"Even if the backers of a taxpaying private casino lose in court, Oregon voters will get a rare chance this fall to vote indirectly on an important issue: Should the operation of casinos in the state be allowed or limited, as now, to Indian tribes?

The backers of a casino in Wood Village east of Portland, at the former Multnomah Kennel Club dog track, filed two initiative petitions.

One would change the state constitution to lift the blanket ban on casinos. The other would amend state law to allow the casino at Wood Village, and regulate and tax it.

Secretary of State Kate Brown rejected the constitutional amendment on the grounds it didn’t get enough signatures. The sponsors went to court and will have a hearing Aug. 20 in Salem on their claim that thousands of valid signatures were improperly thrown out.

But even if they lose in court, the vote in the general election will be significant.

If voters approve the statutory measure, it can’t take effect without the constitutional authority. But approval would send a message that the voters support the notion of competition with the Indian casinos."

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Editorial: Casino ban: It’s hypocrisy (The Albany Democrat-Herald 8/4)