Although the battle over the Tohono O’odham Nation’s casino in Glendale, Arizona has primarily been a war of the courts, the decisive phase, this time in Congress, appears to be largely a battle of the lobbyists.
The battle has been waged for six years, ever since the Tohonos announced that they had purchased land adjacent to the city of Glendale, which is in the same valley as Phoenix.
A gaming tribe who feels that its casino profits are threatened by the Glendale tribe, the Gila River Indian Community, spent more than $1 million with the lobbying firm of Akin Gump in the first quarter of this year, and $2.5 million since 2012, all to push for the “Keep the Promise Act” which would prevent the Tohonos from operating their casino until after 2027.
During the first quarter of 2015 the Tohonos spent over $400,000 with several lobbying firms. It has spent over $1 million on lobbying since 2012.
Overall, Indian tribes spent $24.8 million in 2014 lobbying the federal government on gaming issues, which is a record.
Senator John McCain, the senior senator from Arizona, claims that the casino would mean “dangerous changes to the complexion of tribal gaming in other states across the country” and would violate the spirit and letter of the National Indian Gaming Regulatory Act, which he authored in 1988. He has also said that casinos should not be “airdropped” into communities.
The Tohono tribe’s foes have accused it of acting in bad faith when it negotiated the state tribal gaming compact of 2002, which was then ratified by the voters. They argue that the compact does not allow more casinos in the Phoenix valley. A federal judge recently ruled in favor of the Tohonos on this issue, stating that the compact is silent on that subject.
McCain is adamant in his denial that lobbying efforts have had anything to do with his advocacy of the bill. “I wrote the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act, so therefore, I know the intent of Congress,” he told Politico in an interview. “Anybody who alleges that somebody influences me—some lobbyists—that is an outrageous and disgraceful lie.”
Don Pongrace of the Akin Group also denies that his firm had that much to do with the bill’s progress. “This is a popular bill that has enjoyed broad support, and so it wouldn’t be accurate to imply that we are the reason it is moving forward,” he told Politico.
If the bill passes, and if President Obama doesn’t veto it, it could cost the taxpayers a billion dollars, according to the Congressional Budget Office. Of course, the tribe would have to sue the federal government and win a settlement.
Senator Jon Tester, the former chairman of the Senate Indian Affairs Committee, warns, “It may be a fool’s errand to on passing this bill.”
Originally the Tohonos were granted money by an act of Congress to compensate it for the flooding of its original reservation by a federal dam project.
A spokesman for the Tohonos, Heather Sibbison, harkens back to the old days of broken treaties. “We have been pointing out for a very long time that if Congress enacts this bill, it would be the first time that Congress reneges on an Indian land and water settlement in the modern era—it would mark a very unfortunate return to the treaty-breaking era,” she said recently.
She added, “The more the courts have ruled in favor of the Nation, the harder certain members of Congress have pushed to change the law on which the courts have relied. It makes it pretty clear that this is about politics and not about substance.”
Glendale, which recently teamed up with the Gila River Community and the state of Arizona in opposing the casino, last year decided to come to terms with the tribe in return for a community tribal agreement that pays the city $1.4 million a year.
However, one of the city council members who helped change the city’s position now faces a recall.
The recall election for Gary Sherwood will be held November 3.
According to Anna Lee, chairman of the Recall Councilman Gary Sherwood committee, “All the hard work the committee put in was well worth it because it gave the citizens of Glendale’s Sahuaro district a voice and the ability to take action and participate when it became necessary to do something about a rogue elected official who failed to represent them the way they expected.”
Sherwood vows to fight for his job and declined to take the opportunity afforded by the law to avoid a recall by resigning. Elected in 2012 Sherwood first opposed the casino and then changed his position after he determined that the casino was unstoppable. He then helped negotiate the tribal city agreement.
Sherwood charges that the Gila River Indian Community is behind the recall, noting that the tribe donated money to the Neighbors for a Better Glendale, which donated $16,000 to the recall effort.
