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JAMES A. SMITH SR.
Executive Editor
The Seminole Tribe of Florida has successfully negotiated in less than one year with Gov. Charlie Crist what it failed to achieve with two prior governors (one from each political party) in more than 16 years—a compact which allows it to vastly expand its gambling empire, even permitting enterprises at its casinos that are prohibited elsewhere in the state. The supposedly anti-gambling governor—who promised on the campaign trail, including in an interview with me last summer, he would oppose any expansion of gambling in Florida—is now attempting to preside over the biggest and most dangerous expansion of gambling in Florida's history.
Announced Nov. 14 with much pomp and circumstance in a ceremony with Seminole Chairman Mitchell Cypress sitting at his side in the governor's office, Crist told Floridians that the deal—which will purportedly bring hundreds of millions of dollars in new tax revenues to the state—was necessary because without it the U.S. Department of Interior, which has jurisdiction over Indian gaming, would sign-off on Class III, Las Vegas-type slot machines at the Indian casinos, leaving Florida with nothing to show in potential tax revenues from the activity.
The Seminoles are entitled to these slot machines because voters narrowly approved a 2004 constitutional amendment that permitted Broward and Miami-Dade counties a local option vote on slots for its pari-mutuel facilities. But there is a major problem with this. As I have previously and repeatedly pointed out in this space, a lawsuit alleging massive fraud in the petition-gathering process—including voting of dead persons and animals—could very well undermine the predicate for this expansion. In September, in spite of three-years of legal roadblocks by the gambling industry, the Florida Supreme Court allowed the lawsuit to go to trial. If the lawsuit is successful the amendment will be invalidated, undercutting the basis for the compact between the governor and the Seminoles. But our governor seems to be conveniently ignorant of this lawsuit and eager to make a deal with the Seminoles.
It's interesting that Crist, who prides himself as being the "people's governor," only concerned about the desires, wishes and dreams of Floridians, is suddenly willing to cave in when the federal government puts its big foot down.
Also of interest is the fact that there is significant question whether the Department of the Interior even has the authority to dictate such matters to the state—a point which has been made frequently by Bill McCollum, Florida's attorney general.
Additionally, the governor is ignoring the Seminoles' rather sordid history of breaking contracts with its business partners—those who built and financed some of its casinos—resulting in protracted lawsuits. Asked about that history by the South Florida Sun-Sentinel, Seminole spokesman Gary Bittner said, "I'm not sure you can say this is a pattern or a trend. The circumstances may have been a little different but in each case the tribe felt it was an illegal contract and took action to protect its rights. I can say I'm absolutely certain the tribe will honor this contract."
None of those interesting facts, however, dissuaded our governor from going forward with the deal with the Seminoles. Responding to a question about possible opposition, Crist blithely said, "I think political leadership approves. And I don't think a vigorous debate is necessary. If people don't like gambling, they shouldn't go." So, I guess the "people's governor" could care less about the lives, families, and communities that are destroyed in the wake of casino gambling.
What's particularly infuriating is that Gov. Crist claims that the deal is actually going to serve to limit a further expansion of gambling in the Sunshine State. The compact stipulates that if the exclusive rights the Seminoles enjoy to slots machines outside of Broward and Miami-Dade counties and to blackjack, baccarat and other card games throughout the state are abrogated by the Legislature, the tribe would stop sharing its wealth with the state. According to Crist, this creates a powerful disincentive to further gambling expansion elsewhere in the state.
I have to admit, that's masterful—Bill Clinton, triangulating-type—spin. To argue with a straight face that a massive expansion of gambling with new games currently forbidden by state law is actually going to limit a further expansion of gambling indeed takes Clinton-like political dexterity. The reality is that the Seminoles wouldn't agree to the deal without such exclusive rights and Crist is attempting to turn this necessity into a claim of concern about limiting gambling expansion.
Thankfully, an odd coalition of forces—jilted legislators who rightly believe it's their prerogative to make law, not the governor's, and who were told by Crist their approval would be sought; anti-gambling citizens who oppose any gambling in our state; and pari-mutuel facilities who complain the Seminoles' deal will put them out of business because they will not be able to compete—will likely mean that this bad compact will never become reality. The U.S. Department of the Interior has 45 days to review the compact before giving its blessing.
Florida House Speaker Marco Rubio, R-West Miami, is not waiting to see what the federal government thinks. On Nov. 19 he filed a 31-page petition with the Florida Supreme Court asking the high court to invalidate the compact. In recent months, Rubio repeatedly warned the governor against giving the Seminoles what is prohibited by law and has continually expressed the widely held view in Tallahassee that the governor should not usurp the Legislature's prerogatives in this matter.
The petition states: "This case is about the Governor's encroachment on the Legislature's law- and policy-making authority, in violation of our Constitution's strict separation of powers provision. Without constitutional or statutory authority, the Governor has purported to bind the State to a 25-year Indian gaming compact that, among other things, authorizes types of gambling that are currently illegal everywhere in Florida and restricts the Legislature's discretion in myriad ways."
Within days of the compact announcement, a public relations blitz—obviously coordinated between the governor and the Seminoles—was launched to sell this bad deal to Floridians. A "special message" from Crist was e-mailed across the state, television commercials started airing and a new Web site opened to convince citizens that the compact is worthy of support.
Don't believe it. Gov. Crist's compact with the Seminoles is a bad deal for our state and Florida Baptists ought to tell him so and urge the Legislature to take all means necessary to stop this deal from ever being implemented.