YES on Proposition 48

The Peace and Freedom Party recommends a “yes” vote on Proposition 48, to uphold a compact negotiated by the state and federal government with the North Fork Rancheria of Mono Indians and the Wiyot Tribe. The compact is supported by the unions representing casino workers and construction workers, because the casino operators have pledged union recognition, good working conditions, and good pay. Environmentalists support it, because building the casino on the valley floor in Madera County will keep a casino from being built in the environmentally-sensitive areas where the tribes live in the mountains. Local governments in Madera County support it, because they need the financial help provided under the compact. The only opponents are some rival gambling interests, and people who oppose expansion of reservations, some of whom have expressed this in bluntly racist terms. The PFP supports Native American sovereignty (self-government), and while we are not enthusiastic about gambling, there is no anti-gambling side in this fight. The Wiyot and Mono followed all the proper procedures, and received all the required approvals, and it would be profoundly unfair to overturn the compact.

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