FOR IMMEDIATE
RELEASE
CONTACT: Chris Donnelly
August 3,
2016
732-280-9600
NEW ADVOCACY CAMPAIGN ‘OUR TURN NJ’ LAUNCHES TO EDUCATE ON
BENEFITS OF GAMING EXPANSION
Begins Airing Television, Radio & Digital Ads
Roseland - OUR Turn NJ, a 501c4 public issue advocacy campaign dedicated
to educating New Jerseyans on the benefits of expanding gaming to northern New
Jersey, announced its official launch today. The campaign, through a wide
range of grass roots public engagement and advertising tactics, will work to
raise awareness of the billions of dollars that can be recaptured and the
thousands of jobs that can be created by New Jersey if voters approve gaming
expansion this November. It has also launched a website, OURTURNNJ.com.
Over the last decade, gaming has
expanded outside of Atlantic City to neighboring states like Maryland,
Delaware, Pennsylvania and New York. This expansion allowed our neighbors
to steal $15 billion of our gaming revenue for more than ten years. Gaming
revenue in New Jersey, through the Casino Revenue Fund (CRF), pays for programs
critical to our seniors and those with disabilities. Because of the
gaming revenue losses, funding for these programs from the CRF has fallen
dramatically. In Fiscal Year 2006, the CRF contributed $500 million
dollars to fund these programs. By Fiscal Year 2014 that number fell to
$221 million dollars, despite there being a greater need for these funds. That
loss in funding, $1.8 billion total over that time period, was made up by the
taxpayers of New Jersey. Moreover, from FY2006 and FY2015 New Jersey’s senior
population increased from 1,129,356 to 1,313,503, a jump of
16.31%. (See attached charts for breakdowns on New Jersey gaming
revenue).
The loss of $1.8 billion
in funding has not only taken more money out of the pockets of New Jersey
taxpayers, it has meant less money in the state budget to fund other vital
state programs such as pensions, transportation improvements, local aid, and
school funding. Recapturing these gaming dollars that have been taken from us
by our neighbors would free up hundreds of millions of dollars a year that
could be put towards these and other critical programs.
Earlier this year, the
state Legislature approved placing on the November ballot a constitutional
amendment that would expand gaming to northern New Jersey, allowing for two new
casinos. Nearly three-fourths of the Legislature voted in favor of the
amendment, which was also supported by Governor Christie.
By allowing entertainment
destinations with gaming to be built in northern New Jersey, voters can assist
in creating 43,000 jobs in the region. These venues would include local
hiring commitments that will support thousands of new and existing jobs in New
Jersey, create opportunities for local workforce training programs and
partnerships with the area’s educational institutions, and benefit residents
through ironclad community benefit agreements privately funded by developers.
Two new entertainment
and gaming destinations are projected to generate $500 million dollars a year
in tax revenue to help our local communities and reduce the tax burden on New
Jersey taxpayers, including keeping property taxes stable. Applicants
have to commit to investing at least $1 billion of private funding into each
project and will not receive any public subsidies.
Casino operators will
pay:
-A local host community
fee;
-Property taxes;
-Hotel taxes;
-Sales taxes;
-Income taxes; and
-Gaming tax.
Gaming expansion will
also provide support to New Jersey’s horse racing industry which, despite
troubling times, still supports over 14,000 jobs. Racetracks in
neighboring states currently combine horse racing with casino gaming, enabling
their purses to be significantly higher than New Jersey’s. The industry
is important to the open space preservation of thousands of acres of horse
farms — many in Monmouth and Ocean Counties. Total racing purses and
wagering on horse racing have dropped nearly 50% since 2010. Gaming
expansion will help the industry compete with neighboring states.
OUR Turn NJ also
announced it is releasing television, radio and digital ads as it begins its
efforts to educate the public on the benefits of gaming expansion. These
ads will begin airing today. The television ad, entitled “OUR Turn”, can be
viewed here (also see attached fact sheet): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uXcw4Dhiig4&feature=youtu.be
When is it OUR turn, New
Jersey?
To protect our seniors
and those with disabilities— who are losing funding for programs critical to
their quality of life.
New York and
Pennsylvania have stolen billions of our gaming revenue, robbing us of dollars
to fund programs like Meals-on-Wheels and the property tax freeze.
New Jersey, Now it’s OUR
turn...
