ATLANTIC CITY, N.J. (AP) – The head of Atlantic City’s main casino workers union is backing a proposed state takeover of the resort’s finances and assets.
Bob McDevitt, president of Local 54 of the Unite-HERE union, said Friday Atlantic City can no longer afford to lurch from one crisis to the next. He says instead of rejecting help from the state, the city should accept it.
“Atlantic City is out of easy choices,” he said. “All of us, our families and our friends, have been affected by the free-fall we have endured for several years now. Atlantic City and its primary industry is still the economic motor of South Jersey. Tens of thousands of jobs and families depend on us to make smart- and often tough – decisions. For that reason, I believe we should view the plan to have the state of New Jersey assume management of Atlantic City’s finances as an opportunity, and we should reach for the helping hand rather than bat it away.”
His stance clashes with that of some local officials, who want to fight the proposed takeover. The plan, introduced by state Senate President Steve Sweeney, would give the state vast authority over most major decisions in Atlantic City, including the right to sell off city-owned assets and land. Sweeney wants the city to sell its municipal water company and the former Bader Field airport site to help its budget problems.
“I do not want Atlantic City to flat-line any longer,” McDevitt said. “I want us to climb out of the hole.”
Since 2006, when the first Pennsylvania casino opened on New Jersey’s borders, Atlantic City’s casino revenue has fallen from $5.2 billion to $2.5 billion, and thousands of jobs have been lost. In 2014, four of the city’s 12 casinos closed, putting 8,000 people out of work.
Also Friday, City Councilman Kaleem Shabazz wrote to Sweeney and other sponsors of the takeover bill asking them to reconsider their “proposal to disenfranchise the citizens of Atlantic City.”
“While some observers might question the success of past takeovers, I would focus on the question of fairness, equity, and precedent for the removal of duly elected municipal officials,” he wrote.
The takeover bill would not remove local elected officials from office, but it would strip them of most of their major decision-making powers.
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Copyright 2016 The Associated Press.
