733 Yonkers Ave., Suite 102, Yonkers NY, 10704  Phone: 914-968-3599   Fax: 914-968-3943  
Latest News: Standardbred Owners Association of New York

NY Post Says Race Fixed

Opinion

Editorial

Dirty dealing on casino referendum

By Post Editorial Board

October 11, 2013 | 12:14am

Dirty dealing on casino referendum

Photo: AP


It wasn't enough for the Cuomo administration to stack the deck in favor of its ballot referendum on Las Vegas-style casinos by tacking on language suggesting all sorts of goodies would come with approval.

The move also appears to have been made in secret - and not publicized until it would be too late for a legal challenge.

This is the accusation now before a court in Albany. If a judge agrees, he could rule that the end run by the state Board of Elections was so egregious that the measure to amend the state Constitution should be knocked off the ballot. Here's hoping the judge does just that.

The Board of Elections claims the lawsuit challenging the referendum's language was filed after the 14-day legal deadline following the rewording. But critics of the board say that the controversial wording about benefits was not discussed at the July 29 meeting at which the referendum was approved. And that the new language wasn't even posted on the agency's own Web site until Aug. 23 - two weeks after the deadline for lawsuits had passed.

The agency's response: The new language was available to anyone who asked for it. Of course, that hardly complies with the state's Open Meetings Law.

The language in question says more casinos would bring job growth, increases in money for schools and lower property taxes. A recent Siena College poll showed a 20-point swing in favor of the referendum when the new language listing these benefits was added.

This under-the-table dealing has drawn bipartisan condemnation. The state Conservative Party calls it "the biggest hoax ever perpetrated" on New York taxpayers. And the New York Public Interest Research Group has filed an amicus brief stating that BOE's action "raises issues that go to the very heart of the way state government functions."

They're both right - which is why the courts should toss this sneak play straight into the trash heap.


Filed underAndrew Cuomo, Casinos, Editorial, Elections, Gambling

Send this story to a friend    News Archives