Community Corner

Letter to the Editor: Local Leaders Need to Fess Up About Casino

By Alden Olmsted

"There was no vote! - There was never a vote!"  

This phrase's similarity to a popular film quote resulted in the same eerie silence when it was shouted by Mayor Pam Stafford and emphatically repeated by Supervisor Shirlee Zane at last Wednesday's Town Hall meeting. Most of those present, myself included, were too stunned to immediately appreciate this grand admittal which, if any officials are listening, is the crux of this entire ten-year casino issue: the people's concerns and opinions were never considered.

The lawsuit notwithstanding, the Rohnert Park casino is moving forward,  "whether you like it or not," as Gavin Newsom once famously exclaimed.

Following the recent RP town hall meeting in which Mayor Stafford and Supervisor Zane attempted to feed the crowd sanitized and rehashed blurbs about the "hard work" of the city - to have even gotten these [current] financial promises from the Graton Rancheria - and about the noble cooperation of the tribe in general thus far (though no one had suggested otherwise), present and future Sonoma County residents are left with two big questions: what did we do wrong, ie. what can we learn so we don't repeat - and what, if anything, can we do now?

The first question seems to be the one that our representatives simply cannot handle, I'm not sure if this is due to fear, or inadequacy in their positions, or both.  It is completely reasonable and necessary to analyze one's decisions and past moves, whether you're a chess player, a coach, or just a human being who wants to do better 'next time around.' I can honestly say I have not gotten any indication that any of our officials are addressing this first point, and that's what scares me the most.  

It's not the casino, it's not the tribe, it's not this one project, it's the hands-in-the-air mentality and the "what could we have done" sentiment of the mayor and supervisor that should be to all of us, reasons to show up at the next election.

The second question is really irrelevant until we get an answer to the first.  How can we know what to do, how to do it, or if we even want the same things as a city and county if we haven't received honesty from these people?

My father, John Olmsted, used the newly passed California Environmental Quality Act in 1972 not to block progress but to question a motel project on the Mendocino coast that had not properly accounted for their wastewater, their impact on sensitive habitat, their effect on the local ecosystem, and the overall size of the project as it related to local residents.

Sound familiar?

Supervisor Zane, Mayor Stafford and Jake Mackenzie owe the people of Rohnert Park and Sonoma County more than a wimpy shrug and a "What could we have done?" impotent attitude.

Alden Olmsted is a local filmmaker and executive director of the Olmstead Park Fund, whose mission is to preserve and support California’s parks, trails, and open spaces through conservation and education. For more information, visit www.olmstedparkfund.org

Opinions expressed here are those of the writer and not of Rohnert Park-Cotati Patch. Want to sound off on an important local issue? Send a letter to the editor or start a blog.


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