City in Fiscal Crisis Needs Card Club

Prior to deciding to support Measure A, I did what I hope all Cypress voters would do--that is, look at the facts and look at the benefits of a card club in Cypress.

I believe political debate is healthy and I respect those Cypress citizens who, because they don’t support any form of gambling, oppose the Derby Club. But I don’t understand why anyone would resort to half-truths and innuendoes and outright lies in opposing this project.

It amazes me that anyone in Cypress would believe that I would ever do anything to hurt this community.

Our city, like all cities, is in crisis.

We are cutting police. We are cutting community services. We are facing a recession which will impact us for many years. We need sources of revenue, not new taxation.

Los Alamitos Race Course has been a good neighbor in Cypress for 42 years. Gambling has existed there, and we have had few, if any, problems because of it. The benefits--2,500 new jobs and about $10 million a year in new revenues--of the Los Alamitos Race Course Improvement Project makes sense for all Cypress.

The Derby Club and LARC are endowing a minimum million-dollar scholarship fund for our high school graduates. This means that property values will increase as more families will want to move to Cypress to take advantage of this wonderful new educational opportunity.

Finally, please beware of Los Angeles-based card clubs supporting the opposition to the Derby Club. The owners of the clubs know the benefits that card clubs bring to their cities.

They also know that a race track such as Los Alamitos is the best and natural place to build a facility like the Derby Club.

JOYCE NICHOLSON

Council member, City of Cypress