Vote YES and support
gaming expansion in Northern New Jersey to protect our seniors.
Let’s take back what is
OURS.
The radio ad is entitled
“OUR Turn”:
VO:
When is it OUR turn,
New Jersey?
To protect OUR seniors
and those with disabilities— who are losing funding for critical
programs?
New York and
Pennsylvania have stolen billions of OUR gaming revenue that fund programs like
Meals-on-Wheels and the property tax freeze.
Now it’s OUR turn...
To vote YES and
support gaming expansion in Northern New Jersey……. to protect OUR
seniors.
New Jersey…it’s time
to take back what is OURS.
Visit OURTURNNJ.com to
learn more.
Paid for by OUR Turn
NJ
OUR Turn NJ is being
supported by Paul Fireman and Jeffrey Gural. Paul Fireman is currently
the Chairman of Fireman Capital Partners. From 1979 to 2006, Paul was
Chairman & CEO of Reebok International Ltd in Canton, Massachusetts. In
1998, Paul began two decades of commitment to investing in New Jersey when he
spent several hundred million dollars of his own money to turn a former
industrial waste site on the shores of the Hudson River in Jersey City into
Liberty National Golf Course. Liberty has some of the most scenic views of
any golf course in the country, has twice hosted the PGA Tour’s Barclays Tournament,
and will be hosting the prestigious President’s Cup in the fall of 2017. Paul
and his wife, Phyllis, are co-founders of the Paul & Phyllis Fireman Family
Foundation in their native Massachusetts. The Fireman Family Foundation, one of
Massachusetts’ largest, seeks to end family homelessness and benefit the
communities in which the family members live and work.
New Meadowlands Racing
Chairman Jeffrey Gural’s passion is horse racing, with which he has actively
been involved in for over 40 years. He runs the Meadowlands Racetrack as
well as several other tracks in the region. Gural has been a leader in cleaning
up the harness racing industry, as he is the only racetrack owner in North
America that spends his own money on out-of-competition testing to ensure that
the horses racing at his facilities are drug free. When the state was
going to close the old Meadowlands Racetrack, Jeff organized a group of
investors to build a new $120 million dollar grandstand that helped preserve
the harness racing industry in New Jersey as well as 600 union jobs. In
addition, the Meadowlands Racetrack contributes almost $3 million in shared
services and PILOT payments with the New Jersey Sports and Exposition
Authority.
“The reality is that
gaming has already expanded outside of Atlantic City, but New Jersey has not
taken advantage of it. Creating world class entertainment destinations with
gaming will attract visitors both from the region and across the world.
We have a whole new opportunity in northern New Jersey to bring millions of
dollars back to the state, fund critical programs, and create thousands of
jobs. These funds belong here, where they can help our seniors and create
jobs,” said Fireman.
“New Jersey has been
losing money for years because other states expanded gaming. Billions of
dollars have left the state, hurting important programs and stunting economic
growth. Unfortunately, the talk about gaming expansion hasn’t focused on
this critical issue. We firmly believe that once the public learns about
the true value of expanding gaming, they will overwhelmingly support it,” said
Gural.
Fireman and Gural have
each proposed building gaming venues in northern New Jersey. Paul has
proposed a full service, high-end destination resort with gaming in Jersey
City, to be built outside of the downtown, next to Liberty National Golf Course
in an industrial section of the city. Paul’s project, known as Liberty
Rising, would be a world-class destination resort with gaming, restaurants,
retail space, and entertainment venues. It would be built with a high-class,
modern design that would rival entertainment destinations around the world.
Jeff has proposed
building an entertainment and gaming venue in the Meadowlands, situated away
from residential neighborhoods. The proposed facility would be a full
service casino with restaurants, a New Jersey Music Hall of Fame and a music
memorabilia museum. It would be located next to the Meadowlands
Racetrack, where infrastructure already exists to bring thousands of visitors
to the location.
The Liberty Rising and
Meadowlands sites are both located in nonresidential areas. Should the
locations be chosen, both Paul and Jeff have agreed not to accept any taxpayer
dollars whatsoever for the projects. The locations are unique in that they
offer the best chance to regain the funding that has left New Jersey.
Over 18 million people reside within a 50 mile radius of both sites, and the
median household income for this radius is $101,000, nearly double the United
States’ average. Moreover, the locations are within direct proximity to
New York City, and its 55 million annual visitors.
