The Donkey Behind the Curtain

Redevelopment Authority passes
 casino land sale

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By Michael Holtzman
Herald News Staff Reporter
Posted Jul 22, 2010 @ 11:31 PM
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FALL RIVER — The city has approved an option agreement to sell 300 acres near Route 24 for $21 million to the Mashpee Wampanoags for a destination casino resort after a narrow 3-2 vote Thursday by the Redevelopment Authority.

The 15-page contract allows up to 20 months to complete the sale and receive full payment.

During that time a host agreement would be negotiated with Mayor Will Flanagan’s administration on how the envisioned $500 million casino would be built and contribute to the city.

Discussion on a summary of the option agreement ended abruptly after seven minutes when Redevelopment Authority member Dylan Ferreira said the board had ample opportunity to review the document with legal counsel.

His motion to approve the sale with a host of conditions is also dependent upon the state legislature legalizing gambling during this 2009-10 legislative session.


Officials believe a compromise solution could come out of the Senate and House conference committee today.


Flanagan, who sat in the back of the sparsely attended meeting in the Government Center atrium with other staff, saw his three new appointees to the board finalize a controversial agreement he’s endorsed for three months as an economic boom.


Thomas Martins Sr., appointed last month, and Ronald Rheaume, appointed with Ferreira in February, supported the contract sale. They voted to cut discussion.


Chairman William Kenney and Ann Keane voted against it and wanted more public explanation of the contract.

Kenney, who sought more legal assurances, said he voted “no” with regret.


“I think it’s a good use of that land. I think it’s a good project,” Kenney said. He said Flanagan showed “courage and vision” on an economic development project that could bring thousands of construction and permanent jobs.


With the Mashpee Wampanoag tribe taking ownership, Kenney, a lawyer, said “the legal possibility that the buyers could convert this to sovereign immunity land” left him concerned.


The concern, also raised by several critics at the meeting, is how the tribe would adhere to all federal, state and local laws on sensitive land that had been part of the state forest and is adjacent to the 13,600-acre bioreserve.


Kenney noted Corporation Counsel Steven Torres said at the meeting there could be compromises on environmental and labor issues with the tribe’s legal status.


“You may need to make concessions,” Kenney said.


“That’s right,” Torres agreed.

After two months of negotiating an initial agreement, the Redevelopment Authority approved May 26, the contract addresses conditions the tribe will adhere to but does not contain a blanket waiver of sovereign immunity.


Kenney said he brought 18 items to the concern of the Redevelopment Authority’s lawyers Tuesday in Providence. “They made all the changes that I had hoped for except one,” he said.


“We’ve been back and forth with the tribe 100 times. It’s not coming in this agreement,” Torres said of a sovereign immunity blanket waiver.


“This is the last document they’ve authorized,” he said, “and it’s like pulling teeth without anesthesia.”


Torres referenced the 17th and 21st articles of the agreement as the compliance assurances they needed.


The first said the tribe would comply with Massachusetts Environmental Protection Act regulations and mitigation measures as stipulated in the 2008 certificate for the land sale with the state.


The 21st article says the buyer “waives its sovereign immunity and consents that action may be brought in the appropriate state or federal courts … for enforcement of this agreement.”


“When I sit down and negotiate a deal on our behalf,” Flanagan said later, “I’m going to negotiate a deal in our best interests to create jobs, protect our legal interests and generate revenues.”


On why they were unable to obtain a full waiver of sovereign immunity, he said, “The Mashpees have to protect their interests too.”

Among agreement conditions with the tribe, similar to terms of two months ago, include:


— A $200,000 purchase option, with three monthly payments; the option for 6 to 12 months.
— Another six-month option for $100,000, non-refundable.
— Four months for the tribe to conduct “due diligence” work, after which half of deposits forfeited.
— City’s obligation to sell subject to repeal of legislative restriction on land for casinos; the state legalizing casino gaming; a city referendum approving one on the premises; and the tribe executes a host agreement with the city, obtains necessary licenses and the tribe and state enter into a gaming contract.
— After exercising option with 12-18 months, tribe would need to close on deal within 60 days. Remaining $20.7 million or $20.8 million paid then.
— Tribe would indemnify city up to $200,000 for any claims caused by buyer. It would pay up to $35,000 for referendum election.


Two leaders of two historic environmental preservation groups, the Trustees of Reservations and Massachusetts Audubon, urged caution approving it.

Jennifer Holske, the trustees director of southeast conservation, and city resident Priscilla Chapman on behalf of Audubon, asked the board to delay the vote to gain public review.


They noted the contract had not been made public until this meeting and raised concerns over environmental impacts of a casino.


