Contact your State Senators quickly. Ask them to vote against video poker. How to contact your State Senator
The action is part of a new strategy designed to lull opponents to sleep by making them think that video poker is dead for this session. Then, with over-confident opponents not worried, backers will pull a stealth move and poke the bills through.
That has already happened in both the House and Senate, which have both given committee approval to the bills. It can happen again on the senate floor any day now unless YOU alert your people and get loudly involved NOW. Contact your state senator immediately. Also, please send the email you received about this to all today.
Full Story of Our Temporary Victory Here.
SPECIAL THANKS TO CONSERVATIVE LEADERS WHO HELPED WIN THIS BATTLE: Lt. Gov. Steve Windom, Jim Cooper, State Sen. Bill Armistead, and the news media who stayed on top of this story (you know who you are). If you know others who should be commended here, please email.
MONTGOMERY (11/12/99) – When gambling interests announced they would push legislation for casinos at the state's four dog tracks in the 1999 special session and began running legal notices, citizen leaders stepped up quickly and said, "no."You would have thought that Montgomery politicians got the message in the October 12 referendum, but some did not.
State Sen. George Clay of Macon County announced Nov. 2 that he would introduce a bill to allow "games of skill" at the state’s four dog tracks. This means that casinos would operate in Birmingham, Mobile, Macon County, and Greene County. Who is Sen. Clay and why is he taking the lead for casinos at dog tracks?
This website served as central headquarters for citizens who successfully opposed dog track casinos in the Special Session. It will do so again starting January 13 to oppose this same legislation, which has been introduced for the February 1, 2000 Regular Session. Please bookmark this site and visit frequently. We will keep you updated on the progress of the bills and how you can help defeat them.
Mobile lawyer Jim Zeigler led a successful Internet campaign to defeat the Pensions for Politicians Amendment in the October 12 referendum. Now he is leading this on-line campaign against the dog track casinos bill. Who is Zeigler and why is he qualified to lead our campaign against casinos at dog tracks?
The backers believe that forces which opposed the lottery and video poker will become over-confident. Many of our people will incorrectly assume that the bills cannot pass.
The bills are cleverly written to avoid a statewide vote like the one on October 12. Instead, voters in four districts having a dog track will be the only voters. If any one of the four districts votes yes, then Alabama has a dog track casino in that one district alone. The districts eligible to vote are: City of Birmingham (not Jefferson County), Mobile County, Greene County, and Macon County.
In this sneaky way, voters in any one of these four districts will make the decision for all Alabama voters as to whether our state will sponsor casinos at dog tracks.
Their strategy is smooth and quiet. Unless you live in one of the four districts, you will have no right to vote on this issue.
WE NEED YOUR HELP TO INFORM CITIZENS ABOUT THE CASINOS AT DOG TRACKS BILLS Here are two ways you can help. Please bookmark this site and visit daily.
1. Become an OnLine Activist Opposing the dog track casions bills. Simple instructions here!
Website of Jim Zeigler's OnLine Law Office
Email Zeigler: E-Mail: Justvoteno@cs.com
"We fell victim to a campaign of misinformation on the Internet. I'm not so sure we don't need to ask the Legislature to look at that. That kind of communication is completely unregulated," said Sonny Brasfield, lobbyist for the Association of County Commissioners.
He said Zeigler's campaign amounted to little more than "Internet chain mail" that allowed "absolute and outright falsehoods and distortions to be spread without anyone being accountable."
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