Ho-Chunk Nation officials announced Tuesday they will not push for another referendum if the DeJope casino referendum fails Feb. 17. Ho-Chunk Nation President George Lewis and his attorney general, Rebecca Weise, told The Capital Times editorial board Monday they would not go where they were not wanted.
Gov. Jim Doyle will approve the casino if the referendum passes, but Ho-Chunk's options do not end with the referendum.
\They can come back at anytime,"" said Lisa Pugh, spokesperson for the Coalition for the Fair Indian Gaming and Revenue Sharing Agreements. ""They have the right to approach future governors to approve the casino and can do so without a referendum.""
Pugh said Ho-Chunk's other option was to appeal to the federal courts, as it is a sovereign nation with the right to open a casino.
""They have the right to open a casino,"" said Sharyn Wieniewski, press secretary to Kathleen Falk. ""Wisconsin's land is rich in the Ho-Chunk Nation's history. They were here long before we were.""
Wieniewski added the casino would bring $3.5 million to Dane county and another $3.5 million to the city of Madison.
""Kathleen Falk has stated what she is going to do in this situation,"" Wieniewski said. ""She is going to vote yes.""
David Relles, organizer of No Dane Casino, was hopeful the message was in regards to the entire casino project. Relles, however, said he had his doubts.
Relles said Ho-Chunk has spent more than $1.3 million on the project, totaling $30 per vote.
According to the Dane County Clerk's release of budget spending for Ho-Chunk, more than half a million dollars was spent on consultants, with additional costs coming from Boston to Santa Monica areas ending in a total of $999,067 already spent on the campaign for the casino.
""The casino is a bad idea for the community,"" said Marilyn Townsend, one of the leaders of No Dane Casino. ""If you really want to know what's going to happen, you have to analyze the entire situation.""
Ho-Chunk officials were unavailable for comment. However, Ho-Chunk's public relations spokeperson Ed Little John claimed he was not aware of the specific details of the casino situation.
