Tribal Support a Wild Card for Cardenas

Since his first success as a freshman lawmaker fending off new regulations on Indian casinos, Assemblyman Tony Cardenas has been a leading advocate for the Native American legislative agenda.

The commitment has paid off handsomely, winning the Sylmar Democrat hundreds of thousands of dollars in political contributions from American Indian tribes, many of which have battled the state during the last decade for the right to expand gambling operations.

Before Cardenas shelved his campaign for secretary of state last month, he had raised $384,150, nearly two-thirds of which--$242,500--came from California Indian tribes, making him one of the top beneficiaries of Native American funding in the state Legislature.

Two of the tribes that operate casinos, the Santa Ynez Band of Mission Indians in Santa Barbara County and the San Manuel Tribe in San Bernardino County, each wrote a check for $100,000.

Now, as Cardenas pursues a seat on the Los Angeles City Council, many wonder whether his ties to Indian gaming will help or hurt his candidacy.

Already, other candidates are questioning Cardenas’ record of promoting gambling and his reliance on such money.

“That’s a major issue for my part,” said Gina Ruiz-Goldman, a Sun Valley businesswoman running for the same council seat. “We need to focus on simple issues that affect our community. We need more schools, not more casinos.”

Lyn Shaw, manager of a social services agency and another candidate in the Dec. 11 election, agreed that Cardenas’ ties to gambling interests may be a negative.

“Anyone who takes a large amount of money from one interest group, I would question,” Shaw said.

Although city ethics rules prohibit direct contributions exceeding $500, the tribes recently showed that there is no limit on independent expenditures for a candidate.

In this year’s municipal campaign, the Morongo Band of Mission Indians near Banning surprised many by spending more than $204,000 on radio ads urging voters not to support former state Assembly Speaker Antonio Villaraigosa in his campaign to become mayor of Los Angeles.

The radio ads criticized him for seeking a presidential review of a drug dealer’s case.

Parke Skelton, a Villaraigosa campaign consultant, said he thought Cardenas, who supported James K. Hahn for mayor, was the instigator.

No Apologies for Tribes’ Role

Cardenas denies any role in the Morongo attacks on Villaraigosa, but does not apologize for the tribes’ contributions to his political campaigns.

“It’s no secret that the tribes are very supportive of me,” Cardenas said. “I was someone who stood up with them before it was popular. The people who have been mistreated the most in this country are Native Americans, to this day. I treat them with respect.”

Some tribal leaders say they are considering whether to get involved in Cardenas’ quest for the 2nd Council District seat, in which he will probably face well-funded campaigns by DreamWorks executive Wendy Greuel and others.

“That has not yet been determined,” said Richard Milanovich, chairman of the tribal council for the Agua Caliente Band of Cahuilla Indians in Palm Springs, which gave $5,000 to Cardenas’ state campaign.

Cardenas also accepted several thousand dollars this year from other gambling interests, including Oak Tree Racing, the Del Mar Thoroughbred Club and Sodak Gaming Inc.

Political consultant Rick Taylor, who views the council race as a “tossup,” said he would be surprised if the tribes do not make independent expenditures supporting Cardenas. But he added that Cardenas could be hurt if his opponents can focus voters’ attention on the source of the money.

“I think gambling interests scare people,” he said. “People don’t want a casino in their backyards.”

Valley political consultant John Shallman, who has represented Democratic candidates, said East Valley voters might not like to see outsiders pour thousands of gambling dollars into the district.

“I think it’s a very big problem for Cardenas,” Shallman said. “There is a backlash against candidates perceived to have significant special-interest backing.”

Even if the tribes stay on the sidelines during the council race, Cardenas is considered vulnerable to criticism that he spent too much time in Sacramento easing the spread of legalized gaming.

“It just isn’t right,” said Ruiz-Goldman. “We need to get more attention for education, not gambling.”

But the assemblyman said he has devoted most of his agenda to improving schools, parks, the juvenile justice system and police services.

Wants No Casinos in His District

There are no nationally recognized tribal lands in his district, and he would not support allowing casinos in the area, he said.

“That’s something I do not want for my district,” he said, noting that there are no tribal lands and that his district is urbanized.

He downplayed the possibility the tribes would campaign for him, saying, “I haven’t asked them and they haven’t offered.”

Cardenas and tribal leaders trace their close relationship to 1997, just months after Cardenas, then a real estate agent, was elected to the Assembly.

Democratic leadership, including then-Sen. Bill Lockyer, now state attorney general, had been pushing a bill to greatly increase gambling controls, including creation of a five-member commission with broad licensing and monitoring powers.

Cardenas said he was approached by tribal leaders, some of whom were in tears, complaining that legislators were breaking a promise to refrain from imposing tougher regulations.

“As a freshman, I stood up to Lockyer,” Cardenas recalled. “I stood there [in the appropriations committee] when Sen. Lockyer screamed at the top of his lungs that if anyone tried to change his bill there would be hell to pay for it.”

Cardenas said he managed to strip the bill of any references to Indian gaming; in its final form, it applied only to card clubs.

“I did that because I thought it was the right thing to do,” Cardenas said.

The same year he challenged Lockyer, Cardenas also suffered a setback when he co-wrote another Indian gaming bill. The legislation would have allowed tribes to operate video lottery games and some card games.

Former Gov. Pete Wilson vetoed the bill, contending that it would lift a longtime ban on slot machines.

“It would transform California into a casino-style state,” the governor wrote.

That did not slow Cardenas down. He went on to support or write more than a dozen bills and measures, including a constitutional amendment that helped the tribes keep gaming on reservation lands, leaders say.

“He worked to ensure that California Indian tribes got a fair shake from the state,” said Morongo Tribal Chairman Maurice Lyons.

He also co-wrote a bill smoothing the way for the governor to negotiate tribal-state compacts for Indian casinos.

Support Has Bred Loyalty

Sometimes Cardenas’ legislation appeared tailored to specific gaming projects.

In 1999, he introduced a bill that would have allowed slot machines and other gambling devices to be displayed at trade shows and conventions.

Gov. Gray Davis vetoed the bill after it was changed to authorize the California Department of Transportation to contract with the Shingle Springs Band of Miwoks Indians to build an offramp serving their proposed casino near Lake Tahoe.

Milanovich said Cardenas’ record in helping tribes has inspired loyalty when it comes to making campaign contributions and otherwise providing political support.

“He has been willing to stand up for us when it is difficult,” Milanovich said.