July 26, 2001, Argus-ANG Publications

By Lisa Friedman
WASHINGTON BUREAU

WASHINGTON -- Sen. Harry Reid, D-Nevada, met face-to-face Wednesday with the California Native American tribe whose plans to build a casino in the Bay Area he recently thwarted.

Emerging from a 20-minute discussion with tribal representatives in his office off the Senate floor, Reid said he still opposes the Lytton Band of Pomo Indians' plan to operate a Las Vegas-style casino off Interstate 80 in San Pablo.

"I'm a proponent of Indian gaming. I just think it should be done by therules," Reid said.

The Sonoma County tribe, which disbanded in the 1960s, was re-recognized by the federal government in 1991. In search of land, tribe members impressed upon Rep. George Miller, D-Martinez, their need for help. Last year Miller quietly inserted an amendment into legislation granting the tribe historic claim to 10 acres in San Pablo. The bill also effectively enabled the
Lyttons to convert the Casino San Pablo a card room on that land into a Las Vegas-style facility.

But last month Reid blocked the tribe, slipping a provision into new legislation repealing the Lytton's claim to the land.
Reid, who helped author the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act of 1998 that requires states to approve the use of newly acquired Indian lands for gambling purposes, said Wednesday, "I believe that people should followthat."
Granting land by legislative fiat, he charged, is a slippery slope.

"You do it once and there'll be no stop to it," he said.

Lytton leaders, however, maintain that Reid's real concerns lie with Nevada gambling interests who stand to lose millions of dollars in business from Casino San Pablo. Advocates for the tribe insist the Lyttons are a unique case, and that Indian casinos are not likely to pop up all over urban California.

"I understand he has constituents and the burden of meeting his constituents requests. I have the plight of my people in my heart," said Margie Mejia, spokeswoman for the Lytton tribe. Mejia, who described the meeting with Reid as "cordial" said, "We appreciated the senator's willingness to meet with us, although we were not sure anything substantial will come out of it."

Reid's move to block the Lyttons was applauded by Sen. Dianne Feinstein who said she objects to expanding urban gambling in California. Feinstein did not attend the meeting. Sen. Barbara Boxer is a supporter of Native American gambling rights, but she also was not in attendance. Neither was Miller.

Instead the Lyttons were accompanied Wednesday by Sen. Rick Santorum, R-Pa., whose constituent, Sam Katz of Philadelphia, represents a group of 22 anonymous investors in Casino San Pablo.
"What I wanted was to make sure the tribe had the opportunity to put their side to Sen. Reid," Santorum said. "Hopefully we can have some discussions."

In the meantime, the federal Bureau of Indian Affairs already has placed the land in trust for the Lyttons. Representatives of a Colma card room, who also oppose the casino, plan to file a lawsuit to stop the property from officially becoming Lytton land if Reid doesn't do it first.

The Senate earlier this month passed the bill that contains Reid's provision to block the Lyttons. It could be several months before the House and Senate work out differences in the legislation and President Bush signs it into law.