The New Politics of Indian Gaming: The Rise of Reservation Interest Groups

Chapter 2: Lobbying Strategies and Campaign Contributions: The Impact on Indian Gaming in California

chapter 2 Lobbying Strategies and Campaign Contributions The Impact on Indian Gaming in California jeff cummins 38 shortly after the November 1998 statewide elections, the Cabazon Band of Mission Indians, the first tribe to operate a casino in California, hosted the annual Indio Powwow and Native american Festival, which brings together forty tribes from across the country. While the powwow included the display of traditional songs and dances typical of the eleven previous years of the festival, it also contained a significant new element: a guest list of three newly elected statewide officials—Governor Gray Davis, Lieutenant Governor Cruz Bustamante, and attorney General Bill Lockyer. a year later, tribal leaders reciprocated the acknowledgment of the transformed tribal-state relationship by attending the annual convention of the state Democratic Party instead of the annual festival (Patringenaru 1999; Wert 1998). These two events symbolize the changed tribal-state relations in California and the newfound political status of Native american tribes. How did Indian tribes ascend to power in the California political system? What steps did tribes take to establish their gambling monopoly and grow it into one of the most lucrative industries in the state? l o b by i n g a n d c a m p a i g n s i n c a l i f o r n i a 39 Tribes rose to power in California politics using a multipronged campaign in the executive, legislative, and judicial arenas to attain their policy objectives. By political power, I am referring to their ability to influence policymakers to secure and expand their gaming rights. Using the Walker (1991) framework of inside and outside strategies, I illustrate how Indian tribes, as required by the federal Indian Gaming Regulatory act (igra), initially sought to achieve their policy goals through compact negotiations with the governor, but when negotiations broke down, turned to judicial avenues. When the governor and tribes finally reached agreement on the first compact in 1998, the fate of legalized Indian gaming then moved into the state legislature. since inside strategies rely upon financial resources to accomplish their objectives (Walker 1991), I examine how tribes created a political environment favorable to passage of the first compacts through strategic campaign contributions in the 1998 and 1999 legislative sessions. The data analysis reveals that tribes employed a sophisticated strategy to target certain lawmakers pivotal in the legislative process, which made approval of compacts more likely. These tribal-state agreements, along with Proposition 1a, which passed in 2000 and constitutionally secured a gambling monopoly for the tribes, paved a path for the profitable Indian gaming industry. according to Laura Wass, the area director for the american Indian Movement in the san Joaquin Valley, “the stated purpose of Indian gaming was to provide the monetary resources which would address the social and economic conditions of Indian Peoples” (2008). statewide revenue generated from Indian gaming is estimated at approximately $7.2 billion a year (Williams 2006). sixty-one tribes have negotiated gaming compacts, with more tribes continuing to request them, while there are fifty-six casinos currently operating. Indian tribes are now one of the most powerful lobbies in sacramento, in large part because of these financial resources. Their political and financial clout was again on display in the 2004 election. When dueling casino initiatives were placed on the ballot, tribes spent a total of $73.6 million to protect their exclusive gaming rights. To document the Indian tribes’ ascension to power, the chapter proceeds in the following manner. The next section describes the history of compact negotiations between the tribes and the state leading up to the 1998 Pala compact, the first tribal-state agreement. The second section discusses how 40 t h e n e w p o l i t i c s o f i n d i a n g a m i n g Indian tribes initially sought to create a political environment in the legislature conducive to their gambling interests. In the third section, I examine data on campaign contributions from tribes to state legislators in the 1997–98 and 1999–2000 legislative sessions to determine whether tribes employed political strategies to boost their chances of the legislature passing bills favorable to their gaming policy goals. These two legislative sessions included crucial votes on the initial gaming compacts with the state. To assess the influence of campaign contributions on these crucial votes, I analyze...