North Fork Rancheria Chair: Attack Ads are NOT Accurate

Here's an opinion piece from Elaine Bethel-Fink on their casino plans and the attack ads against them:

As the proposed Madera/North Fork casino nears successful completion after more than seven years of rigorous state and federal review -- we are one signature away -- opponents to the project have launched a massive campaign of negative attacks.
Recently Madera County residents have been barraged by an onslaught of bogus polls, anonymous mailers and letters cajoling the public, and according to reports, also Chukchansi employees, vendors and even tribal citizens to oppose the project.
In the past the Chukchansi tribe employed high-priced lawyers, lobbyists and public relation operatives to produce such attacks. Now they have enlisted other rich gaming tribes and outside anti-gaming groups to try to stop the project.
These outsiders aren't working for the good of Madera County. They are paid opponents hired by tribes who already have casinos. They are also distorting the truth.
Their negative attack ads have twisted the history of the Madera project beyond recognition. They claim that a Las Vegas developer bought land in Madera and then "recruited" our tribe. In fact, we selected Station Casinos as a recognized leader in the industry known for exceptional worker and community relations. We selected Station -- not the other way around -- and then authorized them to secure an option for our proposed site.
The recent attack mailers also suggest we are going against the will of the people of Madera and somehow skirting the law by "reservation shopping." This is not true. Maderans twice voted to support Indian gaming as a tool for tribal self-sufficiency and good governance. Cheryl Schmit, a leading gambling opponent, is on record as far back as 2006 in a statement regarding the Madera / North Fork plan, saying: "This is not reservation shopping ... this is the state exercising its authority to locate gaming where it is wanted."
We are following the precise process that Congress established in 1988 to provide tribes who do not have a land base, such as North Fork, the same opportunity to engage in tribal governmental gaming that Chukchansi and its rich allies now enjoy. This process is the only way left to us to develop economically so that we, like the opposing tribes, can take care of our citizens and communities.

We have followed the very rigorous process of qualifying these lands, satisfying every level of federal approval.

This is not "reservation shopping" at all, but rather "responsible development" that works in the best mutual interest of both Tribe and community. Once completed, the casino will be on "Indian lands" in full accordance with all state and federal laws. It will also generate nearly 4,500 jobs as well as $100 million annually in economic stimulus and $5 million in community funding.

Read the rest at  SIERRA STAR NEWS