Voters recall mayor, council members who favored Indian casino

Don Thompson

Thursday, May 6, 2004 | 11:08 a.m.

SACRAMENTO -- Plymouth voters have recalled the mayor and two city council members who supported a pact with an Indian tribe that wants to build a casino in the gateway town to Sierra foothill wine country.

It's the latest round in a long-running battle that has split the town, Amador County and the tribe, and led to twin federal investigations of the regional office of the Bureau of Indian Affairs.

Two-thirds of voters opted to recall Mayor Darlene Scanlon, who in addition to her casino support was pictured on the front page of the local Amador Ledger Dispatch newspaper in handcuffs and a jail uniform, after a domestic violence arrest in March.

Votes tallied Wednesday from Tuesday's election showed council member Gary Colburn was recalled by 63 percent of voters, and Rich Martin by 60.5 percent, the county recorder's office said. Their three replacements -- Patricia Shackleton, Michael O'Meara and Elida Malick-Marone -- were elected during the same vote.

The recall came after Scanlon, Colburn and Martin voted for an agreement with the Ione Band of Miwok Indians, which wants to build a $100 million, 2,000-slot-machine casino and conference center on the edge of Plymouth, population 1,000.

"People overwhelmingly didn't want the casino. They went against the will of the people. What were they thinking?" county Supervisor Louis Boitano said. He hopes the vote will help dissuade any member of Congress from introducing legislation that would permit the casino.

Scanlon said she and the council members acted in what they believed was the best interest of the city. While the recall was portrayed as a vote to stop the casino, she said opponents would be better to focus on getting improvements for the city.

"They said they can stop the casino -- I'd love to see how," Scanlon said. "I don't think they can stop the casino."

The town has been best known as the entryway to the region's burgeoning wine country.

City residents feared the project could transform their peaceful community, and county supervisors said the county already is coping with the nearby Jackson Rancheria casino, with a proposal for a third casino nearby still in legal limbo.

But if a casino were to be approved by state and federal officials, proponents argued Plymouth's municipal services agreement would let the city benefit from a share of the profits in exchange for its cooperation.

The county sued in March, alleging the council's agreement did not adequately take into account the casino's potential effect on city services, traffic and air pollution.

Meanwhile, the tribe itself is split between the federally recognized leadership, which proposed the casino, and a minority group that says it opposes a casino but was ousted from power by officials of the regional Bureau of Indian Affairs office who are members of the tribe.

Those complaints were echoed by congressmen and county supervisors, leading to ongoing investigations by the FBI and the Interior Department's inspector general.