OCEANPORT MAYOR & BOROUGH COUNCIL PRESIDENT VOW TO VOTE NO ON NORTH JERSEY GAMING EXPANSION REFERENDUM

Concerned About Broken Promises, Lack Of Transparency & Impact On Horse Racing, Oceanport Representatives Come Out Against Plan For North Jersey Casinos

Newark, NJ – In a joint announcement on Thursday, Oceanport Mayor Jay Coffey and Borough Council President Joe Irace joined the opposition to gaming expansion into North Jersey. Questioning who the proposed gaming expansion would benefit, both representatives of Oceanport voiced concerns over Trenton’s record of broken promises and lack of transparency on the casino referendum.

“Once again, Trenton politicians have put special interests over people by pushing for casino expansion into North Jersey,” said Oceanport Mayor Jay Coffey. “As currently proposed, this expansion would only benefit a small group of well-connected, New York developers, instead of the citizens of New Jersey.”

The cryptic referendum does not provide any details as to the specific location of the proposed casinos or tax rates they would have to pay. Despite being shut out from this information, New Jersey residents will be asked to vote on the referendum in November, which is clear will cost nearly 30,000 jobs and result in billions in economic loses.

“Trenton continues to keep the public in the dark and expects voters to support a measure that would fail to truly help the residents and industries they claim to help,” Coffey went on. “We have seen firsthand here in Oceanport what Trenton’s empty promises look like and we cannot let that happen to the rest of New Jersey.”

The referendum for gaming expansion will be the first question on the ballot in November. Proponents of the plan claim that the expansion will bolster gaming across New Jersey, but an economic impact study was never undertaken before putting the referendum on the ballot and the integrity of their claims are highly dubious.

Oceanport Borough Council President Joe Irace added, “The proposed casino expansion is nothing but a sweetheart deal for developers who want to build North Jersey casinos at the expense of the horse racing industry here in Monmouth County. Trenton has repeatedly relied on bait and switch tactics to achieve its goals, but voters will not be fooled. That is why we are voting no on question one.”

Councilmembers Ellynn Kahle, Richard Gallo, Stuart Briskey, John Patti and Patricia Cooper also added their support to Trenton’s Bad Bet—making the endorsement unanimous.

 About Trenton’s Bad Bet

Trenton’s Bad Bet is a diverse collection of concerned New Jersey community leaders, unions, businesses and residents that will work to oppose the New Jersey Casino Referendum that seeks to expand gaming into North Jersey.

Committee Contact:
Trenton’s Bad Bet

(201) 870-0548
[email protected]
www.TrentonsBadBet.org