The Casino Miss-Out Watch

Debate is soon to begin again within the Mass. state legislature to allow casinos in Massachusetts. My views on casinos are clear. I don't like them.

More immediately, however, I am going to start watching the opportunities that we miss out on here in Mass. because of the casino debate. I noted one example the last time debate ensued on Beacon Hill.

There are much more fruitful discussions we could be having right now about how to stimulate job growth. Unfortunately, all those conversations will be put on hold... hopefully not for long.

Why Casinos are bad

I really hope my state representative, Marty Walz, votes against the casino bill that is before the Massachusetts House this week. And should the bill pass that legislative body, I hope my state senator, Sonia Chang-Diaz, will vote no if she's given the chance.

Casinos are bad for local economies, and I base my opinion on personal experience. I was born in southeastern Connecticut when what is now Foxwoods was merely a bingo hall. In the early 90's, the region bore the brunt of that time period's recession.

While a young kid, the defense industry fueled much of the economy in southeastern Connecticut. The sign across the Thames River in Groton still reads, "The Submarine Capital of the World." Problem is, you don't need submarines in a post Cold War era. And you don't need the parts that supply them, either.

In the midst of the economic malaise that affected my friends and family, there arose a wonder in the Connecticut woods. Foxwoods promised jobs, and it brought them. Make no mistake about it, casinos do produce jobs, and Foxwoods created them at a time when they were so desperately needed. Sound familiar?

Except I don't live in southeastern Connecticut today. To put it frankly, there isn't much happening there beyond the casinos. It took a herculean effort a few years back by the region's U.S. Congressman to save the U.S. Sub Base along that same Thames River. Many argued that its shuttering might have been a final economic straw for the region, and I agree with them.

The problem with destination casinos (which is what the Governor and others are arguing for) is that they try very hard to be destinations. I did a report when I was a senior in high school that discussed, in part, the psychological manipulation on display within Foxwoods. There are no clocks. There are few windows. There's a lot of bells and whistles (literally), generating excitement and adrenaline. The whole atmosphere is intended to do one thing---keep people there.

And Foxwoods and nearby Mohegan Sun have succeeded. Between the "wonder of it all"---the restaurants and live entertainment and sporting events and all those darn chances to win---it's no wonder that those that go decide not to leave.

One of my friends went to Foxwoods late last year. She explained how to save cost, she was going to stay in nearby Mystic, rather than on the grounds of the casino. Now, I love Mystic. My parents live there. My brother operated a marine business there, and his wife works there. Mystic is a great Connecticut town, and prior to the opening of the casinos, it was the main tourist attraction in the region. Not any more.

Someone asked my friend where she was going to go to dinner when she was in Connecticut. "I don't know," came the reply. "Probably somewhere in the casino."

To which I suggested: "Why not go out to dinner in Mystic?"

The story of my friend best exemplifies why I don't like casinos. From an economic perspective, casinos do not to contribute to the surrounding communities, but rather take from them.

The wonder in the Connecticut woods still is the wonder contained to the Connecticut woods. The nearby city of Norwich, economically depressed since I was born, is still economically depressed. It's downtown is as empty as when I was a kid. The restaurants of Mystic still receive their best business during the summer from out-of-state beachcombers, not from casino traffic (this is based on a first-hand interview with a waitress). It pains me to write this; Connecticut will always have a very special place in my heart.

Speaking of "wonders," I wonder what we all could have come up with to help spur economic activity over the past three years had we not spent so much time worrying about casinos. My concern is that a casino in Massachusetts will have the same effect as Foxwoods and Mohegan Sun in Connecticut. Why would a visitor to a casino near Boston want to go into the city? Why would they want to peruse shops on Newbury; visit an historic site downtown, or experience the city's varied neighborhoods?

For non-economic reasons, my dad hates gambling. He doesn't even buy lottery tickets. I have gambled from time to time, and I have had a great time visiting Las Vegas with friends on a couple of occasions. Notwithstanding, I am sure my distaste for casinos is somewhat influenced by my dad. Regardless, my opposition to casinos in Massachusetts is driven largely by what I experienced as a kid. I think my reasons are economic. And beyond the jobs casinos can create, I worry that the economic consequences of Massachusetts casinos would be harsh.

