Medford Councilors Blast Casino Proposals

Several Medford city councilors expressed their concerns over the impact of potential nearby casinos at their Tuesday night meeting, resolving to officially send their concerns to the state.

Beginning with issues raised by City Councilor Robert Penta, the council eventually voted 5-1 voice their issues to both the state Gaming Commission and their state legislative delgation.

One councilor, Michael Marks, criticized Medford Mayor Michael McGlynn for "leading from behind" on the issue and not taking a stance.

"Why isn't he fighting for the businesses and the residents of this community against this casino?" Marks asked.

Watch the video to the right to see more of Marks' comments.

Penta discussed

"This is just going to cause huge, huge problems for the city of Medford," said Penta, who also was miffed about private developers not coming to Medford to bring them to the table for a discussion.

"It's going to be an environmental problem," he added. "It's going to be a family-oriented problem. It's going to be a business problem, it's going to be a traffic problem."

Counclior Richard Caraviello agreed with Penta, saying that if a casino goes into Everett or possibly Suffolk Downs, Medford "is going to suffer" either way.

"Studies show casinos suck the life out of communities in a 10-mile area," Caraviello said, citing the loss of business in the area around the Foxwoods casino in Connecticut.

Marks centered his remarks McGlynn, accusing the mayor of waiting to voice an opinion one way or the other as Marks claimed he did on the MBTA Green Line extension.

"He needs to change his slogan on campaign signs from 'Leadership That Works' to 'Leadership From Behind,'" Marks said. "Because that's how he operates."

Marks added that Everett officials are saying Route 16, a major traffic artery for Medford, will provide the entrance to a proposed casino site, not Route 99.

Marks said "hundreds of buses" going through Medford on the way to a casino would continue to hurt the city's infrastructure.

City Councilor Paul Camuso was the lone councilor to vote against the resolution, saying there was "no proposal before us for mitigation for an East Boston casino or an Everett casino."

Council Vice President Fred Dello Russo was not present at Tuesday's meeting.