Pope County's gambling foes take new tack

Aim of proposalis to undo license

A Pope County grassroots group is kicking off a petition drive to place a proposed constitutional amendment on the Nov. 3 ballot that would remove the county as one of the locations for a casino.

If the measure makes it onto ballots and statewide voters approve, any casino license granted for Pope County could become null and void, the organizers say.

"According to Racing Commission rules and property laws in general, licenses are not a property interest. They are revocable," said Larry Walker, a Russellville attorney and leader in the anti-casino group Citizens for a Better Pope County. "In that case, if this gets put on the ballot and the state of Arkansas says there's not going to be a casino in Pope County, those licenses will be rendered retroactive to November 2018. As of that date, there's not a process to have a license. So if they go ahead and proceed now to issue a license, this constitutional amendment undoes that."

The state Racing Commission is set to meet June 18 to interview and evaluate two applicants -- Cherokee Nation Businesses of Oklahoma and Gulfside Casino Partnership of Mississippi -- for the Pope County license.

A new group, Fair Play for Arkansas -- which is composed of many of the same leaders and members of Citizens for a Better Pope County -- submitted its ballot initiative packet with petition samples last week to Secretary of State John Thurston.

The group must collect 89,151 valid signatures of registered voters by July 3 to qualify its measure for the Nov. 3 ballot, according to the secretary of state's office.

"The thought of gathering nearly 90,000 valid signatures in such short order is daunting, of course," said Hans Stiritz, a Pope County resident and member of both Citizens for a Better Pope County and Fair Play for Arkansas. "Honestly, we had initially abandoned the idea once the covid crisis took hold. But with the relief granted by [U.S. District] Judge [P.K.] Holmes, we decided maybe we can do this."

Holmes ruled recently that ballot organizers can accept mailed-in petition signatures while a final ruling in the case is pending. The federal judge said that it is a violation of free speech for the state to require that a petition be signed in the presence of a canvasser and that the canvasser must sign an affidavit in the presence of a notary public.

The Pope County proposal, if approved by voters, would amend constitutional Amendment 100, which was passed by voters in November 2018 to allow a new casino each in Pope and Jefferson counties, and allow the expansion of gambling at the racetracks in Hot Springs and West Memphis. The amendment requires the Pope and Jefferson county casinos to have the backing of local officials.

COUNTY REJECTION

Pope County voters soundly rejected Amendment 100 at the polls and approved a since-repealed initiated county ordinance that would require officials to seek voter approval before backing a proposal.

In August, the Pope County Quorum Court passed a resolution supporting Cherokee Nation Businesses for a state license to operate a casino there. Ben Cross, the county judge of Pope County, also negotiated an 11-page Economic Development Agreement with the Cherokees that included a $38.8 million "economic development fee" that would be disbursed among the county, some cities and some nonprofit organizations.

Cross as well as several mayors in the county -- with the exception of Russellville Mayor Richard Harris -- later sent letters of endorsement for the Cherokees to the Racing Commission.

Numerous lawsuits and challenges have plagued the Pope County license process. Gulfside and the Cherokees were among the five gambling operators who threw their hats in the rings during the commission's first application window, which closed on May 30, 2019.

The five applicants were rejected by the Racing Commission in June 2019 because none met the commission's endorsement rule in place at the time, although Gulfside had endorsements from officials who had left office in December 2018.

Earlier this year, Pulaski County Circuit Judge Tim Fox ruled unconstitutional the commission rule and state law that add a requirement that the endorsements come from local officials serving at the time of the application.

The Cherokees resubmitted their application after receiving the county's endorsements.

The commission now will turn the applications over to a contracted evaluator to recommend which operator should be awarded the Pope County license.

OPPOSING VIEWS

Harris, the Russellville mayor, said in a statement that he stands behind the efforts of Fair Play for Arkansas to remove Pope County from the equation. Harris campaigned on an anti-casino ticket and has maintained his stance in office.

"The voters of Pope County have been clear in past elections that a casino in Pope County is not desired," Harris said. "I support any opportunity for the voters to have their voices heard on this issue."

Cross, the county judge, said in a statement that he respects the rights of the group and all citizens to "initiate a grass roots objective and let democracy rule."

"The entire state of Arkansas placed this situation upon Pope County, and I inherited the issue while it was already in motion," Cross said. "To that end, I will continue to follow the constitutional requirements that mitigate litigation exposure to our county, while attempting to achieve the best economic outcome for the county should the requirements of Amendment 100 remain in effect."

Kelly Jett, the founder of the pro-casino group Pope County Majority, said in a statement that Fair Play Arkansas does not speak for Pope County as a whole. Pope County Majority supports the Cherokees for a license there.

"In the past year a large amount of information has been shared with the community provided by the Vendors and our elected officials. During that time we have had an opportunity to educate ourselves on the value a resort casino would bring to our community and the surrounding communities," Jett said. "Pope County is largely in favor of having a casino here. These individuals have no more right to remove us from the Constitution than anyone else does. With the recent hit to the economy due to the pandemic, any community would be blessed to have a business like this come in and stimulate their economy."

Stiritz said the ballot initiative is necessary because the "county judge and most of the Quorum Court have turned their back on us."

"This really is a justice issue, and, in a sense, a due process issue," Stiritz said. "Is it fair for the entire state to impose on a single community alone, any burden -- or even privilege -- that's not applied or allowed to the whole? Because that's what has happened, and the only way out is to take it to the state again."

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