National City : Card Room Petition Will Be Circulated

Casino owner George Hardie said Friday that local supporters of his plan to build a $35-million hotel and casino in National City will gather signatures to put the proposal on the November ballot.

Hardie, a managing partner of the Bicycle Club, a card room in Los Angeles County, was rebuffed by the National City Council earlier this month when members rejected his proposal to schedule a special election.

Local residents outlawed card rooms in the city about 20 years ago, and the ordinance can be overturned only in a municipal election. Hardie, who is also mayor of Cathedral City in Riverside County, was required to collect the signatures necessary to qualify the initiative for the ballot.

However, he said he will “not be actively or financially involved” in the signature gathering for fear of being accused of “buying the election.” According to Hardie, local businessmen have expressed support of the hotel and casino and will circulate petitions in favor of it.

Ron Morrison, a local activist opposed to the casino, expressed skepticism when told that Hardie had promised to stay out of the initiative effort. Morrison, who was ejected from Hardie’s National City office when he arrived for a press conference, said afterward that “we’re going to see if he really stays out of it.”

Meanwhile, Hardie said he has canceled the escrow on the property where he planned to construct the hotel, but said he is not afraid of losing the land, which is located off 24th Street west of Interstate 5.

“Nobody’s else is going to buy the property, because it’s a tremendous economic risk,” he said.