*** UPDATE: I heard from Jamie Hellen, Senator Sonia Chang-Diaz's chief of staff, that she will vote against any bill for expanding gambling. Yay Sonia!

My Choice is Martha Coakley

It's probably not a surprise to regular readers that I am voting for Martha Coakley on Tuesday to be the next U.S. Senator from Massachusetts. Over the past week, the temperature in the race has risen many degrees. One cannot watch a local news program without encountering numerous ads for Coakley and her opponent.

I had originally not planned to write this post; but given how the race as turned out, I feel compelled to state my reasons for supporting the Attorney General, despite the fact that I did not vote for her in the Democratic primary last month.

1) Massachusetts universal health care is not enough. While we enjoy nearly universal health-care coverage in Massachusetts, we suffer from industry wide problems, including the uncontrollable rise in health-care costs. The most attractive provisions of the health-care bills in Congress protect all of us from loss of insurance if we get sick, and they forbid insurance companies from denying coverage for pre-existing conditions. Those provisions are not a part of the Massachusetts heath care overhaul. A vote against Martha Coakley is a vote against health-care reform so desperately needed.

2) Martha Coakley agrees with many of my international priorities. Certainly there are still those in Afghanistan that mean us harm, but the fight against terrorism is not as black-and-white as simply targeting countries or regions. Coakley believes that the right answer isn't always to send in troops. The right answer is to target our efforts based on good intelligence and recognize that this effort is truly global in nature.

3) Martha Coakley is tough. As Attorney General she's represented Massachusetts, returned money to the state's taxpayers, and remained committed to her core values. This is not a party sock puppet. Martha Coakley will stand up for what she believes in.

Tuesday's election is serious. Many of my fellow Massachusetts residents are upset. But they should not let that anger cloud their judgement about what's best for the state. And what's best is to make Martha Coakley our next U.S. Senator.

Legislature says: Let's get moving!

This week I attended two events to kick off the 2009 legislative session.

On Monday, my City Councilor, Mike Ross, was elected Council President, and I attended the first council hearing of the year at City Hall, where the vote took place. A few observations:

-- Hats off to the Councilor's staff for coordinating the offline and online worlds so well. While Ross addressed the Council from the rostrum, his staff launched a new campaign website and posted a blog entry via Boston Magazine online (Ross has penned a blog there for many months). Even better yet, the messaging across all the vehicles was in sync.

-- Ross pledged to make the Council more open to all residents, both by using technology better and by holding council meetings in Boston's neighborhoods. I am not sure how the second idea would work logistically, but it makes sense. It's hard to attend City Council hearings during the day. Also of note, Ross addressed the issue of electronic access in his blog post, a wise move given it's an area of contention for many active Boston bloggers.

-- Ross proposed an economic summit of City leaders, modeled after a volunteer summit organized by the previous City Council President, Maureen Feeney. A summit to think of ideas is always a good idea. Let's hope it happens soon, given the economy is in rough shape, and I for one am ready to do whatever I can to put the resulting good ideas into action quickly.

-- The Council Chamber buzzed with energy, both because of the youth of the new President, and also because embattled City Councilor Chuck Turner led the session until Ross was elected.

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On Wednesday, I trudged through the snow, sleet and rain to watch the swearing in of my new State Senator, Sonia Chang-Diaz, at her new office at the State House. It was my first trip ever to the State House, and it allowed me to reminisce with other campaign volunteers and staffers, such as Deb Shah and Marianne von Nordeck. I snuck out of the office during the proceedings to visit with fellow Ward 5 member Laura Sargent, who works for my State Representative, Marty Walz.

Witnessing my first Senate proceeding was at times, well, comical. One of the more perplexing ceremonies of the day? How about when the Senate Leader appointed a committee of other senators to escort the newly elected Senate President, Therese Murray, to the rostrum. I guess there's concern the Senate President might get lost?

