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Arriola: people spoke loud and clear about gaming
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by Ronna Sweeney, KUAM News
Sunday, January 06, 2008
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Aside from selecting a new senator, the voters of Guam in the Decision 2008 special election also had to decide whether they were for or against the highly contested Prop 'A' or Better Jobs for Guam Act. And once again, as in numerous elections before, island residents shot down the measure.
It wasn't until just a few days ago that the people of Guam knew for sure whether their votes on Prop 'A' would indeed be tabulated. Like in many elections before the issue had been tied up in court. But on Super Saturday, voters were allowed to take sides - and they chose Guam Greyhound would go no further (at least for now) in its efforts to allow slot machine gambling.
Attorney for the anti-gaming special interest group Lina'La Sin Casino Jay Arriola says it seems like more people voted on Prop 'A' than they did for senator, and that by voting no he adds island residents are making their statement loud and clear. "We hope that the proponents of gambling take that message to heart, loud and clear, that we don't want anymore gambling," he told KUAM News.
He also criticized the recurring nature of the argument, continuing, "I think the initiative, however, highlights the need for some type of initiative reform. The next question becomes how many times do we need to say no? Do we have to say no again in November?" That issue - whether or not voters will be seeing another gambling initiative anytime soon - is something Arriola would like to rule out. He says the Guam Legislature should take a closer look at initiative reform and might suggest that if an initiative fails, it then wouldn't be able to be on the ballot again for a certain period of time.
Still, while proponents of Prop 'A' may feel disappointed by the loss, according to Carlo Branch that doesn't mean they are going to stop pushing for more jobs as well as better education and healthcare for the people of Guam. "Personally, I think Guam in general lost out on a good proposal, but it doesn't mean that the work stops or the attempts to make Guam better stop. Whether it's been myself or people associated with Guam Greyhound or the committee, our intent is to make Guam better and that doesn't necessarily stop because you win or lose an election."
The Better Jobs for Guam Act failed to pass, with just 37% of voters favoring the measure.
View the latest election results
View the UOG exit poll results
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