Aldermen firm on allowing gambling machines

Brookfield mayor's strong veto message doesn't appear to sway them

Brookfield -- Despite a strongly worded veto message from Mayor Jeff Speaker, aldermen are unlikely to change their minds about an ordinance they revised on Tuesday to end a city ban on video gambling machines in taverns.

Nine of the 10 aldermen who voted to change the ordinance said Thursday that they will probably vote to override the mayor's veto. Ald. James Garvens said he was undecided.

In a message to aldermen on Wednesday, Speaker said the Common Council's action contradicted his oath as mayor to defend the Wisconsin Constitution and fostered disrespect for the law.

The council voted 10-4 to reword a 1961 city ordinance that bans gambling machines in taverns.

Wisconsin law prohibits the machines, but enforcement has been minimal. The state announced last year that enforcement would be handled by the Department of Revenue, which lacks the personnel to investigate establishments with fewer than six machines.

The state law means local police no longer have jurisdiction to prosecute taverns with five or fewer machines unless a community has its own ordinance. Brookfield was the only Waukesha County community with a ban.

Nine businesses in Brookfield removed their machines in February after Police Chief Dan Tushaus warned he would enforce the ban. Tavern owners complained that their customers immediately went to neighboring communities.

"For us, it's just devastating," said Albert Kolsch, commander of the Stenz-Griesell-Smith American Legion Post 449, which brought its five video slot machines along when it moved from Elm Grove to Brookfield last year. Kolsch said they were used continuously for six months until he removed them to comply with the ban.

Vets like machines

"It's very important to us to get the machines back," he said Thursday. "It kept the bar full. Our members really love to play it. Most are older folks, retired veterans of World War II, Korea and Vietnam. Since then, (business) has dropped off completely. They're going to Milwaukee and Menomonee Falls."

American Legion members have crowded meetings at City Hall to show support for the video machines, which they say raise money to support the group's scholarship programs and other activities. But Speaker said he can't support a city law that appears to condone gambling.

"I believe in it strongly enough to vote against it," Speaker said on Thursday. "There is a good chance they will override it, but I think I have to at least stand up for the community."

Overriding the veto will take a two-thirds majority vote. Aldermen are likely to consider the matter Nov. 2.

"I will certainly reconsider the situation very carefully because vetoes are rare and it's something the mayor obviously feels very strongly about," said Ald. Scott Berg, who voted for the ordinance change. "So far, I haven't heard any arguments to change my mind."

"I'm definitely not going to change my mind," said Ald. Dan Sutton, who also voted to lift the ban. "I feel I need to support the local businesses and the American Legion hall. I'm not a gambler . . . but I'm a businessman, and the one thing you want to have in business is a level playing field."

Mayor was a police officer

Speaker, a former police officer for Port Washington and Brookfield, said in his message that routine checks of licensed premises do not drain police resources. He urged aldermen to speak to their constituents, who he said fear that the ordinance change will teach children to "pick and choose the laws they want to follow."

But aldermen who were interviewed said they have heard little from constituents on the subject in the past year, except from tavern owners and American Legion members.

Ald. Christopher Blackburn said he has asked many people about video gambling machines. "The feedback I got is, 'It's no big deal,' " he said.

"I absolutely have heard nothing as far as opposing them," said Ald. Mike Franz.

"I had it pretty well thought out, and I've rethought it, and I'm not going to change my mind," said Common Council President Richard Brunner.

A former state gaming official and lottery worker, Brunner said he has been neutral on gambling, having witnessed both benefits and pitfalls.

On the machines in Brookfield, he said: "We're talking about nine businesses. I don't think it's going to make a big difference on society, but I think it could help some of the businesses financially."

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