Plymouth once again faces political upheaval in what portends to be a heated campaign for three city council seats. This time, however, upset of the current city council would plunge Plymouth back into the pre-recall dark ages when the people's vote meant nothing and tribal meddling in our city government ruled the day.

Quickly announcing her candidacy in pink lettering on Highway 49, Maria Simon-Nunez has spent the last five years staunchly supporting the proposed casino. Despite saying she is not in favor of the casino, she has acted as the unofficial spokeswoman for the tribe at virtually every meeting of the Plymouth City Council, even when the casino was not an agenda item.

Recently, the current council approved allowing non-governmental discussions with the tribe. This candidate again exposed her support for the tribe and their casino by informing the council that if they did not talk to the tribe as a "government" then she didn't want them talking to the tribe at all! She clearly understands, as do local governments across the country, and as the federal government has told us, that a government-to-government relationship is essential for tribes seeking permission to establish a casino. Truly validating the old adage that actions do speak louder than words.

Simon-Nunez claims to support smart growth yet promotes the tribe's plan, a gambling mecca in Plymouth, rather than rejecting the casino in favor of family homes and local small business opportunities. She claims to endorse fiscal responsibility, yet supports a casino monopoly that would put our local businesses and economy in jeopardy and send local dollars out of town. Claiming that negotiating with the tribe now will protect the city demonstrates her refusal to acknowledge what communities and local governments nationwide now know about tribal gaming: you do not negotiate with tribes that have no land in trust. Furthermore, in five years since the casino was proposed, this candidate has never documented her claims that negotiations will protect the city, has never supported the majority of the citizens' opposition to the proposed casino, and has tried to undermine the council's efforts to protect the city from tribal intervention at every opportunity.

Gary Colburn and Darlene Estey are running for council seats from which they were recalled in 2004 for belligerently opposing the people they were selected to represent; nearly 75 percent of the community saying, "No casino in Plymouth." These two were directly responsible for costing the city and the citizens of Plymouth untold legal expenses by ignoring our then city attorneys' advice regarding the later invalidated MSA. Moreover, it has taken four years and over $100,000 of taxpayer money to undo the damage to Plymouth these two individuals, through their rash and uneducated approach to the proposed casino, caused by their decision to sign the MSA. Five years later they still justify their actions despite rulings by superior court and district court, and the California Supreme Court that their decision was wrong. Those who refuse to learn from their mistakes are doomed to repeat them.

Now more than ever Plymouth needs knowledgeable leaders with a sophisticated understanding of how to manage the tribe, their casino and other important city issues. Plymouth is in the midst of rewriting its general plan, negotiating a pipeline project, analyzing an onslaught of development proposals, and has just responded to the tribal draft environmental impact study which revealed the harm this casino would bring to Plymouth. It is imperative to keep in office honest council members with a track record of putting Plymouth first and casino developer greed and money last. Make no mistake, the replacement of the current council with any of these pro-tribal/pro-casino candidates means placing casino advocates and apparent tribal pawns on the Plymouth City Council, risking a direct conduit of privileged city information to the tribe.

Though the tribe promised to break ground in 2003, we are here five years later casino-free, thanks to the dedicated work of Jon Colburn, Greg Baldwin and Pat Shackleton. At this critical time, re-elect those whose understanding of fiscal responsibility and the needs of the Plymouth community includes rejecting a casino project that promises overwhelming negative impacts. These three incumbent council members' want not just smart growth, but fair growth, where all developers pay their way and development is not funded on the backs of Plymouth residents. Support this experienced trio of candidates for Plymouth City Council - Pat Shackleton, Greg Baldwin and Jon Colburn.

Elida Malick, DVM, is a former member of the Plymouth City Council and Plymouth Planning Commission. She is a current member of No Casino in Plymouth.