Wednesday, May 2, 2012

68% of Local Residents OPPOSE Rohnert Park CA Casino Project

Today, the Stop the Casino 101 Coalition and Petaluma City Councilmember Mike Healy released the results of a flash poll taken over the weekend on public sentiment towards the proposed mega-casino in Sonoma County.

They called on the Legislature to listen to these finding and refuse to ratify the proposed compact between the Governor and the Graton tribe.

The poll directly contradicts casino supporters' claims that the majority of area residents support the casino. The flash poll, which covered five zip codes including Petaluma, Rohnert Park, Southwest Santa Rosa and Penngrove, found 68% of local residents oppose the project. The poll surveyed over 5,400 residents.

"The Governor has fast-tracked this. The Senate will have a hearing tomorrow. We thought it was important to bring the voice of the people to Sacramento as effectively as we could," said Pastor Chip Worthington, founder of Stop the Casino 101 Coalition (STC101).

"It's simple. Local opposition is vast. Few support this project. We need the Legislature to put the brakes on this," added Pastor Worthington.

In 2003, the Graton Rancheria proposed a 350,000 square foot casino with 1,500 slot machines. That project has now grown to 540,000 square feet with 3,000 slot machines. It will be the largest commercial project in Sonoma County's history, and the state's first urban casino.



6 comments:

Anonymous said...

IS that true ? was there FBI and IRS security at the meeting?

If so, they own the tribe.,..

Anonymous said...

Healy and the pastor are liars. They used a robocall asking people to vote on casino. The message said ''press 1 if you are against it... press 2 if you are for it'' I pressed 2 and nothing happened, it asked me again to choose 1 or 2 and I pressed 2 again.. it hang up on me without counting my vote. I have several people who will confirm the same thing that happened with them.
The pastor is paid by other casinos in the area to fight against the new casino so that those old guys wont go bankrupt when the new one comes.
As for Healy, he is building two shopping centers in the area and the guys who is building the new casino also will be building a huge shopping center with companies like Nordstrom, etc.
Healy is afraid that when that shopping center opens up, his place is gonna look like a flea market.. thats why he wants to stop the casino in Rohnert Park...

Anonymous said...

Build it and make it even bigger. The small businesses are for the casino

Anonymous said...

Please go to http://wh.gov/Ed1 and creating an account and sign the petition to PROTECT THE CIVIL RIGHTS OF NATIVE AMERICANS. We need 25,000 by june 1st for Obama to take action.

Stop the Casino 101 Coalition said...

First I'd like to address the comment that our organization, Stop the casino 101 Coalition, is funded by "other casinos. If only! I pay for EVERYTHING out of my pocket, including the website, which costs us a little under $20 per month!

I designed the poll, which gave the recipient four choices. If they were opposed to the casino, they pressed "1" on their phones; if they were opposed, they pressed "2"; if they had no opinion, they pressed "3"; if they wanted to hear the choices again, they pressed "4". I got a call myself, as did several of my friends and neighbors. No one reported a technical problem. The poll was conducted via a third-party contractor, not by us. It was legitimate, because we wanted it to be legitimate.

5,425 Sonoma County households were surveyed by telephone. If Anonymous had trouble, I'm sure such trouble was limited.

The results were as follows: The results of the survey were as follows:

Oppose: 68%
Support: 16%
Undecided: 16%

5,425 is a big sample for a survey. It's big enough to reasonably consider the results to be both accurate and meaningful.

A few years ago, Petaluma voters came out 78% opposed to casino expansion on a ballot measure authorizing the city to take all steps it can to prevent the construction of another casino south of Petaluma.

Other polls done by local newspapers since 2004 have always come in at about 65% opposed. The numbers are very consistent.

Stop the Casino 101 Coalition said...

Small correction on the above: it should read as follows: If they supported the casino, they pressed "1" on their phones; Sorry about the typo!

By the way, I know Mike Healy well. He's pro-business. He is not "building a shopping center". Mike is a City Councilman, and supports the construction of new business in Petaluma in general.