Hawthorne City Council Put Halt to Mayor’s Initiative to Legalize Gambling

On Tuesday, the Hawthorne City Council opted to halt a proposal by Mayor Chris Brown for a new casino.

The Mayor had drafted a ballot for November which would aim to legalize gambling and to make way for a new casino, in the hopes of adding much needed revenue to the budget. The city council members voted 3-2 to put the ballot on hold as many constituents showed strong opposition to the proposal including a number of heated exchanges of words.

Mayor Brown later commented that he is open to hear what all constituents have to say and will allow them to all voice their opinions, however he did reiterate that he would push for the ballot to take place and would allow Hawthorne residents to vote for what they would like.

The proposed casino would only allow card games and would be part of a greater upscale project that includes shops, restaurants and other entertainment.

Mayor Brown believes that the project will help solve a $6 million budget deficit, will create 1,000 jobs and could potentially generate up to $12-$14M in revenues.

There has been mixed initial public reaction among young and old community members with many of the younger community believing that a casino might be good for the city.