Ledger-Dispatch

By Scott Thomas Anderson (sanderson@ledger-dispatch.c= om)=20

Darlene Estey looks out over the town = where she=20 grew up. Though recalled from office over the casino in 2004, she = says a=20 number of Plymouth voters have asked her to run again.

Photo by: Scott Thomas=20 Anderson

Though recalled from office over the = casino in=20 2004, former Plymouth council member Gary Colburn believes public = opinion=20 is turning back in his favor.

Photo by: Raheem=20 Hosseini
Darlene Estey says she's not = looking for=20 vindication - just a chance to finish what she started.

When the = lifelong=20 Plymouth resident, along with Gary Colburn and Rich Martin, were voted = off the=20 Plymouth City Council in an acrimonious recall four years ago, it looked = like=20 their days in government were over. Now Estey and Colburn claim public = opinion=20 is moving back in their favor and swelling against the individuals who = replaced=20 them on the council. According to these "recalls," the people want them=20 back.

Estey remembers a time when every shop window in downtown = Plymouth=20 was filled with life. Driving around its quiet, empty streets last = Friday=20 morning, she points to one vacant storefront after another and thinks = about a=20 distant but happy memory. The nearby fields where she played as a little = girl=20 are covered with houses now, a number of which are for sale. On Main = Street,=20 every building but a handful is boarded up. "This isn't the place I = remember,"=20 she mutters, turning down a shady street in her pickup truck. "It didn't = used to=20 be like this."

The desolation that seems to be encroaching on the = little=20 town of 900 residents has haunted Estey for years. She says in 2004 she = was=20 spending much of her time as a city council member developing a = revitalization=20 strategy to keep Plymouth from turning into a ghost town. "And then the = casino=20 issue came along," she remembers, "and everything got thrown off the = tracks.=20 Everything changed overnight."

Estey's first reaction to the Ione = Band of=20 Miwoks' proposed casino in Plymouth was one of horror. However, after=20 researching state and federal law, as well as looking at what happened = to other=20 communities that fought Indian gaming, Estey began to view losing a = battle with=20 the tribe as far more dangerous than negotiating. "What I found out is = that=20 there are towns that refused to come to the table with tribes and ended = up=20 losing everything," she explains. "They got all of the harmful impacts = without=20 any of the financial benefits. I couldn't let that happen to my city. = The casino=20 is inevitable, so I had to make the best decision I could for our = community. I=20 decided to negotiate. I don't make any apologies for it. If I had to do = it over=20 again, I would."

Martin and Colburn felt the same way, though = Colburn,=20 who owned property near the proposed casino site, recused himself from = any=20 actions on the matter. Estey and Martin's attempt to enter into a = Municipal=20 Services Agreement with the tribe, and Colburn's public support for it, = resulted=20 in all three being recalled from office. Looking back, Estey claims the = No=20 Casino in Plymouth group who led the charge against them gave the public = false=20 hope in regard to stopping the tribe. "I know there are a lot of people = who saw=20 what happened in this county with the Buena Vista tribe and aren't = buying what=20 the No Casino people are selling anymore," Estey says. "How else do you = explain=20 so many people asking me to run again?"

Walt Dimmers, president = of No=20 Casino in Plymouth, feels it's Estey and Colburn who have been = misleading=20 people. "I think it's presumptive of them to even run since they were = thrown out=20 of office," he says. "These two candidates, along with Marie Nunez, are = a=20 hundred percent in favor of the casino, yet you won't see that fact = advertised=20 on any of their campaign signs. So who's really being = deceptive?"

Dimmers=20 added that he doesn't think public opinion has shifted toward welcoming = a casino=20 in Plymouth. "We don't believe there's been a change in the mood when it = comes=20 to this topic," he explains. "This is the worst possible time to = negotiate an=20 MSA with the tribe. If the tribe's land goes into trust, that might = change=20 things. But to do it now would open the door for them to claim public = support to=20 the government - and then stopping it would be almost impossible. The = incumbent=20 candidates understand that. I think the people of Plymouth will have the = wisdom=20 to re-elect them."

Yet Estey maintains she's hearing an outcry of = complaints against those same incumbents. She thinks much of her = regained=20 political support is coming from residents who feel the current council = has=20 neglected infrastructure and may soon raise their water rates beyond=20 affordability. She and Colburn both point out that the tribe has offered = to pay=20 for the Plymouth Pipeline - thus preventing the cost of water from being = passed=20 on to residents - and help with other needs the city can't afford to=20 address.

From Colburn's perspective, Plymouth is getting tired of = seeing=20 the condition of the town decline. "The current council has had tunnel = vision,"=20 he charges. "All they talk about is the casino and all they think about = is the=20 casino - meanwhile they've unleashed a parade of endless blunders that's = hurt=20 the city tremendously. There's pot holes everywhere, things are falling = apart=20 and the city services are meager, to say the least. Even if you're a = voter who's=20 totally against the casino, you'd have to admit in every other way those = council=20 members have been a disaster."

Colburn and Estey also charge that = their=20 incumbent opponents are also too pro-growth, welcoming in big developers = who=20 will change the landscape of Plymouth for the worse without bringing any = jobs,=20 while shutting out a tribe that would bring them.

Not = surprisingly, the=20 campaign literature for the incumbent candidates - Greg Baldwin, = Patricia=20 Shackleton and Jon Colburn (Gary's brother) - paints a very different = picture of=20 their goals and accomplishments. But one thing's not disputed: the = incumbents=20 are running on a strong anti-casino platform.

At a recent city = council=20 meeting, Baldwin reaffirmed his position while speaking to the tribe's=20 consultant, Peter Tateishi. "I think it's pretty well known that this = council=20 doesn't favor a casino in Plymouth," Baldwin had observed during an = exchange=20 with Tateishi. "It's nothing personal against you Peter, and it's = nothing=20 personal against the tribe. As you know, there was a survey a couple of = years=20 ago that said 84 percent of Amador residents don't want any more casinos = built.=20 We have to follow the will of the people. That's what we were elected to = do."

Estey maintains that things have changed in the three years = since=20 the non-binding ballot initiative to which Baldwin referred. "I have no = doubt=20 there's still a whole lot of people who think we can keep the casino = from coming=20 here," she admits, looping her truck around the post office. "But there = are also=20 many who see the writing on the wall. Just glance over the county line - = the=20 people of El Dorado spent millions of tax dollars trying to block a = casino. They=20 said they'd fight it to their last breath. And guess what's going to = have its=20 grand opening there in December? The Red Hawk Casino."

While = Estey feels=20 sure the casino is coming, she's not sure what the outcome of the = upcoming=20 election will be. She believes that the level of anger and animosity = over the=20 topic has been crippling on both sides. "Do you know what this issue of = the=20 casino has done?" she asks, pulling to a stop. "It's ripped this town = apart.=20 Malicious rumors have been spread. It's bred hatred between neighbors. I = honestly believe the wounds will never be healed. When the casino = finally gets=20 built, I won't ever say 'I told you so' to anyone, because the way it's=20 destroyed this community has been the saddest thing."

Scott Thomas = Anderson