California governor negotiating compacts with more tribes

Wednesday, February 1, 2012  

California Gov. Jerry Brown (D) is in compact negotiations with 15 to 20 tribes, his negotiator Jacob Appelsmith told The Sacramento Bee.

Brown signed his first compact last year, shortly after taking office. The deal with the Habematolel Pomo of Upper Lake won federal approval, unlike the one negotiated by Arnold Schwarzenegger.

You had one of the worst governors for tribes of all time," David Quintana, a lobbyist for the California Tribal Business Alliance, told the paper. "Then you have a person who is the best governor for tribal governments since himself in the late 1970s."

Schwarzenegger was criticized because he demanded a greater share of gaming revenues. The Rincon Band of Mission Indians won a lawsuit that said the former governor was negotiating in bad faith.

The Rincon Band is working on a new deal with Brown.

Get the Story:
Jerry Brown negotiates gambling deals as tribes fill campaign fund (The Sacramento Bee 2/1)