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Casino plan for DC will not be on ballot
August 6
Thursday in Washington DC,
election officials shot down the proposal to put a casino in
the District of Columbia, claiming that supporters of
the would be casino defied the law. These such statements
are directed mainly towards the petition signatures, and how
they were attained.
Wilma A. Lewis, chair of the
District of Columbia Board of Elections and Ethics spoke out
with a harsh tongue, when the decision was announced
yesterday. She curtly accused the supporters of using
signatures of nonresidents along with saying that they were
not honest and up front with the people they got to sign the
petition.
Lewis, who is a former US
attorney, stated that the board used sworn testimony along
with their own investigation to get a clear idea how
signatures were attained. She also mentioned that the
circulators of the petition used a lack of judgment and
oversight. The board is said to be releasing a full report
sometime next week.
Organizers in favor of the
casino were trying to get the proposal on the ballot this
November. If they had succeeded in doing so, construction
would have been cleared to start on the $510 million dollar,
14 acre casino that would have included a permanent hotel.
The actual site was located in a down trodden section of
northeast DC. The proposed casino that was to also include
restaurants and shops, would have created approximately
1,500 new jobs and generate an estimated $210 million in
local government tax revenue.
As far as the signatures go,
supporters needed to provide valid signatures from 17,599
people. Only 14,687 signatures were allowed from the list of
over 50,000 that circulators turned over to the board.
Key supporters are vowing not
to give up. They are said to be filing today at the DC Court
of Appeals. Supporters of the casino admit that some
mistakes were made, but they also vigorously deny making on
purpose.
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