Cover Stories Winter 2002/03

Arizona Voters Overwhelmingly Defeat Racetracks' Ballot Bid for Slot Machines

Green Light for Indian Gaming

Phoenix: Proposition 201, the state's racing industry ballot initiative seeking voter approval for slot machines, was defeated by a margin of 4-to-1, with 947,341 of the electorate (80.1 percent) voting no and 234,935 (19.9 percent) voting yes. The no votes carried all of Arizona's 15 counties, including Yuma. If Prop 201 had pass-ed, two long-closed dog tracks in Yuma and Black Canyon City, about 50 miles north of Phoenix, would have reopened.

There were 14 propositions on the Nov. 5 election ballot, three of them gaming measures. Proposition 202, an initiative sponsored by Arizonans for Fair Gaming and Indian Self-Reliance representing the 17-tribe Arizona Indian Gaming Association, passed by a narrow margin. Indian gaming has existed in Arizona since 1993, but the state's dog and horse track owners challenged its legality and then-Gov. Jane Hull's authority to renew gaming compacts in a federal lawsuit filed in November 2000.

A U.S. District Court judge ruled in the track's favor on July 3, 2001. Hull then tried to resolve the issue legislatively during the 2002 session, but lawmakers, pressured by track lobbyists, failed to take action. The 9th Circuit Court of Appeals overturned the district court's ruling on Sept. 19, 2002, giving the governor the authority to sign gaming compacts that begin to expire in mid-2003.

The language of Prop 202, the Indian gaming initiative, gives Arizona Indian tribes exclusive rights to operate slot machines, closing the door on any future attempt by racetrack interests to legalize slot machines through legislative action. The overwhelming defeat of Prop 201 makes it unlikely, but not impossible, that the tracks will try another ballot initiative in 2004.

Arizona Animal Activists Unite
Arizona's humane community united in June 2002 to form a political committee - the Arizona Greyhound Protection Alliance - to oppose Prop 201, dubbed the Fair Gaming Act. Stephanie Nichols-Young, a Phoenix attorney who is also president of the Animal Defense League of Arizona (ADLA), was the committee chair. The committee's treasurer was Janene Mensch, who also serves as ADLA's treasurer. In addition to ADLA, other sponsoring organizations of the Alliance were GREY2K USA and Greyhound Network News (GNN). Joan Eidinger, GNN's editor, was the local campaign manager for the Alliance's campaign, with the considerable help of Karen Michael of ADLA.

Thanks to the financial support of several national humane organizations, the Alliance had sufficient funds to mount a grass-roots campaign, including printing 400 signs that were distributed statewide, and placing radio spots on stations in Phoenix, Tucson, Flagstaff, and Yuma in the week leading up to the election. The radio spots were produced by GREY2K USA, who also raised the funds needed for the campaign.

Racetracks Run Odd Campaign
The Coalition for Arizona, a political committee made up of the owners of Phoenix Greyhound Park and Turf Paradise, a thoroughbred horse track in north Phoenix, began their campaign in September with the introduction of "Joe Arizona" at a news conference. Joe, the fictional front man for Prop 201, was actually Nick Tarr, a local comedian. Tarr was featured in a saturation media campaign that started with television ads showing Joe standing at a podium in front of a backdrop of the Grand Canyon, shouting Prop 201's campaign slogan: "Do the Math." The math referred to is the racetracks' claim that Prop 201 would generate $300 million a year for the state. The "Grand Canyon" backdrop turned out to be a well-known canyon in Moab, Utah.

Within days of Joe's television debut, The Arizona Republic reported that Joe's math was "fuzzy" and that Prop 201 would only raise $43 million for the state. By late October, Prop 201was polling at only 21 percent, and the racetrack coalition began bashing Indian gaming. In a final desperate attempt to sway voters, the racetracks began running quarter-page ads in the state's newspapers featuring the Energizer Bunny© banging his drum against Prop 202. The Eveready Battery Co., Inc. was not amused and sued the Coalition for copyright infringement.

The use of the Energizer Bunny stunned volunteers of the Arizona Greyhound Protection Alliance. Just weeks earlier, an Arizona greyhound breeder had been charged with using live rabbits to train greyhounds after state racing officials completed its surveillance investigation of his farm. One rescued bunny under the care of the Southern Arizona Humane Society in Tucson made local Phoenix headlines and was featured on two local network news shows.

Victory for Greyhounds
The campaign strategy of the Alliance, developed by Nichols-Young, targeted the dog-loving community by leafleting at dog parks. Ten thousand flyers were copied and handed out to dog owners statewide urging them to: "Vote NO on Prop 201 - Do it for the Dogs." Large 3-ft. by 4-ft. signs posted throughout the state asked voters to "Do the Real Math." Many of the signs, especially those in Tucson and Apache Junction were torn down soon after they went up. The Tucson signs were replaced and Alliance volunteers kept a constant watch over them until Election Day.

The defeat of Prop 201 keeps the defunct Yuma and Black Canyon dog tracks closed. During its 28 years of operation, the Yuma track's kennel compound and adjunct breeding and training farms were the scenes of horrific greyhound abuse cases, which caused the deaths of at least 60 dogs.

One Last-Ditch Attempt
Weeks after the election, an attorney for the racetracks filed a lawsuit in Superior Court requesting a preliminary injunction barring Hull from signing the new Indian gaming compacts. Scott Bales, an attorney representing the state, called the move "a desperate, last-ditch attempt to quite obviously thwart the will of the voters."

The court denied the injunction and the tracks appealed the decision to the Arizona Supreme Court, who declined to hear the case. Hull signed the gaming compacts Dec. 4, ending years of controversy and lawsuits.

Sources: The Arizona Republic: Mary Jo Pitzl, John Stearns
The Tuscon Citizen