At the very end of last year Atlantic City Mayor Lorenzo Langford spoke at a news conference about the state of New Jersey plans to create a tourism district in the beleaguered casino city. He told reporters that his administration was preparing a possible constitutional challenge over the move. "I am prepared to defend our sovereign right to govern ourselves with every fiber in my being," he said.

Mayor Langford strongly criticised both the members of Republican Gov. Chris Christie's staff and the Democrat-led Legislature, saying they had failed to live up to the promise of partnership that the governor pledged when he announced his proposal in July. Following last Monday’s approval by the state Legislature of a state-run tourism district covering the casinos, the famous Boardwalk, the Marina District, Bader Field and the downtown area, with additional policing and sanitation services, the mayor is still considering suing New Jersey.

At the same marathon session in the New Jersey Legislature, the horse racing industry received a US$30 million boost. The Casino Reinvestment Development Authority will provide the money to the New Jersey Racing Commission to divide evenly between the Harness and thoroughbred industries, with US$15 million being dispersed this year, US$10 million next year and US$5 million in 2013. The casinos will have to find these funds even though their profits continue to decline.

Governor Chris Christie now has 45 days to sign the bill into law. Yesterday he made his State of the State Address and said that things are getting better every day. “State spending is down 9% in one year, the budget has been balanced, state taxes are lower for the first time in a decade and the unemployment rate has begun to drop to below the national average.” However, Mayor Langford is determined that a new tourism entity in Atlantic City will not drain resources from the city as a whole. He makes the point that Atlantic City is far more than its casinos and tourist attractions; it is a city of neighbourhoods and people. (E-01.12.11)

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