Chapman noted the state’s transfer of the 300-acre site from its protection was the largest of its kind ever.


At a minimum, she said the tribe and casino activities need to be subject to all government laws, particularly those protecting the environment; a buffer zone to the bioreserve held by the trustees must be maintained and, after public review, the tribe provide mitigation for any impacts to the bioreserve that can’t be avoided.


Holske, among others, disagreed the Legislature’s recent action only required a majority, rather than two-thirds vote, to lift the prohibition of a casino on this land.

“We believe that a thorough environmental analysis of the proposed casino development … should be conducted prior to a two-thirds vote removing the ‘no casino’ restriction,” Holske said.
Flanagan, afterward, expressed satisfaction with the vote. “This allows us to stay in sync with the debate occurring on Beacon Hill. … Fall River will be at the forefront of developing and opening a resort-style casino,” he said.


The split vote with only his three choices in favor did not cause him second thoughts.


“It’s important mayoral appointments and the mayor be on the same page to approve developments in the city,” Flanagan said.

“How often do you have a 9-0 or 5-0 vote on controversial issues?” he asked. “This is a hotly debated issue.”


Flanagan voiced one opinion during the meeting. When Kenneth Fiola, Office of Economic Development executive vice president and Redevelopment Authority staffer, asked “if the chair wants to move into executive session” to discuss the contract agreement, Flanagan gave his opinion after Kenney said he had no intention of closing the meeting on the contract.


“I’m trying to keep the process as open as possible,” Flanagan said, asking for a “transparent” process.
E-mail Michael Holtzman at mholtzman@heraldnews.com

Same smiles...same ears...same hair

Yep...DONKEY FLANAGAN!

And we thought the last guy was bad! He was, but this jackass is much, much worse. Why? Because we knew what to expect from Bob Correia. He was true to the person we thought he was. WE understood that he was a complete creature of the system of influence group politics in Fall River in which he cut his teeth as a young man. Bob Correia was a product of the turf politics way of the State House of Representatives where if you owned the votes you ruled the roost. He never made any attempt to let on otherwise.

 He TOLD you who he was and what he was all about. His behavior as Mayor was pure shades of " The Last Hurrah", power and ethnic politics in full regalia, with all the patronage hiring and influence peddling designed to suckle on Fall River's resources until filled, with little pretense otherwise. Heck, I know it was under a state of obvious duress and with nothing else left to do, but he even managed an apology for some, and I say only some, of the worst aspects of his reign in office. And reign is absolutely the word to aptly describe his time in control. But at least he offered the apology. 

Do I think he was sincere about the apology, his commitment to change some of the ways he did things,  given at his state of the City address? In his own way, yes. I think he was hurt and confused at what he saw as a sudden rejection by many in Fall River who had previously supported him in huge numbers.

The problem was the citizens of Fall River had changed in their expectations of what they desired in openness and community participation in policy decision making over the course of  a couple of decades. Correia was so insulated form the new realities in his role at the House of Representatives that this collision between the way Correia did business and the revised expectations of the Fall River citizenry was rather predictable.

Predictable, even if this revised citizen expectation didn't necessarily mean the citizens would actually participate more directly in any part of the process. As it was then, as it has been for years, and as it is now, regrettably, Fall River's loudest possible voice of influence, the disapproving, angry voter, is hardly ever heard. It's the single biggest dilemma facing the political system of the City today.

Now comes the single biggest issue facing Fall River in it's history, the sale of 300 prime development acres to the Wampanoag Mashpee Indian tribe for the construction of a $500 million Destination Casino. This entire process has been orchestrated behind closed doors by a very few individuals, with NO citizen input, and no desire FOR citizen input, in one extremely rushed time frame,  without any external, objective controls or monitoring, and little regard for any of the sociological, environmental, legal or fiscal impacts of what they propose to build. Who do we have to thank for this - one donkey and one donkey only....Mayor Tumbleweed Flanagan.

The signing of the sales agreement with the Wampanoags is the defining act of the Tumbleweed Flanagan administration. It exemplifies the absolute blatant duplicity with which Flanagan both ran for office and has run the City since being elected. In honor of our very own Francis the talking mule, the City's motto should be changed to "Say one thing, and do the opposite". In  fact, if everything we have heard and seen about our partner Indian brothers and sisters is true in regard to the "art of the deal", as THE DONALD would say, Fall River may have signed over our best development land to a crafty few who will do to Fall River what Donkey Flanagan has been doing to it's citizens since taking office in January. How utterly ironic that would be. And how utterly tragic!

