Editor: If you’re inclined to put up a campaign sign for Barbara Boxer, I suggest you retrieve one you may have stashed in your garage. It reads: “Cows Not Casinos.”
Several years ago House representatives passed legislation granting tribal status to Graton Rancheria. The legislation contained a ‘no gambling’ clause. When the bill reached the Senate, Barbara Boxer removed the gambling restriction. The final bill passed, giving Graton Rancheria gambling rights.
In due time the tribe, aligned with Station Casinos, shopped around for a location to build their casino complex. Senator Boxer’s son, Attorney Doug Boxer, then a partner in Kenwood Investments, was a tribal consultant in this venture. Graton Rancheria set its sights on a prime piece of land, an ecological jewel of which 600 acres were wetlands. The property sits at the gateway to Sonoma Valley.
Local residents erupted in an uproar. “Cows Not Casinos” became the rallying cry. Front yards blossomed with signs. Pickups were plastered with signs.
Land use organizations prevailed and saved the land. Graton Rancheria quietly folded its tent and headed west. Citizens of Rohnert Park then picked up the fight against the tribe’s planned mega-gambling complex.
Barbara Boxer chairs the Senate Committee on the Environment. Yet she had no problem with the raping of prime ecological habitat. Moreover, her son’s role in the matter (he’s reported to have made $8 million in legal fees), was a serious conflict of interest that should have rung bells for the senator who sits on the Ethics Committee.
June England
Sonoma
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