Over 2,600 signatures required to force Cape Girardeau casino vote

Anyone seeking to put the question of whether Cape Girardeau should have a casino on a ballot will need to gather at least 2,635 signatures from registered voters in the city.

That is 15 percent of the ballots cast for governor in 2008, the standard under state law for forcing a vote on gambling. There were 17,562 ballots cast, county elections director Joey Keys said Tuesday.

City manager Scott Meyer was putting the finishing touches Tuesday on a letter to the Missouri Gaming Commission stating that the city is interested in the state's only available casino license. During the Cape Girardeau City Council work session Monday, no council members objected to sending the letter.

The gaming commission set a May 1 deadline for cities, counties and casino operators to show interest in the license, which will be available July 1 when the President Casino closes in St. Louis. Along with Cape Girardeau, Sugar Creek, Mo., seems ready to seek the license, said LeAnn McCarthy, commission spokeswoman.

News reports from St. Louis say the city wants to keep the casino license there.

An ad-hoc group made up of Doug Austin, a retired marketing manager, Melvin Gateley, a former council member, and Paul Kabo, a retired pastor, asked the council to put the question before voters to decide whether the city wants a casino. After the meeting, Mayor Harry Rediger said he didn't think a new vote was needed.

The group will be back before the council at its next regular meeting May 3 to again ask for a vote, Austin said Tuesday. While he said Monday that he and others could gather 4,000 signatures in six weeks if needed, he said Tuesday that he won't start a petition drive until after the council meeting.

"We will be back there to see if they have an answer," Austin said. "If they say yes, good. If they say no, we will need to get organized to get the proper number of signatures."

An election could be held Aug. 3, along with the statewide primary, or at the general election Nov. 2. To make the Aug. 3 ballot, the council would have to act or the petition drive would have to be completed and the signatures certified by May 25, Keys said.

Cape Girardeau voters rejected gambling in June 1993 by a 53-47 percent margin. A second vote, held in November 1993, reversed that decision by a 52-48 percent margin.

Austin said he has no preference on when an election would be held and, even if a petition drive occurs, would not name a specific date.

"I am not trying to dictate to the city council what the timetable is," he said.

The city's residents deserve another chance to consider gambling, especially because the two votes in 1993 were so close, Austin said.

It is up to the council to decide whether to hold a vote, Meyer said.

"I assume the council members are contemplating his request," he said. With two new members and a new mayor, "I am trying to give them time to absorb everything that has happened," he added.

With the May 1 deadline for expressions of interest and a July 1 closing of the President, the gaming commission may move quickly to consider detailed proposals. But no timeline has been set, McCarthy said.

"Right now we are in fact-finding mode and that is the first step in the process," she said.

rkeller@semissourian.com

388-3642

Pertinent addresses:

Cape Girardeau, Mo.

Sugar Creek, Mo.

St. Louis, Mo.

Jefferson City, Mo.