LETTER TO THE EDITOR
June 26, 2012
Dear Voters of Lee County:
I would like to clarify my opinion on whether the voters of Lee County should be given the opportunity to voice their opinion on the highest profile issue in the 2012 legislative session -the effort to change state law to permit destination casinos. The merits of allowing or disallowing gambling in Florida were vetted by legislators, lobbyist and gaming companies, yet the voters of Lee County have not been allowed to vote in a referendum on this critical issue. I strongly believe that Lee County voters should be given the chance to voice their opinion in a developer-funded, informal referendum on whether a single, destination resort that includes a casino should be allowed in Lee County.
To be clear, I am not referring to a referendum that would authorize a casino in Lee County, but rather a forum for Lee County voters to indicate their desire for or against a SINGLE casino in Lee County. The referendum results would then be an indication to our Lee County local legislative delegation as to the direction Lee County voters want to go on the issue of allowing or disallowing a casino. I agree with Republican State Representative, Matthew Caldwell, who has been quoted as being in favor of letting Lee County Voters decide where casinos would go and in favor of allowing a local referendum for that purpose. October 24, 2011, Blog, Fort Myers, Fort Myers Beach, Press Releases, Real Estate News, Travel News. My opponent in the District Five (5) Lee County Commission race, Frank Mann, is against allowing the voters of Lee County the opportunity to have their say on the casino issue. Frank Mann, was the lone dissenting voter when Lee County Commissioners voted 4-1 in May 2012 to approve a referendum for residents to voice their opinions on whether or not to allow slot machines at the Naples-Fort Myers Greyhound Track on the November 2012 ballot general election ballot. At the May 2012 Lee County Commission meeting, Frank Man stated that, “Even though it’s an isolated building in Bonita, what we have there is we’ve created the first casino in Lee County”.
In apparent disagreement with Frank Mann, Lee County Sheriff Mike Scott has stated that, “Florida and Lee County specifically is no stranger to gambling. We have had a parimutuel greyhound racing track here in our backyard for many years enhanced to include poker and simulcast horse racing. Florida has had jai alai, bingo, lotto for years along with 24/7 gaming facilities like the Seminole Hard Rock, 50/50 raffles at every event and of course the “Vegas-style‟ gaming cafes that are on every corner. To somehow suggest that a destination point with a casino is automatically a bad thing seems a bit hypocritical to me.” October 24, 2011, Blog, Fort Myers, Fort Myers Beach, Press Releases, Real Estate News, Travel News.
Any such referendum should not cost the taxpayers a dime and even if the voters indicate approval of a destination resort casino, it is only the beginning of the legal process that would require legislative action and permitting in order to become reality. Despite the legal hurdles, no one stated it better than Fort Myers Ward 6 City Councilman Thomas Leonardo: “Seldom is a city offered such a „silver bullet‟ to jump-start its economy and add substantial value to its tax base. If built, a Las Vegas-type casino would be a ”win-win‟ situation for the city of Fort Myers, for Lee County, and for the entire region of Southwest Florida.” October 24, 2011, Blog, Fort Myers, Fort Myers Beach, Press Releases, Real Estate News, Travel News.
To be clear, I am strongly against Lee County becoming another Atlantic City. The “silver bullet” referred to by Councilman Leonardo is nowhere close to an Atlantic City type development. What is contemplated is a single, permitted destination resort that would have a casino as a part of the total planned development. The development is being pushed for by a group led by Miami Heat president Pat Riley and includes plans for a 1,500 hotel room and gaming resort stretching from Colonial Boulevard to State Road 82 just east of Interstate 75 in Fort Myers known as The Forum, a mixed-use community where the resort would be located. Mike Horn, president of Fort Myers-based Champion Development, has worked for Riley many years developing the Form. According to Horn, infrastructure, zoning and access are all in place and most importantly, the resort would bring jobs to the construction industry of Lee County. More than 10,000 jobs over three years would be created to build the resort, Horn said. “A lot of people in Lehigh Acres will be able to get jobs,” he said. October 24, 2011, Blog, Fort Myers, Fort Myers Beach, Press Releases, Real Estate News, Travel News
I believe economic recovery can and should begin at the local level and we cannot rely on Washington or Tallahassee to rehabilitate our economy. The first step in this process is giving the voters of Lee County the respect and voice they deserve in a critical issue that just may be the beginning of Lee County’s economic recovery. We can’t afford to miss this chance.
Sincerely,
Sonny Haas,
Candidate for Lee County Commission-District 5