VERONA -- Republican Gubernatorial candidate Carl Paladino's plan to shut down access roads to Turning Stone Casino raised a lot of eyebrows today - even among those who have challenged the Oneida Nation's tax exempt status. Paladino said if he was elected Governor, he would give the Oneida Nation two weeks to decide if they wanted to renegotiate the gaming compact that allows gambling at Turning Stone. If the Oneida nation declined, he said he would force a shutdown by closing the roads.
Doug Ready is a member of the Upstate Citizens for Equality group that has challenged the Oneida nation on several tax related issues in court. Ready said he wasn't sure if the road closure idea was realistic or not but he was glad Paladino raised the issue.
"Somebody has to get there attention over there. It might be rhetoric, I don't know what is the background is," said Ready.
Ready added that he doesn't want anyone to lose their job at Turning Stone.
"I'm glad he said it but I don't believe it's gonna happen and I don't any one wants it to happen," said Ready.
In a statement, Oneida Nation spokesman Mark Emery said Paladino was wrong on legal, economic and factual grounds.
"The Department of Interior reaffirmed in 2007 that the compact remains in effect. The federal courts have ruled that the Oneida compact cannot be challenged. Challenges to the compact have been dead for a long time now. With this sort of reckless approach to governing, Paladino has shown he is unfit to be the governor," said Emery.
Oneida County Executive Anthony Picente said Paladino's plan was not an effective negotiation tactic.
News of Paladino's plan brought mixed responses at Thursday's Oneida Farmers Market. Some people questioned how realistic it was but farmer Tom Stone said he was glad to hear the tough talk from Paladino.
"Talk is cheap - if he does it, it's one thing," said Stone "People say what they don't really mean."
The Oneida Nation also said they would sue to prevent Paladino from restricting access to Turning Stone Casino. Paladino's opponent, Andrew Cuomo did not comment on the Turning Stone issue today.
