NATIONAL CITY : Casino Backers Spend $240,000
Developers of a proposed National City card casino spent $240,000 between March and June in an effort to win approval of a ballot measure in the Nov. 3 election, according to campaign disclosure documents.
According to the disclosure statements, developer Highland Roosevelt Corp. of La Jolla contributed $240,000 to its political action committee, the National City Economic Improvement Committee. The committee spent $226,000 in that time period, the documents said.
About $107,000 was spent to hire workers to gather signatures to qualify the measure for the ballot and to inform residents of the proposition, said Larry Nuffer, a spokesman for Highland Roosevelt. Most of the rest went to consultants for the project, authorities said.
Critics of the proposal fear that the city could become the card-room capital of the county because the city of San Diego recently rejected such a proposal.
Councilwoman Rosalie Zarate said National City residents who oppose the idea know they will never be able to raise a comparable amount of money, so they have formed the Committee Against Card Casinos.
“We will work grass roots and send out the message,” said Zarate, the committee’s chairwoman.
Start your day right
Sign up for Essential California for news, features and recommendations from the L.A. Times and beyond in your inbox six days a week.
You may occasionally receive promotional content from the Los Angeles Times.