The net result of this is not at all certain, but all indications do not point to a raging success. No studies were ever even examined, and there are numerous studies of the actual impact of Casino Gambling completed by those on BOTH sides of the casino development issue. This casino site selection and building process has been going on all over the country for many years as states and municipalities look for a way to grow revenues to pay for public services.

Couldn't a committee have been appointed, some kind of Citizen Commission created, to do a literature search and report back, on some advisory basis, to the Redevelopment Authority and his Donkeyship? What harm would it possible have done? Oh yes, it might have shown that casino development is not all peaches and cream, not all a pot of gold at the end of the rainbow for everyone, only the casino owners, which is why the mafia still has a hand in most gaming interests in the USA. NO,NO,NO,NO,NO, we could never have THAT information floating about, could we?!

This sham meeting and vote was just more of the Kabuki Theater of the political absurd for which this Donkey Mayor is becoming known. For one of the few attendees of the meeting to be able to see Mayor Tumbleweed Flanagan motioning various speakers to do his bidding in choking off public discussion of the issue or to make statements in favor of the contract is completely laughable. Surely, in government, such orchestrations of motions and votes are discussed in advance, even though they are patently illegal and a violation of the Open Meeting Law, for the most part. They are done all the time in the majority of municipalities to maintain order and speed up the process. But I've never seen it described as being so blatantly done, or applied to such a vital and long lasting type of issue to a community's future as this one. He's simply a dictator Donkey to the end.

The most concise definition of "fascism" applies not to a military milieu, but to it's intended economic consequences. It is defined as "the one party, corporate state". That means we, here , in Fall River live within a mini fascist state. The one party is the membership of the Fall River Office of Economic Development( FROED), where Mayor Donkey sits as Chairman of the Board, with the City's wealthiest and most powerful banking and development leaders as members of the board, the Redevelopment Authority (RA) with a simple majority of votes on this issue appointed since February by Donkey Flanagan, and who will control the eventual payoff amount of $21 million, as opposed to the City of Fall River, and the Chamber of Commerce. Add to that the only two media outlets , the Fall River Herald News (HN) and Radio station WSAR being  controlled by those close to the Donkey Mayor or members of FROED and the Chamber of Commerce (the Karam Harem). It sounds like some kind of conspiracy theory. The problem is, it exists , it is real, and right now, is controlling life in Fall River.

The one party, corporate state wants the casino built, no matter what. The Donkey Mayor, the dictator, will see that it is done. Fall River lives it's fascist existence every day and barely knows it. But it will suffer all of the consequences. One has to wonder just how much of the financial proceeds the City's government and it's loyal workers and the City's citizens will actually see as time goes by. One also has to conjecture that the reason for the rush to approve this contract with little to no public review and input and all the uncertainties still remaining in regard to legalized gambling in Massachusetts and the federal designation of the 300 acres as sovereign Wampanoag land is because the very upper echelons of the membership of FROED, the RA and the Chamber of Commerce will make an huge windfalls in contracts and job appointments. The one party corporate structure, inclusive of the Donkey Mayor and his primary henchmen, Stever Torres and Ken Fiola, will all probably make out like bandits. The rest of Fall River will get nothing but the maleffects of casino gambling. It will likely see only tangential benefit from the $21 million sales amount.

That's the thing to be terrified about, that this $21 million will become a huge slush fund for the bankers and developers to manipulate for themselves, for the benefit of themselves and those elected officials that will seek them out for approval. It is already being conjectured that Donkey Mayor is looking to replace Barney Frank when the time comes. That ,in and of itself.  is simply laughable when you consider the folks at the OTHER end of his district, the wealthy suburbs , will have something to say about it and will see right through a veritable rube like Tumbleweed Flanagan, the Donkey Mayor with the idiotic grin, stuttering speaking style and Faw Rivah accent. This idea is D.O.A. That's when the curtain will open on our very own version of the Great and Powerful Oz Donkey, and everyone will see who he really is.....just a pawn of the powerful, a self deluded pawn.   Just another suckah -  like the way he's trying to treat the Citizens of Fall River.

 This is not the real Donkey Flanagan

This Is!!!

There are numerous people in Fall River who listened to all the promises made by this Donkey Mayor, promises of lower fees and more meaningful citizen input and of transparent government. After the destructive and antiquated ways of Bob Correia, people flocked to the idea of a younger, more dynamic and honest Mayor. He certainly had his fans -

but, in the end, we all see the reality of who the Donkey Mayor is after he stepped out from behind the curtain of honesty and transparency and into the naked light of day. And we will all pay for it, as we always do, when we vote for liars and manipulators with only their own self interest in mind.