Politics & Government

Somerville Mayor on Everett Casino: 'I Have a Deep and Grave Concern'

Casino plans are "fool's gold," Somerville's mayor said. The city's Board of Aldermen president said a casino in Everett would "cannibalize" Somerville's economy.

Somerville Mayor Joseph Curtatone said Thursday he would do everything in his power to oppose a proposed casino in Everett.

"I don't know what's going to happen," with the casino proposal, he told the Somerville Board of Aldermen, adding, "I have a deep and grave concern."

Medford Mayor Michael McGlynn and the Medford City Council also oppose the project.

Everett residents voted at the end of June to approve the casino, proposed by Steve Wynn, along the Mystic River.

The state gambling commission will consider the proposal along with one at Suffolk Downs in East Boston and another one, proposed by Foxwoods, in Milford. It will choose one.

200 yards from Somerville's $130 million investment


"The Wynn Everett casino proposal is probably at worst a 50/50 bet for them, and if you had to gives odds I'd say they're slightly ahead of Boston," Curtatone said.

The mayor said a casino in Everett would have dire consequences for Somerville's economy, particularly Assembly Row, a new retail, residential and office development that's also along the Mystic River.

"It could end up being about 200 yards away where we've invested, with the state and federal government, $130 million of public tax money to unlock the potential of Assembly Square," he said.

It's one thing to mitigate traffic and infrastructure needs associated with a casino proposal, the mayor said, but "how do we really gauge the impact on the consumer who may not spend that dollar in Assembly Square or on East Broadway or in Union Square and parts of Somerville?"

The mayor said, "We have been contacted by representatives from Wynn, we have expressed our concern, we have told them what our plans are in Assembly Square."

"It's a harsh reality that we're looking at"


Curtatone said he was convening a regularly scheduled meeting of city officials to establish strategies for fighting the proposal. The first meeting was scheduled to take place Friday.

Among other things, "We'll talk about the city's legal posture and opportunities to take action on the matter," he said.

He said later, "In terms of legal challenges we are on our own. We are on our own." He added, "It's a harsh reality that we're looking at."

The mayor did say, "We are seeking out other allies as part of this process" and that "we will seek any ally or partner we can on the matter."

Somerville Alderman At-Large William White, who serves as president of the Board, agreed with the mayor that the casino proposal is a threat to Somerville.

"That is going to cannibalize a lot of what we've planned for," he said, adding it "could really effect our economic future."

"I've never seen something so bizarre"


Curtatone also questioned the state law governing casinos, which was passed in 2011.

He called it "the worst decision the commonwealth has ever made."

"This is desperate economic development on the part of the state," he said. "This is fool's gold at the end of the day."

He also criticized the mechanisms for establishing community support, in this case allowing Everett to vote on the matter, but giving neighboring cities no say.

"Think about what's happening here. A community like Everett, whose peninsula comes through Somerville … they get to vote on an impact that has a radial, broad regional implications," he said. "I've never seen something so bizarre: One community gets to vote on the regional impact ... [the state] did not really think this through."

"A lot of sad personal stories"

Other than predicting economic woes for Somerville, Curtatone said a casino would bring gambling addictions to people around the area.

"There are going to be a lot of sad personal stories," he said.

"Ask the people of Mystic Connecticut if Foxwoods was good for them. Ask the people of downtown Detroit," he said.


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