New Jersey’s political,
business, and civic leaders have come out in support of OUR Turn NJ’s goals
because they understand the positive impact that can be realized with a yes
vote this November. (For additional quotes, please go to www.ourturnnj.com)
“The enormous economic
benefit of gaming expansion is simply too great to ignore. We are talking
about billions of dollars in private investment that would create a huge boost
to New Jersey’s economy and provide jobs for thousands of people. This is
exactly the kind of opportunity working people in this state need. Gaming
expansion means construction jobs, but also investment and development of the
surrounding communities, meaning more jobs and dollars at the local level.”
-John Ballantyne
Executive Secretary
Treasurer, Northeast Regional Council of Carpenters
“In my industry we have
not yet bounced back from the recession. Other states like Pennsylvania and New
York are blowing the doors off of their jobs numbers, but not in New
Jersey. If we expand gaming we can take back what is ours – our revenue
for senior programs, thousands of our jobs and investment in a state the likes
of which we haven’t seen in decades. Now is our opportunity to recapture
this revenue, these jobs and
our future. The people of New Jersey need to support this question and
get New Jersey back to work.”
-Eric Boyce
Business
Manager/Financial Secretary Treasurer, Plumbers Local 24
“New Jersey is dealing
with several critical issues that will require significant sources of funding,
including fixing our transportation and transit systems and our crumbling water
and sewer pipes. These issues, among many others, are coming to a head in
our state. New Jersey is going to need all available sources of revenue
it can find to solve these problems. That means stopping the billions of
dollars that other states are robbing from us, and keeping them here in New
Jersey. With gaming expansion, we are looking at billions of dollars in
private investment in addition to the dollars being recaptured from out-of-state
gaming. This is not an opportunity we can take a pass on.”
-Robert Briant, Jr.
Chief Executive Officer,
Utility & Transportation Contractors Association of New Jersey
“Expanding gaming would
result in the construction of not just casinos, but also hotels, entertainment
venues, retail stores, resorts, and additional attractions as well as the
creation the thousands of construction and permanent operations jobs that come
with these projects. This would provide additional choices for both New Jersey
residents and visitors thereby strengthening one of our key business sectors:
hospitality and tourism. This kind of private economic investment is not
something we can afford to reject. Our neighboring states have been
taking these kinds of dollars from us for far too long. Now is the time
for New Jersey to act upon a unique opportunity to set the stage for the
investment to take place here and realize and all the economic benefits that
come with it.”
-John Galandak
President, Commerce and
Industry Association of New Jersey
“We are looking at
several billion dollars in private investment for the state. This means
thousands of direct and indirect jobs including casino and related development
projects. We would also see training programs that will help provide
long-term, well paying, middle class jobs to residents. Those are jobs
that my members cannot afford to miss out on. It is New Jersey’s turn to
take back what is ours and put our people to work.”
-Patrick Kelleher
President, Hudson County
Building and Construction Trades Council
“Expanding gaming in New
Jersey will allow the state to reap the benefits of rebuilding and reenergizing
North and South Jersey, two of the country’s great destinations. This will have
long lasting revenue impacts by recapturing billions in out of state gaming
dollars. This is important, because these revenues pay for programs that
are vital to seniors and those with disabilities. In addition, gaming
expansion would generate millions of dollars in nongaming revenue, as hotels,
entertainment, hospitality venues and retail stores are built in the
surrounding communities. There is no reason other states should be getting
the benefits of money that can be spent here in our great state. Let’s
leverage these needed resources for ALL of New Jersey.”
-Jim Kirkos
President & CEO,
Meadowlands Regional Chamber of Commerce
"Gaming expansion
is about more than just casinos. It’s about creating world class resorts
that will bring travelers from all over the world. That means thousands
of construction jobs in the short-term of course, but it also means thousands
of long-term jobs that are created from the economic boost seen in the
surrounding communities. For too long, we have sat back and watched billions of
dollars go to other states, while New Jersey struggled. That must
stop. New Jersey cannot afford – literally – to let this opportunity pass
it by.”
-Greg Lalevee
Business Manager,
International Union of Operating Engineers Local 825
“The prospect of gaming
expansion in North Jersey is a tremendous opportunity to improve the welfare of
our state and its national recognition as a premiere tourist destination.
