Copyright 2004 State Net(R), All Rights Reserved  

By:  Anthony York;
Anthony York is editor of Political Pulse, a biweekly newsletter.


No single group has had a more dramatic change in political fortunes over the last decade than California Indian tribes. Thanks to tribal casinos (a $4 billion per year business) and millions in annual political donations, a handful of gaming tribes have gone from complete political obscurity to become California's largest political donors.

Nevertheless, last year's recall election hinted at the first signs of a possible backlash to the meteoric growth in tribal gaming and political power. Though gaming tribes have proven savvy political participants, giving money to politicians from both parties, many of the state's wealthiest tribes placed their bets on Lt. Gov. Cruz Bustamante's bid for governor. About $9 million - 20 percent of all money spent in the recall - came from Indian tribes, most of it going to Bustamante.

Arnold Schwarzenegger responded in kind, using tribes as a foil in the recall campaign. Schwarzenegger attacked tribes who continued to flood the political process with money, but who would not renegotiate compact agreements on appropriations to state coffers, or mitigation to local governments for the environmental impacts of casino developments.

But as a sign of the tribes' political power, Schwarzenegger immediately sought to make peace with tribal leaders. Among his first moves as governor was appointing former appeals court judge Daniel Kolkey to negotiate new deals with tribal governments. In June, the governor announced deals with five tribes that allow for unlimited slot machines on tribal lands while providing more money for state coffers and input from local governments on casino expansion. The deal also signifies the expansion of gaming into California's major metropolitan areas.

The Agua Caliente Band of Cahuilla Indians, with help from Sen. Jim Battin (R-La Quinta), has resisted the new compacts, hoping instead to pass a November ballot measure, Prop. 70, that would tax gaming revenues the same as corporations.

Tribes first began to flex their political muscle in 1998, in reaction to a compact signed by Gov. Pete Wilson and San Diego's Pala Band of Mission Indians. That deal placed limits on the types of machines that could be used on tribal lands, but was rejected by many tribal leaders as an infringement on their sovereignty. The reaction to the Pala compact was 1998's Prop. 5, the $90 million statewide ballot measure that solidified the mobilization of California's tribes and pushed them into the arena of electoral politics.

Prop. 5 passed overwhelmingly with 63 percent of the vote. It lifted limits on the number of casinos allowed in California and allowed tribes to use Las Vegas-style slot machines on tribal lands. Though Prop. 5 was later thrown out by the California Supreme Court, it symbolized the political arrival of California's Indian tribes, and firmly placed them on the list of movers and shakers.

The Prop. 5 campaign introduced Californians to Mark Macarro, the telegenic leader of the Pechanga Band of Mission Indians, one of the state's largest gaming tribes. Macarro continues to be among the most visible tribal spokesmen and one of the most powerful behind-the-scenes tribal leaders.

Gov. Gray Davis negotiated deals with more than 50 tribes, essentially codifying much of what was in Prop. 5. The Davis compacts provided some concessions to labor unions and set aside some money for local governments and non-gaming tribes. In 2000, tribes once again went to the polls to ratify the compacts, passing Prop. 1A with nearly two-thirds of the vote.

November 2004 will prove to be another touchstone for California's tribal governments. Democrat Mary Ann Andreas in AD 80 could become the first tribal member elected to the state Legislature. Andreas, a member of the Morongo Band of Mission Indians, is running against incumbent Assm. Bonnie Garcia (R-Cathedral City).

With two new ballot measures before voters - Prop. 68, which would allow racetracks and card clubs to have slot machines, and Prop. 70, which would remove limits on tribal slots - this year's election will be another test of the voters' feelings toward tribal gaming. As the state wrestled with its massive deficits, tribal gaming continued to grow, and many gaming tribes gave little or no money to the state. Schwarzenegger was easily able to exploit the appearance of tribal greed and used it to ride it to electoral victory.