Wow folks -- what a victory for people fighting to make sure that we get casinos moved out of any Philadelphia neighborhood that doesn't want them --
http://www.philly.com/inquirer/local/20080704_Evans__Fumo_give_casinos_a...
House Appropriations Chairman Dwight Evans and State Sen. Vincent J. Fumo said at a news conference that they would draft legislation to remove the casinos' tax breaks if they did not abandon their proposed sites on the Delaware River waterfront.
The locations, which were decided upon 21/2 years ago, are "untenable and contrary to the public interest," the Democrats said in a statement.
"We are sending a message to citizens of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania that we are trying to fix the problem," said Evans, joined by nine Philadelphia-area lawmakers in addition to Fumo. "We didn't think it would be the problem it is today, but it has created tension for people in the community as well as politically."
Fumo said they also were sending a message that if casino companies continued the legal battle, they would be stripped of their 10-year tax abatements. And he suggested the lawmakers might go further.
Back then, "we started making spit balls. This time, they'll be atom bombs," he said.
As the head of Appropriations, it was Dwight Evans standing in the way of bills like House Bill 14 and House Bill 1477, which focused on moving the casinos, but even more, on the right of the city and its residents to decide whether or not we wanted casinos here in the first place. And Vince Fumo has moved from the architect of the casino plan for the city to a powerful politician willing to spend his political capital to move a resiting plan. And Rendell has gone from shutting down his office rather than listening to his constituents ask him to stop the casino plan, to agreeing to meet with Evans, Fumo, and the other legislators who want these casinos moved.
It's a major victory for Casino-Free Philadelphia and the other groups fighting to either resite or eliminate casinos in our city. I'm in favor of getting them out all together -- but a conversation that puts neighborhoods in charge of whether or not casinos get put there, in the hands of the most powerful politicians in the state, is the right beginning to keeping our city casino free, in my opinion.
Hooray!
Philadelphia Neighborhood Alliance
The good folks at the Philadelphia Neighborhood Alliance deserve much of the credit for this victory. For well over a year and a half, the PNA delegates doggedly pursued our Philadelphia delegation to move towards re-siting and worked to build alliances with elected officials. It wasn't always easy. Sometimes we had to do a lot of convincing. Sometimes, we learned from our mistakes. But, because of the efforts of Fumo, O'Brien, Keller and DiCicco, that press conference happened last night.
PNA has always been committed to resiting. At our meeting last year with Governor Rendell, we knew we could make headway. Persistence was key.
The PNA's alliance with Senator Fumo, Reps. Keller and O'Brien and Councilman DiCicco, along with the amazing work of people like Chris Craig, Katie Recker, Rene Goodwin, Jeff Rush, Brian Abernathy . . . the list goes on and on, made this possible.
The great work of folks like Dan Hunter and Jethro at CFP must be acknowledged too. They're organization was essential.
These casinos, however, are not re-sited yet. Resiting is not a done deal and there is a lot of work to do.
Citizens kept the fight alive
Let's face it. Fumo and Chris Craig wrote the bill that stripped Philly of its zoning and other power on purpose. I am glad they did an about face (motivation unknown but guess not on principle) and have praised them for it publicly. However, it is the PNA and CFP that kept this alive.
If this kind of citizen energy could be applied to Philadelphia's other pressing issues, one at a time, with the kind of focus applied here, nothing could stop this City. Keep it going.
If this gets resolved the next unifying issue is:
Let's work on it.
Decisive action in the best interests of Philadlephia citizens
Especially since I was just pooh-poohing one version of an anti-Fumo agenda for one I think that has a more practical explanation, I want to be the first to congratulate Sen. Fumo and Rep. Evans for their leadership here.
Awesome, awesome news.
-Sean
MrLuigi, my cat, actually only types half as badly as I do.
Making our government work for us
This is really great news. It’s good to see that the legislators are finally getting it. With all the hard work by the citizens, I have to say, though: I wonder what took the politicians so long!
Our waterfront is a precious and irreplaceable resource. It’s one of the things that make Philadelphia so special. Our history is our jewel -- our true jackpot.
organizing works
Here’s to Philadephian’s building power through grassroots organizing! Let’s celebrate now and not forget to continue to keep the pressure on the politicians, especially Governor Rendell.
Uh, can we ease up the back clapping.
What I read here is Fumo and Evens intending to write legislation; and while powerful, I don't believe either of them rule the legislature via fiat. No where does anyone in the lej outside this dynamic duo or anyone outside the lej noted for their insight into lej activity offers odds of such legislation actually passing the legislature. The only reaction quotes we get are from Rendell who repeats his usual mantra about the "law's the law and we can't break the law" and a Sugarhouse spokesperson saying "bring it, we're not moving."
Closest we have to any analysis of this story is the PNA perspective Gaetano provides outside this article. Does the PNA have any political intelligence on how this legislation will fly once it's off the drafting table? This sounds like Evens and Fumo agreeing to carry water uphill for their constituencies, not confessing that it's a hot day on the hill and the water's likely to evaporate before any real ground is made.
Easing up, OK
But it must be a proverbial "cold day in hell" when Gov. Rendell tells the casino operators its time to come to the table and talk about possible alternative sites. Wow.
http://www.philly.com/dailynews/local/20080705_Ed_sets_sites.html
-Sean
MrLuigi, my cat, actually only types half as badly as I do.