Critics move to overturn Glendale casino deal

• Critics of a West Valley tribal casino are hoping to overturn a Glendale City Council agreement to allow the development at Loop 101 and Northern Avenue
• City leaders say the referendum to stop the casino is not legal under Arizona law
• Opponents have till Sept. 13 to turn in signatures

The approval of a glitzy gambling hall by the Glendale City Council last week has done little to calm the divisive issue or a five-year legal battle over its fate that has cost tens of millions of dollars. And the fighting is not over yet.

It might be long shot, but critics of the casino deal with the Tohono O'odham Nation are pursuing a referendum to give voters a chance to overturn the City Council's approval of an agreement with the tribe that will pay Glendale $26 million over 20 years.

In addition, City Councilman Gary Sherwood, who changed his position from opposing the casino to supporting it and provided the key vote for the deal, is being targeted for recall.

"He flip-flopped so badly we had to do something," said Anna Lee, a business owner who initiated the recall. "He doesn't represent us anymore."

Lee, who lives in Glendale, is a member of the Salt River Pima-Maricopa Indian Community, which opposes the Tohono O'odham casino. She backed Sherwood in his 2012 campaign for a Sahuaro District seat when he opposed the casino.

Those two efforts are not formally linked beyond the opposition to the $400 million casino project. Critics complained to theCity Council that the West Valley casino at Loop 101 and Northern Avenue would lead to more gambling addiction, hurt existing Glendale businesses and violate a gaming compact that they say prohibits additional Valley casinos.

But the referendum may not go anywhere. Sherwood and Mayor Jerry Weiers, who voted against the deal, both said the casino vote cannot be subjected to a referendum because the action was administrative rather than legislative. State law precludes a referendum on an administrative action by a council.

City Attorney Michael Bailey said Monday it would be premature for him to offer an opinion on the referendum and whether it qualifies as administrative or legislative action. He will decide whether to allow the referendum if casino opponents turn in enough signatures on their petitions.

The referendum group registered last week to challenge the casino vote. Opponents would need to file 6,956 valid signatures on petitions within 30 days, or by Sept. 13, to qualify for the ballot.

The group is headed by Gary Hirsch, a landscaping business owner and former City Council candidate, and Jill Ryan, a real estate agent.

The referendum states that the casino "will destroy neighborhoods and create severe budget stress for the nearly bankrupt city."

"We believe the people are entitled to opportunity to decide on the inclusion of an Indian reservation and casino within our community," Hirsch said.

The casino is planned for a 54-acre site that was granted federal reservation status in July.

The Tohono O'odham Nation has agreed to pay Glendale about $26 million over 20 years even though the tribe has no obligation to make any payment or get approvals from the city for the casino.

In return, Glendale has agreed to support the tribe's West Valley casino.

"They don't have to give us anything," Sherwood said.

Hirsch said that the southern Arizona's tribe's deal with Glendale only pays the city about $100,000 per month while the casino generates as much $25 million in monthly gambling revenue.

"That's a paltry sum," he said.

Hirsch also questioned the section of the agreement that waives the tribe's sovereign immunity, a legal doctrine that protects tribes from legal claims. That provision is intended to give Glendale the option to sue the Tohono O'odham Nation if the tribe violates terms of the deal.

"That language is weak and ambiguous," Hirsch said.

Hirsch said volunteer and paid petition workers are collecting signatures and are off to a good start, though he did not have any specifics on how many signatures had been collected so far or how much the group will spend on the referendum campaign.

In May, the city rejected a related referendum that Hirsch and other casino opponents attempted. That effort targeted the City Council's decision to oppose a bill in the U.S. House of Representatives to prohibit additional Valley casinos.

If the city attorney rejects the latest referendum effort, the group could file a lawsuit to get the measure on the ballot.

In the recall of Sherwood, Lee said she is going after him because he voted to extend the city's 0.7 percent sales tax increase, advocated for billboards in northern Glendale and ignored the state's Open Meetings Law.

"The casino is just the last straw," Lee said.

The Arizona Attorney General's Office is investigating a complaint that Sherwood and council members Yvonne Knaack, Manny Martinez and Sammy Chavira circumvented the Open Meetings Law in June 2013 in discussing Glendale's pending agreement with the Arizona Coyotes, the NHL team that plays in Glendale.

The complaint was filed July 21 by Weiers, who said he filed it as a resident rather than as mayor.

Sherwood denied that he and the three other council members did anything illegal in discussing the Coyotes deal.

Lee filed a statement of organization but has not applied to collect signatures for a recall. She would need 3,851 valid signatures within 120 days.