Casino Stalker | Legislation

Petitions submitted to put Tohono O'odham Nation casino to vote

Monday, September 15, 2014

Artist's rendering of the proposed West Valley Resort. Image from Tohono O'odham Nation

Opponents of the Tohono O'odham Nation off-reservation casino turned in signatures in hopes of putting the controversial project to a vote in Glendale, Arizona.

Opponents want to overturn the city council's decision to sign an agreement with the tribe for the $500 million West Valley Resort. They also want to overturn the city council's decision to oppose H.R.1410, the Keep the Promise Act, a bill that would block the casino.

The city will now look at the petitions and see if they can be put on the ballot. A prior petition was rejected because the city clerk determined that the city council's actions weren't subject to a referendum, Nebulous Verbosity reported in August.

The effort comes as the Senate Indian Affairs Committee takes another look at the controversy. The committee will hold a hearing on S.2670, the Senate version of the Keep the Promise Act, on Wednesday.

Get the Story:
Critics file petitions to halt West Valley casino (The Arizona Republic 9/13)
Group collects 13K signatures to put casino deal on ballot (The Glendale Daily News-Sun 9/13)
Glendale Group Says it Submitted More Than 13K Signatures Against the Casino (The Phoenix New-Times 9/12)
Exposed: Anti-Casino Signature Gathering Campaign Misleading Some Glendale Residents (The Phoenix New-Times 9/12)
Group protests City Council deal with tribe to build casino in Glendale (Fox 10 News 9/12)

Committee Notice:
Legislative Hearing on S. 2670, Keep the Promise Act of 2014 (September 17, 2014)