Racetrack inserts itself in Albany council race

Posted on Thu, Nov. 02, 2006 

Racetrack inserts itself in Albany council race

By Justin Hill
CONTRA COSTA TIMES

Peter Tunney says that in his more than 25 years as general manager of Golden Gate Fields, neither he nor the racetrack had gotten involved in Albany City Council elections.

This year he has — mailing four pieces of campaign literature to Albany residents.

The first piece was a letter dated Oct. 12 in which Tunney wrote to residents, listing “facts about Golden Gate Fields and the Albany waterfront.”

Then, on Oct. 26, another piece was delivered that describes what would happen if the racetrack closed.

On Monday, residents received two pieces: The racetrack’s newsletter that lists “facts” and recent contributions by the racetrack to community organizations and another piece that opens with “4 things (candidates) Marge Atkinson and Joanne Wile don’t want you to know.”

“We just thought it was time to set the record straight,” Tunney said. “I think we have an obligation to correct what are just flat-out lies.”

Atkinson and Wile, running as the Save Our Shoreline Team, are opposed to any large-scale development on the racetrack’s land along the waterfront.

In the letter to residents, Tunney writes the campaigns for Wile and Atkinson distributed fliers to voters that were “tainted with misleading and untrue statements” about the racetrack as well as “outright falsehoods.”

Tunney says Atkinson and Wile’s campaign has spread lies that the racetrack plans to introduce casino gambling. He also argues the two candidates want the racetrack to close, which would mean higher taxes for Albany households.

Brian Parker, Atkinson’s and Wile’s campaign manager, said the racetrack is trying to buy the election. It needs a friendly City Council to accommodate development of a mall and casino at the racetrack, he said.

“They’re bought and paid for in Washington,” Parker said. “I guess they wanted them bought and paid for in Albany. … We deserve better than that.”

Atkinson and Wile have responded to the Golden Gate Fields mailers with their own piece accusing the racetrack of lies. They say they have never stated they want the racetrack to close and that Golden Gate Fields is misrepresenting the impact a potential closure would have on residents’ taxes.

On Wednesday, a separate piece from a union of racetrack culinary employees features an Albany resident who says he was one of the founders of Citizens for the Albany Shoreline and is voting for Caryl O’Keefe and Francesco Papalia.

Reach Justin Hill at 510-243-3578 or jhill@cctimes.com.