coulee Region, a clergy group that opposed the casino. "I hope that no more referendums on casinos will be encountered."

DeWald attributed the victory to casino opponents' organization and uncertainty within the Ho-Chunk Nation. "The Ho-Chunks hurt themselves by not naming the site. People didn't want to vote blindly. They wanted more information about the site and costs. The Ho-Chunk Nation also appeared to be in disarray with their leader being ousted."

"The vote will speak for itself," said Ho-Chunk legislative attorney William Boulware. "The nation will have the opportunity to take direction from this vote and pursue expansion of our casino in Black River Falls. What will be La Crosse County's loss will be Jackson County's win."

Tribal attorney Michelle Greendeer said tribal members were shocked by the misinformation she said the anticasino groups spread about the proposal. Anticasino groups used fear, Boulware said, "and people flee when they're afraid."

Boulware said the clergy groups "used their authority to influence church members, hand out yard signs and other information. Those efforts "crossed the line of separation of church and state," he said.

Yet, Boulware called the referendum positive for the Ho-Chunk Nation because it was educational and informative.

In deciding how to vote, county residents dealt with issues of economics, morality and justice for American Indians.

Unlike the Lac du Flambeau tribe, the Ho-Chunk Nation's ancestors were the original inhabitants of this river valley. Despite everything their people had been through over the centuries, the Ho-Chunk have remained a part of this area, contributing more than $20 million a year to the local economy. Tribal officials argued that their casinos were unlike other commercial gambling, and they would be good stewards because of their history in La Crosse.

The nation also tried to show that La Crosse needed the jobs a casino would bring, but that was a tougher sell with local unemployment rates very low and some companies having trouble finding qualified workers.

An impact analysis by a consultant to the nation predicted $100 million a year in economic benefits to the area from casino construction, jobs and tourism. But opponents hired their own university expert who analyzed the same data and predicted an $83.5 million loss to the area.

Two groups formed to fight the casino, one religious and one business. Local clergy

nation didn't want to spend money necessary to acquire land for a casino. But that created uncertainty in the minds of voters, and No Casino Group ads highlighted those fears with an ad featuring a flying casino that hovers over the city before landing on an unsuspecting neighborhood.

The Ho-Chunk Nation engaged Ovation Marketing of La Crosse and hired former Mayor Patrick Zielke as a political consultant. They emphasized that La Crosse county and city governments would receive at least $4 million a year for property tax relief from the casino, in lieu of not paying property taxes on their sovereign land.

County voters turned down the Lac du Flambeau tribe's proposal in 1995 by a 2to-1 margin, though a recent La Crosse Tribune/NewsChannel 8 opinion poll showed 53.2 percent oppose the casino, 34.8 favor and 12 percent were undecided.

Had the referendum passed, the nation would have had to negotiate an agreement with city and county officials, as well as get approval by federal officials and Gov. Tommy Thompson.

There was also uncertainty about the nation's commitment to a La Crosse casino. A tribal spokesman said that the nation's legislature was divided about whether it was a good idea. A few weeks before the referendum, the nation's members voted to oust tribal President Jacob Lonetree for a variety of complaints including financial mismanagement of the tribe's three other casinos.

Last week, Boulware said that if the referendum failed, the nation would expand its Majestic Pines Casino & Bingo complex in Black River Falls.