Democrats were given $330,000 by Senecas
The Seneca Nation of Indians made a $345,000 bet last fall that President Obama’s administration will reverse national policy and allow the Senecas to open a $1 billion gambling casino in the Catskills.
When the presidential election was still up in the air, the Senecas made a substantial campaign donation to ensure Obama’s victory and to guarantee a Democratic-controlled Congress.
Reversing a long tradition of not donating to political parties, the Senecas as a nation gave $180,000 to Obama’s Committee for Change, an effort that Obama staffers directed at 18 states identified as key to his election.
Besides that, the Senecas donated $10,000 each to Democratic committees in 15 of those 18 battleground states.
To hedge their bets, the Senecas donated $15,000 to the Republican congressional campaign committee.
“If they want to get credit from the administration, this is the best way to get a quick, enlarged, bang for their buck,” said Sheila Krumholz, executive director of the Center for Responsible Politics, which tracked the donations.
“It allows them to give a lot of money, in one fell swoop, making a big impression, a big impact, and delivering it to the party in the majority,” she added, “both winning points in this administration . . . and the Congress. It’s a great way to get noticed.”
The Senecas say they made the donations in an effort to gain the tribe a more significant national political presence.
“The Seneca Nation has chosen to exercise its ability to participate in the political process,” said Richard Nephew, the chairman of the Seneca Nation Council, when asked for comment.
“The vast majority of our leadership,” Nephew added, “believes that we have an opportunity to become involved in the American political process and support good government and organizations and candidates we like, including the current president.”
Nephew made no mention of the Senecas’ quest for a Catskills casino, an effort that will require an act of Congress and approval by Obama’s administration.
But when the Senecas announced in January that they had been working for 18 months on a Catskills casino, their news release acknowledged what was needed:
“The nation is acquiring the land in anticipation of a change in national policy by the incoming administration of President- elect Obama regarding gaming on newly acquired territories.”
The Bush administration had pulled back from allowing tribes to build casinos on off-territory land, and caused the Mohawk tribe to withdraw from its efforts to establish a casino in the Catskills.
Following the Senecas’ announcement, and their recent reversal of a decision to provide up to $15 million in upfront funding to the Town of Sullivan, the Mohawks recently announced that they, too, will again seek a Catskills casino.
Financial details on the Seneca plans are sketchy, because the nation is teamed up with a start-up company with few assets of its own — Rotate Black Gaming of Petoskey, Mich. — and is developing the casino through an arm of its Tribal Council, not the Seneca Gaming Corp.
Rotate Black, the byproduct of a Tampa, Fla., beverage company’s bankruptcy, has planned casinos in Dayton, Nev., and India, but thus far has completed no casino projects.
The Senecas themselves have delayed expanding their own casinos since the downturn of the economy. Construction of the planned $333 million Buffalo Creek Casino has been delayed, as has expansion of the hotel at Seneca Allegany Casino & Hotel.
Former Rep. John J. La- Falce, an opponent of the Buffalo casino, said he has no doubts the Senecas were trying to gain influence for their gambling operations by donating to Obama.
“That’s a big chunk of money,” LaFalce said, when told of the contributions. “I’m sure that could have gone to help individual Senecas.”
A Seneca who did not want to be identified said the campaign contributions, which were approved by the Tribal Council, came from fees the Seneca Nation charges its tobacco retailers.
Krumholz, of the Center for Responsible Politics, said Indian tribes began contributing heavily to national politicians after they started their gambling operations.
“The money is what it boils down to here,” she said, “and again, it’s being used, I would wager, in their battle to grease the skids for their congressional agenda.”
She said tribes have looser restrictions than political action committees and are not subject to the same restrictions on maximum contributions.
“So where there are opportunities to give in excess of the strict limits, with soft money or joint fundraising committees,” she said, “tribes generally step up to the plate boldly, and it seems as if the Senecas are no different.”
Log into MyBuffalo to post a comment
MyBuffalo is the new social network from Buffalo.com. Your MyBuffalo account lets you comment on and rate stories at buffalonews.com. You can also head over to mybuffalo.com to share your blog posts, stories, photos, and videos with the community. Join now or learn more.
Reader comments