By NIGEL JAQUISS/Willamette Week
Gov. Tina Kotek gave unambiguous guidance Thursday to Oregon’s nine recognized Native American tribes and the Oregon Lottery about where she stands on gambling.
In response to questions her office has received and to pending proposals that would add two tribal casinos, Kotek simply said no.
“Throughout my legislative career, during my campaign for this office, and since the start of my administration, I have been clear that I do not favor an expansion of gaming,” Kotek wrote in a letter to leaders of the nine tribes and state and federal officials, including interim Oregon Lottery director Mike Wells.
“This applies to tribes and the state. Therefore, my policy on Tribal gaming facilities maintains the status quo from past governors, i.e., good faith bargaining between sovereign tribes and the state on one gaming facility per tribe on reservation land.”
Kotek’s statement comes as the Siletz Tribe, whose sole casino is in Lincoln City, pursues a $230 million casino off Interstate 5 in north Salem and the Coquille Tribe continues its quest to open a casino in Medford.
It also follows a long period of uncertainty during which in addition to potential tribal expansion, the Oregon Lottery moved aggressively into mobile sports betting and the Oregon Racing Commission tried unsuccessfully to expand betting on what’s called “historical horse racing” at Grants Pass Downs.
Kotek is hoping to head off further skirmishing over gaming expansion in Oregon.
“I wanted to provide this clarification of my tribal gaming policy so that Tribes, the federal government, and local entities know where I stand,” she wrote. “This helps all of us avoid confusion, use of resources, and advocacy for and against changing my stance in favor of one gaming facility per tribe on reservation land.”
Coquille tribal chair Brenda Meade blasted Kotek’s opposition to the Coquille’s Medford project this afternoon, asserting that the governor is simply protecting the Oregon Lottery, the state’s second-largest source of revenue.
“Oregon’s governors consistently say they want to prevent proliferation of casinos, but the state is the biggest casino promoter in Oregon,” Meade said. “The Oregon Lottery’s growing video gaming empire is everywhere—grocery stores, bowling alleys, restaurants, lottery parlors and now even on the internet.”
Rep. Cliff Bentz, R-Ore., whose congressional district includes Medford, also weighed in Thursday, expressing opposition to the Coquille’s request that federal officials expedite approval of the Coquille project.
“While I absolutely support economic development for all of Oregon’s federally recognized tribes, it must be pursued through appropriate channels,” Bentz wrote to the federal Department of the Interior, which oversees tribal casino development. “The appropriate avenue for this application is a two-part determination, through which local governments and the community in Southern Oregon will have a voice in the decision-making process.”
Meade’s view is that outsiders should stay out of her tribe’s business. “Opposing our economic development opportunities amounts to an attack on our ability to provide health care, housing, education, and elder assistance to our people,” she said.
Former Gov. Kate Brown and the Legislature found themselves buffeted by competing proposals and, as a result, legislative leadership convened 2022 interim and 2023 regular session committees to consider state gambling policy.
All of which occurred as the Cowlitz Tribe’s Ilani Casino in Clark County, Wash., which Oregon tribes opposed for years, has found extraordinary success since opening in 2017.
- This story appeared Thursday, April 13 on Willamette Week’s news website.
It kind of sounds unfair to me. What other business has this restriction? Fast food? Gas stations Maybe? Hotels? No, no and no. If you don’t like gambling don’t gamble. But I see no reason to put restrictions on a business that no other business has.
Does Coquille tribe already have a casino? If not, maybe it will keep those separationists busy losing their money and, as Meade said, provide services for the tribe
Classic dictorial fascism’s philosophy here in Oregon. The state can do whatever it wants and the people are suffocated economically.
Oregon can grow and sell pot to anyone with identification. They can spend millions of dollars on police and $50 million on a new police station. We can’t do anything. Know that Oregon has a deeply rooted history of suppression, especially those of color. I tecall a law that would not allow a Black person to own property. It’s time for better leaders in my Oregon before we all fall to this undemocratic, systematic discrimination. The tribe is just the new Black person.
Well we sure don’t want to turn Oregon into a hell hole like California.
The casinos around here are very nice. There’s this stigma that casinos are dark and dingy and unsavory. If you look at Chinook Winds, Spirit Mountain, and Ilani, it couldn’t be further from the truth. These are nice places that provide entertainment and revenue for the state. The tribes don’t have to pay state taxes, but they do. I love the casinos. It’s good, clean fun rather than just sitting in a bar eating and drinking. Kotek is just another politician, and no better than Brown. I wish we could get a moderate governor, someone with great fiscal policy and keep environmental protections in place. I don’t want a politician that is bed with big timber.