Iberia Parish Council Rejects Public Vote on Video Poker

On April 11, 2007, the Iberia Parish Council Members decided not to push through with the 2 public hearings that were scheduled for April 18th and April 25th, to ask for the public's view regarding the possible referendum on the issue of video poker gaming.

The margin of the vote was 7-6, with Councilman Zeb Simon abstaining from the vote. However, according to the rules in the Home Rule Charter, at least 8 votes are needed to pass it. The main proponent of the proposal, Jerome Fitch, commented that the cash from video poker games would have been allotted for the repair and maintenance of the roads in the area.

Fitch added that it was hypocritical for the Iberia Parish to decide against the video poker issue while most of the money they pay their employees comes from the OTB's. He commented that there are 2 parishes that have gaming, St. Martin and St. Mary Parishes. Both parishes use the cash that they get from their gaming offerings for road repairs.

Councilman Lloyd Brown commented that the profits from video poker will not be enough to fix everything in the community, but it is better than not having anything at all. On the other hand, Councilman Curtis Boudoin said that the approval for video poker should not only be in parishes, but across the state.

The councilmen that voted against the proposal are Ray Fremin, Roger Duncan, Bernard Broussard, Larry Richard, Verret and George Gross. Fitch said that he is very disappointed about the result because he cannot see any reason why the residents should not have a say in the matter.

04/30/2007, Monday
Sherry Barlow

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