By Gov. Michael Toledo Jr.
Pueblo of Jemez
The Intergovernmental Agreement entered into between Doña Ana County and the Pueblo of Jemez has received more media attention than any agreement we can remember. Unfortunately, the attention the Pueblo's agreement has received from the Albuquerque Journal has been more negative than positive. We have certainly had our share of unfair publicity and it would be a breath of fresh air if we could also read about some of the enormous good the casino will bring to the people of Jemez Pueblo and Anthony.
Since no other Indian Gaming Tribe in New Mexico pays their own way for services needed by their casinos, we write to praise the agreement.
This agreement provides for two additional police officers, fire equipment, training and incentives. It also provides for an ambulance and EMS team to be housed and paid for by the casino. These are welcome in a community that currently has a substandard level of services. The "public safety" package totals more than $540,000 a year, doubling the ambulance service for the county and supplementing the Anthony fire station's budget by 400 percent.
The agreement also puts in writing all other promises that the Pueblo and the developer have made in describing the Jemez/Anthony Casino project. It provides for a local hiring preference, fully paid health insurance, and a million dollars in job training. It provides a "buy Doña Ana County" commitment and an information kiosk to direct 6,000 projected daily casino patrons to local restaurants, hotels and other tourist destinations. The casino will feature Mesilla Valley products in its gift shop and on its menus. The agreement also provides for substantial community foundation to provide socially conscious priorities to be identified by the local community.
Instead of the agreement being vilified, one would think the parties who have entered into this agreement should be praised for their innovative approach.
A week after the agreement was approved, letters were sent inviting further discussion of the agreement to begin a constructive dialogue. The letters were tailored to answer the concerns voiced by various commissioners, both then-sitting and newly elected. Phone calls were also made congratulating the new chairman and again inviting discussion. We heard nothing in response.
We see no "gag order" in the agreement and our letters inviting discussion are evidence that no "gag order" was intended. The opponents made up the argument and the Journal bought it without checking the facts.
One of the new commissioners admitted as recently as last week that she still hadn't read the agreement. At the April 23 commission meeting, everything she said she wanted in the agreement is already included.
The agreement does not impermissibly "tie the hands of future commissioners" or future Pueblo of Jemez governors. The agreement, itself, provides for annual reviews and adjustments in seven different sections. It is designed to be flexible, and to meet the changing needs of a project still in its infancy.
The provision your paper has taken issue with has been part of numerous intergovernmental agreements used throughout the country. We know of no other state attorney general who has raised even the slightest concern about such a provision.
We, and they, interpret the provision as a restatement of contract law imposing a duty of good faith upon those entering into agreements. In addition, the agreement includes a "savings clause" to make sure, regardless of this or any other provision, that the remainder of the agreement remains in effect.
The people of Anthony want the casino— overwhelmingly. Seventy-eight percent strongly support it, 63 percent want to work there and 11,000 signed petitions urging that the casino be built. They see as good jobs 950 positions with $29,200 in annual average salary, 69 of which have average salaries of more than $54,000 a year. They see $28 million a year in payroll, and $30 million a year to purchase goods and services as a huge boost to their economy.
Some like to talk about democracy, fairness, and equal opportunity. We like to live these principles. Equal opportunity and fairness requires that every tribe in the state who wants to game be allowed one casino— regardless of their location— if they can meet the criteria.
The Pueblo of Jemez reservation is so small, remote, and isolated that any casino and any other economic development would fail there. Perhaps if the commissioners and the editorial board of the Journal visited the Pueblo of Jemez, they would better understand.
Congress can't pass a law that bestows untold benefits on tribes with good locations, while condemning tribes with remote locations to hopeless poverty. The opponents of this project ignore the fairness and equal opportunity imperative of the off-reservation provisions of the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act. Opponents call it a loophole when in fact it is a core provision of the law.
The process is tough and balanced. Only three other tribes have gone from application to ribbon cutting. Three off-reservation casinos throughout the entire United States in two decades does not a casino explosion make.
Don't confuse problems with Indian gaming, or gambling in general, with providing an equal opportunity to one of the only tribes in New Mexico that doesn't already have a casino to help bring their people out of poverty.
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