Staff Reports
Voters in Charge, the political committee behind the statewide “Yes on 3” constitutional amendment campaign, on Tuesday said former Miami Mayor Manny Diaz will chair its Miami-Dade Committee.
“Members of local leadership committees include community, business, law enforcement and religious leaders throughout the state who are committed to ensuring that Florida voters are put in charge of casino gambling decisions in Florida,” a press release said.
Along with Diaz, Miami-Dade Committee members also include:
— Miami Beach Mayor Dan Gelber.
— Tomas Regalado, former mayor of Miami.
— Miami Beach City Council member Rick Arriola.
— Mark Coats, Pastor at God Baptist Church.
— Ron Bilbao, former chapter co-director of the Miami chapter of New Leaders Council.
— Maria Garcia of the Miami-Dade League of Women Voters.
— Coral Gables Community Activist Marlin Ebbert.
— Radio personality Elena Dolinski de Montilla.
“We are thrilled to have the support of so many pillars of the community for this important amendment,” Voters in Charge Chairman John Sowinski said in a statement.
“For most of our lifetimes, decisions about casino gambling were left up to the voters,” he added. “It is past time to return that right to Floridians and take it away from politicians and special interest groups in Tallahassee.”
“Amendment 3 ensures that Florida voters shall have the exclusive right to decide whether to authorize casino gambling in the State of Florida,” the release explains.
“Recent polling shows that more than 70 percent of Florida voters support this amendment. Amendment 3 enjoys bipartisan support and has been endorsed by the Florida Chamber of Commerce, Florida League of Women Voters, and the Florida Conference of the NAACP, among others.”
Gambling industry interests have lined up to oppose the measure, however, with political committees having been formed in recent months to defeat the amendment at the ballot box.
