Philadelphia Inquirer, The (PA)
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September 17, 2006
That train done gone
and left the station
Wednesday night, I saw something inspiring. And I saw something sad. Oddly, it was the same thing. |
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Nearly 200 loyal citizens of a great city gathered in the Pennsylvania Convention Center for an anti-casino rally in the form of a panel discussion.
On stage, smart people said impassioned things about the myriad ills casinos might visit upon their neighborhoods - and about the shocking way state officials were ramming slots gaming down their throats.
Folks in the seats clapped on cue; they roared in defiance of the unholy rush to award two casino licenses in Philly by Christmas.
Panelist Matt Pappajohn of Neighbors Allied for the Best Riverfront warned that these slots parlors would be like "a freight train through your neighborhood."
Marc Stier, tireless maestro of Neighborhood Networks, spun a pretty vision of how a riverfront trolley line could avert gridlock.
Thomas Sugrue, a University of Pennsylvania professor, was sharp and funny as usual in detailing how casinos have brought scant economic pop to his native Detroit.
Ralph Wydner of the Multicommunity Alliance painted the social ills spawned by gambling addiction, then added: "I'm just as worried about my government getting addicted to casino revenues."
To me, the sight of such an intelligent, roused citizenry is always stirring.
Yet, this time, depressing.
Why? This civic energy is just so late and so often off point.
Philly will get two casinos, at least one on its Delaware riverfront. That's been a done deal since back when Terrell Owens was still a local hero.
Stier's trolley vision pulls into the station far too late in the day. Sugrue's Detroit analysis doesn't travel; the case for casinos here was always aimed at Harrisburg's needs, not Philly's. With the fix in, few even bothered to offer fluffy economic spinoff predictions. And too many sound policy goals already depend on the state's new slots addiction; you can't end it without jeopardizing them.
Councilman Frank DiCicco, a panelist, tried gamely to get the crowd to face these realities. His district is home to four of the five proposed sites, and he's clearly not happy about it. He agrees casinos could harm improving areas. Instead of wasting energy on Hail Mary protests, he said, why not work to make sure the city retains leverage to limit the harm?
He spoke truth; few cheered.
Wydner retorted that DiCicco's plea reminded him of those who called the Harrisburg pay raise a done deal. Look what happened there!
I cherish the example of the pay raise revolt. I wish it applied here. It just doesn't.
If you live near one of these proposed casinos, this all stinks. It's cause for rage. I get that.
I have to say, though, that the hysterical pitch some casino foes attain when describing the unstoppable evils that threaten them reminds me a bit of George W. Bush, circa 2002, talking about Saddam Hussein.
Philly is a big, wonderful city that's on the upswing; it's not Atlantic City or Detroit. It can absorb two casinos without the wheels coming off. Sure, I'd prefer the city and state to shun this dubious quick fix, but I doubt it's a calamity.
Then again, I don't live in Fishtown or Pennsport.
If you do, you have a right to be spitting mad at the lawmakers who gave you little warning and zero chance to raise a fuss before they railroaded the gaming law, Act 71, in July 2004.
In some ways, sessions like Wednesday's amount to citizens trying to have the candid dialogue the pols denied them. That's therapeutic, as long as it doesn't lead to delusions that the Act 71 momentum of politics, policy and greed can easily be stopped.
The sad fact, folks, is that the constituency for casinos is way bigger than yours. Outside of your neighborhoods, even inside them, the reaction of many fellow Philadelphians to casinos is: "Cool, I won't have to truck all the way to AC to gamble."
You talk vaguely of tossing out the rascals who did this to you. But they weren't some upstate Philly-bashers. They were Philadelphians: Ed Rendell, Vincent Fumo, John Perzel.
The casino deal is classic Ed: a clever dance with the dark side to get something useful done. As governor, Rendell used the promise of easy casino loot to lubricate Harrisburg's balky machinery, to get it finally to address two huge issues: tax reform and equitable school funding. Inside the city, casino revenues will help bigtime with two priorities: cutting the wage tax and expanding the very Convention Center where Wednesday's rally was held.
In other words, a huge crowd of people now has a stake in slots gaming. That makes it hard to drive a stake through its heart.
But, threatened residents, you do have one chance to defend your interests. It's what DiCicco urged you to rally around: Stop zoning preemption.
To explain: One of Act 71's dirty tricks was a stunning slap at local control. It denied municipalities any zoning or planning say on casinos within their borders.
You see, state pols needed those casino revenues right fast, to placate constituents riled about property taxes. They couldn't let pesky local officials slow things down over trifles such as traffic gridlock, ugly designs, petty crime or drunken drivers.
What's more, casinos mean revenue opportunities for people with juice. So state lawmakers hoarded the juice. With its pay-to-play scandal, our City Hall made it all too easy to make snubbing Philly look like a good-government imperative.
Thankfully, the usually compliant state Supreme Court thwarted the pols for once. It tossed out zoning preemption in 2005. Now, Perzel's House has passed a bill to restore it; the Senate is laboring on its own version.
So far, people who live near casino sites have been well and truly jobbed by their elected officials. Passing this bill would be the final shiv in the back.
If it passes, Ed Rendell owes it to the city that loves him back to veto it. The rush to issue slots licenses has succeeded; the governor should ensure his city has some power to limit the corollary damage.
If he doesn't, why should anyone from Fishtown down to Pennsport vote for him on Nov. 7?
Chris Satullo is editorial page editor. To comment, call 215-854-4243 or email csatullo@phillynews.com. |
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