Columbus Council backs Bob Wright’s push for gambling, but vote wasn’t unanimous

Columbus businessman Bob Wright returned to Columbus Council Tuesday to request support for legislation that would legalize casino gambling in the state of Georgia.

Wright asked councilors to pass the same resolution that they passed last year, directing the city’s legislative delegation to push for legislation to authorize a statewide referendum for a constitutional amendment that would allow citizens to vote on the issue.

Under the proposal, council would request a local referendum if the constitutional amendment is adopted, giving local citizens an opportunity to approve or reject casino gaming in Muscogee County.

The money from gambling would go to fund Hope scholarships.

Later in the meeting, a majority of councilors approved Wright’s request while considering the city’s proposed overall 2018 legislative agenda. Councilors Judy Thomas, Mike Baker and Glenn Davis voted against the measure.

Before voting, Thomas asked her fellow councilors to be “real careful” about approving that item on the agenda.

“The bill that made the furthest progress in the legislature last year was House Bill 159 and under that bill Columbus would not have qualified to have a casino,” she said. “If that bill allowed two casinos in the state, one could be in a county of 900,000 population, which means the counties around Atlanta would be the only ones that meet that.

“And the second one could be in a county with 250,000 population,” she continued. “And the only county outside Atlanta that meets that is Chatham. So if that bill were to pass, the only places that we could have casinos would be in Atlanta and Savannah. Columbus would not be eligible for that.”

Thomas said in addition to gaming, casinos usually bring in various artists. The contracts sometimes restrict the artists from performing at another venue within a certain distance. She used 250 miles as an example.

“So even though the casino is in Atlanta, if an artist signed a contract with Atlanta that had that clause in it, they couldn’t come to Columbus for at least a year,” she said. “And that could have an impact on our economic picture.

“There are a lot of those kinds of things,” she said. “It’s not just whether you want to have gambling in your community. It’s the fall-out from that throughout the rest of the state. I understand that move to provide Hope Scholarships to college bound students. Quite frankly, I think that was added purely to make it go down a little easier, if you will.”

Baker asked City Attorney Clifton Fay for clarification on the local referendum being requested. Fay said there is no guarantee that clause would make it into state legislation.

“I certainly don’t have any objection to the citizens voting on it, but I’d like to know what we’re calling for,” Baker said. “I really don’t have that much information as far as an actual draft. ... That’s my concern.”

Mayor Pro-Tem Evelyn Turner-Pugh said she and Councilor Evelyn “Mimi” Woodson requested that the item be carried over from the 2017 legislative agenda.

She said they’re just asking that “if, in deed, there is a constitutional amendment that citizens be allowed to vote for it or against it, and that we be included,” she said. “And it’s my understanding that the bill that goes up in January may be different from the one they had last time, and it may include Columbus and some other cities.”

This story was originally published October 25, 2017 at 1:32 PM with the headline "Columbus Council backs Bob Wright’s push for gambling, but vote wasn’t unanimous."