Expanding gaming in the state would help alleviate budget strains, produce new
jobs and revenue, and fund key programs and services – all without raising
taxes. It’s now New Jersey’s turn to act on gaming expansion. As Chairman
of the Statewide Hispanic Chamber of Commerce of New Jersey – the voice of
80,000 Hispanic business owners – I fully support casino gaming
expansion.”
-Carlos Medina
Chairman, The Statewide
Hispanic Chamber of Commerce of New Jersey
“This is an opportunity
for a multi-billion dollar investment that will put thousands of construction
workers to work, create permanent casino jobs and generate economic
opportunities for the entire region. A new casino in the North Jersey market
will boost the state’s economy, put people to work, strengthen the casino
industry, aid Atlantic City’s financial recovery, and generate revenue to help
senior citizens and the disabled.”
-William Mullen,
President, New Jersey Building and Construction Trades Council
“New Jersey needs
responsible gaming expansion. We need revenue to support programs for our
children, those with disabilities, and senior citizens. We need
development that is conducted in a way that changes the global perspective of
our entire state. Statewide, the revenue we take back from Maryland,
Pennsylvania, Delaware and New York will fund the most important programs for
our state’s most vulnerable populations. All of these benefits are in
addition to thousands of jobs for the state’s residents, and all at no cost
whatsoever to taxpayers. That revenue belongs here in New Jersey and we
shouldn't let antiquated laws and regulations hold us back. Now is our
time to act.”
-Raymond M. Pocino
Vice President and
Eastern Regional Manager, Laborers’ International Union of North America
“Gaming expansion is
going to provide a tremendous economic boost to New Jersey. When I go out
every day, my main focus is putting my members to work, the ones who have been
sitting home because they have not had an opportunity to work in six months.
By expanding gaming to North Jersey, we are going to create thousands upon
thousands of jobs, both for my members and for communities throughout New
Jersey. We have allowed gaming dollars to flow to our neighboring states
for too long. We have a chance now to take back what is ours and provide
for our people. We have to seize that opportunity right now!”
-Rick Sabato
President, Bergen County
Building and Construction Trades Council
“The New Jersey Business
& Industry Association supports efforts to expand the footprint of casino
gambling beyond Atlantic City’s borders in order to revitalize an important
state industry, create new jobs and stimulate the state’s economy. If we don’t
act now, our neighboring states will continue to pose a competitive threat. If
casino gambling ever comes to the Manhattan area, which is actively being
contemplated, the game will be over. We need to make New Jersey competitive
with our neighboring states.”
-Michele Siekerka
President and CEO, New
Jersey Business and Industry Association
“The expansion of gaming
into northern New Jersey is an unprecedented opportunity that we
cannot pass up. It will result in tens of thousands of good paying
jobs, both short and long-term, and will be a much needed economic boost for
the state. With unemployment within the African-American community nearly
double that of New Jersey’s unemployment rate the issue of JOBS must be
addressed. NO OTHER ISSUE could have as great a social and economic impact on
the African-American community. These dollars are currently being spent in New
York, Pennsylvania and Maryland when they can be spent right here in New
Jersey. Expanding gaming to North Jersey will bring these funds back to our
state.”
-Richard Smith
President, New Jersey
NAACP
“A wide range of
programs are funded by gaming revenue, with a large focus on providing
necessary services to those with disabilities. For example, those with
disabilities receive aid via the Casino Revenue Fund through programs like
Developmental Disabilities Residential Care and Disability Services Personal
Assistance. This is clear proof that gaming revenue has a real world impact on
New Jersey’s most vulnerable residents. We have to stop the flow of these
dollars going to other states. New Jersey has an opportunity right now to
reclaim these funds for our residents with disabilities. For this reason we
support the expansion of casino gaming to Northern New Jersey.”
-Carole Tonks
Executive Director,
Alliance Center for Independence
"Gaming expansion
to Northern New Jersey means stopping the flow of dollars that are being spent
in our neighboring states, and instead keeping that revenue here in New
Jersey. It also will boost our state and local economies and provide
funding for programs that are crucial to our most vulnerable residents.
We will not see another opportunity like this in our lifetime. New Jersey
must seize the moment and vote to create thousands of jobs, both in the
construction industry and permanent good paying jobs to operate the casinos.
Voting yes on the public question this election day will accomplish
this.”
-Charles Wowkanech
President, New Jersey
AFL-CIO