Pomp and circumstance aside, the new state and local legislative sessions have begun, and at a time when it's got to be challenging to be an elected leader. Still, what I witnessed gave me a sense of optimism. President Ross and President Murray both noted the *urgent* need to get moving for their constituents. (Mayor Menino and Governor Patrick echoed these sentiments when they addressed the respective chambers.)

The sessions have gotten off to a fine start. After all, President Murray found her way to the rostrum, thanks to a committee of her colleagues. Definitely a good sign.

Endorsement: Sonia Chang-Diaz

In 2006 I voted for Sonia Chang-Diaz because I could not understand how an incumbent State Senator could forget to put herself on the ballot for reelection.

This year, I am voting for Sonia Chang-Diaz because I think she is the better candidate.

Two years ago, I did not know much of what I wanted from my State Senator. The 2006 election for the MA 2nd Suffolk Senate seat was a bit of a circus. Since no Democrat had filed signatures to be on the ballot, the only way to vote was to write in for a candidate. I arrived at the voting booth in September 2006 for the primary with six stickers in my hand, each with Sonia Chang-Diaz's name on it. It took three of them for me to actually vote according to the directions (the stickers didn't quite fit, and I was panicked if it wasn't perfect, my vote would not count).

We all have had two years to learn more about Sonia Chang-Diaz, and it is now clear that her views and priorities match mine more closely than her opponent's.

To me, priority number one for state-level officials is to build our Boston communities by encouraging young families to stay and establish themselves. Just last night I attended a going away celebration for two good friends and neighbors that are leaving Boston. It reminded me of the numerous other friends who have already left; in fact, it's pretty much conventional wisdom that when you graduate from a Boston-area school, you only stay in the city until you get married. After that, there's no way to afford being here.

The issue of Boston young professional flight is hard to solve, and I don't profess to have a good set of answers. But education is a good place to start. The education system in Boston is in continual need of attention and out-of-box thinking. Education is priority number one for Sonia Chang-Diaz.

As the son of a former elementary school teacher who taught me Kindergarten, I support any creative approach to improving Boston's schools. Education is one of the primary reasons why young families stay or leave.

I look forward to Sonia Chang-Diaz's leadership on education, and I desperately anticipate her participation on the Storrow Drive Tunnel issue. The Storrow Drive Tunnel (and the Longfellow Bridge, for that matter) is in critical need of restoration. The State is currently performing preliminary repairs to the tunnel, but they are nowhere near the level of work required. Planning to fix the tunnel will be a sticky mess. An attempt by the State to usher a public process last year that would address the traffic and community impact of the repair (not to mention what the tunnel would look like after the work is done) fell apart. For Beacon Hill and in my opinion, the Storrow Drive Tunnel will be the number one public issue facing my next State Senator during the early part of the next term.

Much of what I expect of my State Senator for public process issues, such as the tunnel, is to be present. The Chang-Diaz campaign told me this week to expect that Sonia will be an active listener, and will coordinate closely with my State Representative, Marty Waltz. This participation will be very important. The State has indicated that the current preliminary work will be complete by early next year, when the public process for the larger Tunnel refurbishment will start over.

If there is one opinion that I hope Sonia Chang-Diaz will adopt from her opponent, it is strong opposition to the prospect of casinos in Massachusetts. As so many have said, the proposal by Governor Patrick to build casinos is short-sighted. It lacks creativity and frankly is a band-aid to fix the budget issues-- not a long-term solution. (As someone who grew up near two casinos in southeastern Massachusetts, I am not a fan of them.) We should demand that the Governor look for other approaches that solve the budget crisis in a more fundamental way. It's easy to be negative; and I profess I don't have an answer to this problem either, but I think we can do better than building casinos.

Sonia Chang-Diaz has been very visible on the campaign trail. It appears she wants to meet every single voter at least twice during this campaign. I admire her dedication, and I have no doubt she will be just as visible when she is elected. I can't wait to work with her to rectify the issues that concern me and my neighborhood.

I will be voting for Sonia Chang-Diaz in the Massachusetts State Primary, scheduled for September 16.