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“When you see the orange shirts here, it kind of takes you back to what democracy is all about. It’s about the freedom to speak, the freedom to assemble and the freedom to petition your government, and that’s what they’ve done.”
– Gov. Frank O’Bannon, signing a bill to authorize a casino in Orange County in April 2003
Indiana lawmakers didn’t need the results of a referendum to know residents of Orange County wanted a casino. Instantly identifiable by their bright orange shirts, the citizen lobbyists from French Lick, West Baden, Orleans and Paoli were a Statehouse fixture for years until lawmakers authorized a casino. They saw the return of a casino to the historic resort community as the key to saving two landmark hotels and bringing jobs to Orange County, which had the highest unemployment rate in the state at the time. A countywide referendum followed and won overwhelming approval.
Mayor Tom Henry is sorely in need of some orange shirts to rally support for his Fort Wayne casino referendum. Instead, the democratic freedoms Gov. O’Bannon cited in Orange County’s example are wisely employed by opponents, including the Allen County commissioners.
The three commissioners made their feelings known in a letter delivered this week to a legislative committee studying gambling issues. Prosecutor Karen Richards and numerous local business and community leaders also submitted letters opposing the casino proposal. A group called Coalition for a Better Fort Wayne has collected endorsements from dozens of community leaders, sponsored a bus trip to the Statehouse during the special session and brought experts on the effects of gambling to speak here.
The mayor responded with a statement Tuesday: “On an issue of this magnitude, the public should be allowed to speak. On a topic of so much significance, it is the judgment of the people of Fort Wayne that I trust. I strongly support a referendum that will allow Fort Wayne citizens to make their own decision about gaming.”
But if there are Fort Wayne citizens in favor of a casino – or even for a local referendum – they aren’t speaking out.
Legislators won’t overlook that fact. They expect wholesale support when it comes to legislation affecting a particular community, and the vibrant opposition carries a good deal of political clout. When the gambling study committee hears Henry’s presentation on the referendum proposal at its Sept. 14 or Oct. 19 meeting, members are likely to ask the mayor why there’s no public support for it.
Lawmakers also will be mindful of the pleas they heard this week from the state’s new “racinos.” Officials from Hoosier Park in Anderson and Indiana Downs in Shelbyville complained that the licensing deal they agreed to in 2007 to add slot machines to their horse racing tracks is unfair. The deal was sold as a lifeline to the state’s horse-breeding industry and a source of new state revenue, but now they claim it is financially unworkable.
Legislators must surely be tired of the continual push for more. A mixed casino message from Fort Wayne and Allen County should discourage the gambling study committee from supporting the proposal – even if the mayor manages to round up some T-shirt-clad supporters.
