Gubernatorial candidate to call out Riley on bingo issue

A Republic candidate for governor plans to call out Gov. Bob Riley Thursday on his stance on electronic bingo.

Bill Johnson of Prattville will hold a news conference at 10 a.m. at the entrance to the Country Crossing development, located about five miles south of Dothan on U.S. 231 South.

In a press release sent out Wednesday night, Johnson officials said the candidate will discuss his views on Country Crossing and his concerns that Mississippi Indian casino owners could be influencing Riley to choke off economic development in the Wiregrass.

On his Web site, Johnson says he is against gambling but would “allow the citizens to vote to tax and regulate the gambling that already exists in Alabama.“

The multi-million dollar development Country Crossing was first unveiled in February 2008 as a Branson, Mo.-like country music entertainment destination which would be financed through a charitable electronic bingo component. While there was strong initial objection to the bingo aspect, the fervor died down somewhat until last December when Riley created an anti-gaming task force to crack down on illegal gaming in the state.

County commissioners and the sheriff received Attorney General Opinions prior to announcing the development, regarding the legality of the project.

Riley has said he supports the development itself, but has not committed either way as to whether he believes the bingo aspect is legal or not. He has championed recent court rulings as the definitive answer on electronic bingo. One of the rulings was handed down by Riley’s cousin.

More than a dozen counties have bingo regulations; all are specific to those counties. Country Crossing officials have said one ruling, such as in Walker County recently, does not have a bearing on the local development.

Johnson’s comments today may be based in part on a 350-plus page document on the Jack Abramoff Indian Scandal presented in 2006 by the U.S. Senate Committee on Indian Affairs, which alleges millions of dollars were transferred from the Mississippi Band of Choctaw Indians, part of which went to influence the outcome of the Alabama gubernatorial race when Riley was first elected.

Abramoff regularly received funds to influence lawmakers or block legislation that would have expanded gaming in Alabama. Casino interests wanted to keep casino-style games from going into dog tracks in Alabama, and money was also paid to influence the Christian Coalition and other religious groups to help block the lottery as proposed by former Gov. Don Siegelman.

For the most part, the governor has dodged discussions on the project. At an appearance before the Dothan Rotary Club last month, he took only one question on gaming from the media.

Last week, Riley’s deputy counsel called the Nevada Gaming Commission, in what Country Crossing developers and local officials believe was an effort to block the shipment of the 1,703 bingo machines preparing to ship to Houston County.

Country Crossing is supported by a number of local businessmen, politicians and chamber and tourism officials and is seen as the second largest economic development project in the state. It is a three-phase project, with Phase I set to open Dec. 1 with about 600 employees.

Last week locals rallied in support of the project in an event led by County Commission Chairman Mark Culver. Culver, a long-time Republican, is at odds with the governor over the project, as are some members of the local legislative delegation and other long-time Republican supporters.

Johnson has been a Riley supporter and was in Riley’s Cabinet, first appointed in 2003 as assistant director for the Alabama Department of Economic and Community Affairs (ADECA). In 2005, Riley appointed Johnson director of the agency. He resigned in June to run for governor. Johnson’s wife, Kathy, heads the Alabama Broadband Initiative for Riley.