Norwich against Bridgeport casino
Nystrom says re-opening debate over placement is a ‘change in direction’ by Lamont administration
Norwich — Norwich city leaders on Tuesday joined a growing number of southeastern Connecticut cities and towns expressing opposition to any efforts by the state to pursue a Bridgeport casino, a move they warned would threaten jobs and risk termination of the state’s slot revenue-sharing compact with Foxwoods Resort and Mohegan Sun casinos.
Norwich Mayor Peter Nystrom last week sent a letter to Gov. Ned Lamont “to express my grave concern” about what he called a “change in direction” by the state to re-open debate over placement of a third casino in the state. Nystrom’s strongly worded letter urged Lamont to stop “rehashing” the issue and abide by the vote of the bipartisan 2018 General Assembly that rejected a proposed bill and “came to the conclusion that a casino in Bridgeport was not in the best interest of the state of Connecticut.”
The resolution approved Tuesday by the Norwich City Council reinforced that position, expressing the city’s opposition to “a proposed MGM-run casino in Bridgeport” and objecting to any “negotiations with MGM or any other commercial entity which may jeopardize the local effect of the compact with the Mashantucket Pequot and Mohegan Tribal Nations or risk a breach of the same.”
State Sen. Cathy Osten said about 20 cities and towns in southeastern Connecticut are sending letters and asking for a meeting with Lamont — in reaction to reports that Bridgeport and New Haven officials have met with Lamont to seek support of a potential Bridgeport casino — to object to any move to consider a Bridgeport casino.
House Bill 7055, introduced in January by 15 state representatives and senators representing southwestern Connecticut cities and towns, including Bridgeport and New Haven, is titled “An Act creating the Connecticut Gaming Commission and creating a competitive bidding process for a resort-casino.”
The bill’s stated purpose is to create a competitive bidding process to “choose a development with the most economic impact to the state.”
Osten said Tuesday that she, too, is frustrated that the state continues to re-examine the issue. A bill that would have established a competitive bidding process for developing a commercial casino in the state failed last May when it didn’t come up for a vote in the Senate. Osten compared the effort to the state trying to bring a competitor of Electric Boat or Sikorsky Aircraft Corp. to Connecticut. Osten said Mohegan Sun and Foxwoods both are top 10 employers in the state, and together employ about 6,000 residents in her 10-town 19th Senate District, not including the jobs and business taxes the state receives from companies that contract with the casinos.
ACLS New England, a commercial laundry company in the Norwich business park, employs about 300 people, and the state is assisting with the plant’s expansion. To pursue legislation that would jeopardize a state-supported business expansion doesn’t make sense, Osten said.
She called the repeated attempts to undermine the compact with the Mashantucket Pequots and the Mohegans insulting to two long-standing state partners.
“I posture that we would not invite Newport News up here to take the place of EB or try to bring a competitor of Sikorsky or Pratt & Whitney,” Osten said.