Groups sue to put casino deal on ballot

• Opponents of a West Valley casino have sued Glendale in an effort to allow voters to decide on the Indian gaming development
• Glendale will receive $26million over 20 years in exchange for city support
• The tribe does not need the city's approval to build the casino

Opponents of a proposed West Valley casino have filed a lawsuit against Glendale seeking to overturn the city's decision to reject their referendums.

The groups, Keep the Promise and No More Bad Deals for Glendale, want voters to decide whether the city should support the casino planned by the Tohono O'odham Nation on the Glendale and Peoria border.

"We believe voters should have a chance to decide the issue," said Gary Hirsch, chairman of both opposition groups.

Last month, Glendale approved a deal with the Tohono O'odham that will pay the city $26 million over 20 years in exchange for its support of the $400 million project. The tribe does not need approval from Glendale to build the casino on newly created reservation land southeast of Loop 101 and Northern Avenue.

City Clerk Pam Hanna, who is named in the suit along with the city, determined that the subject matter of the referendums was administrative, not legislative, and could not be put on the ballot for the voters to decide.

A referendum needs 6,956 signatures to qualify for the ballot and casino opponents said they had more than 13,000 signatures on each of the two referendums they filed earlier this month.

John Blanchard, an attorney for the opposition groups, is challenging the city's decision that the casino-related issues are not referable to the ballot. He said the city clerk is required by law to review the referendum petitions and verify if there are enough valid signatures.

Glendale spokeswoman Julie Watters declined to comment because the city had not been served with a copy of the lawsuit.