by Mindy Aguon
Guam - For the fifth time the people of Guam
have resoundingly said no to any sort of gaming. Yesterday more than 20,000
island residents voted NO on Proposition "A", the for-profit bingo
initiative introduced by the Guam
Japan Friendship
Village. (And that doesn't
even include the 3,200 ballots that were left blank, which counts as a no vote,
as well.)
Committee to Keep Guam Good's Jay Arriola says he was pleased with
the strong showing, telling KUAM News the 65%/35% split was the best ratio they
have ever had to previous gaming initiatives. Arriola says he hopes lawmakers
take a second look at the initiative process, noting, "A lot of the people
we've been meeting with in the villages have been asking why do we have to
continue to do this and how many times do we have to do this and where is the
transparency in this process, so the initiative process deserves a second look
at it and see if there's some type of reform that can be enacted as a result of
all these different initiatives that come before voters. I mean, it costs time,
costs money and a lot of efforts.
"It is not at no cost to the people every time we have to
consider this."
Arriola added that he believes the last-minute media blitz and
campaigning by proponents ended up hurting the initiative, as residents were
left with unanswered questions about the initiative's real intent.
- Results from all
Decision 2012 General Election races
