But if it really wanted to, the new committee could create genuine pressure on Vornado, and truly hold the developer accountable for blowing a crater in Boston’s downtown shopping district three years ago. It’s as easy as subjecting Vornado’s East Boston casino proposal to a citywide referendum.
In Boston, the casino question is about whether the firm that bulldozed Filene’s gets to open a lucrative business. Mayor Menino has already said as much. The longtime Suffolk Downs booster isn’t believable playing the bad cop, though.
There won’t be any real debate inside the council about bringing casinos to Boston because the council is dominated by two types of politicians - those who are owned and operated by Menino, and those who know that going to war with the mayor means the end of one’s political life. The pragmatists are smart enough to pretend to lack ambition beyond the council, while the others owe their livelihood to Hizzoner.
This combination of loyalty and fear usually ensures that Menino gets what he needs from the council. Since he now wants to be sure that a casino lands at Suffolk Downs, he needs the council to decline to hold a citywide referendum on bringing gambling to Boston.
The state’s recently enacted casino law requires local approval of any gambling facility, but legislative supporters of a casino at Suffolk Downs exempted Boston from automatically having to hold a citywide vote, instead allowing the City Council to call for a referendum if it so chooses. Casino proponents wrote the law this way because the council will ultimately do whatever Menino wants it do, and right now, he wants the council to provide Suffolk Downs with the path of least resistance. This means limiting democracy to East Boston, where the vote’s outcome can most easily be controlled.
