By Jeffery Mize

Vancouver became the first city Monday night to adopt a formal resolution urging the federal government to reject the Cowlitz casino.

The city council adopted a tough resolution that authorizes legal action should the $510 million complex west of La Center win federal approval, a decision that isn't expected until later this year or sometime in 2008.

The council's unanimous vote came after it heard 90 minutes of testimony, primarily from casino supporters who packed the council chambers.

Speakers who favored the casino outnumbered opponents by better than a 3-1 ratio.

The city has no power over the tribe's plans, but it hopes a public stance will influence federal officials who do.

"It hopefully would carry power with the secretary of interior who would consider the feelings of the largest city near the proposed casino site," said Brent Boger, the assistant city attorney who crafted the resolution.

Councilman Dan Tonkovich said he believes he has a moral responsibility as an elected official to take a position on the project.

Tonkovich said the project would have "very negative impacts," from additional demand for affordable housing to increasing bankruptcies and other social problems associated with compulsive gambling.

"They are devastating to families," he said. "They are devastating to individuals. They are devastating to children."

Even though Washington already has a considerable amount of gambling, "I don't think it should give me the license to pour more fuel on the fire," Tonkovich said.

Councilman Larry Smith said he supports the Cowlitz Tribe building a casino, but not near La Center.

"There are some serious problems and flaws with a mega-casino the size being proposed to be built," Smith said. "It is the wrong site. Clark County is trying to build a quality of life."

Councilwoman Jeanne Harris said the best man at her wedding is a member of the Cowlitz Tribe.

"I hope the casino is built," she said. "I hope the tribe does the right thing with wages and benefits."

But, until the federal government corrects deficiencies with the project's environmental impact statement, Harris said she cannot support the project.

The council's decision was expected ever since Mayor Royce Pollard announced his personal opposition during a news conference last week.

The Cowlitz, according to the city's resolution, has refused to consider alternate sites north of Clark County that are closer to the tribe's "ancestral home" and current population.

That assertion drew fire from tribal representatives and supporters.

"We were here; we have always been here," said Bill Iyall, Cowlitz Tribe vice chairman.

"It is offensive," said Phil Harju, a member of the Cowlitz Tribal Council, "to every Cowlitz tribal member that the city would try to tell the tribe where our homeland is."

Patricia Giles of Vancouver said the city might want to take its own advice and move back to an area closer to its historical homeland.

"This entire scenario smacks of greed and bigotry," she said. "The city has stooped to a new low. Shame on you."

Labor representatives testified in favor of the casino and in opposition to Vancouver's resolution. Mike Phillips, secretary-treasurer of the Clark-Skamania-West Klickitat Central Labor Council, said the city appears to be making a political decision instead of an economic one.

During last week's news conference, Pollard faced questions about why the city would rezone industrial property to accommodate two retail projects, namely a Fred Meyer and a Wal-Mart, but dismiss the 3,151 jobs with an average salary of $28,000 at the casino complex.

"They are going to make more than Wal-Mart jobs, with benefits," Phillips said.

There were a smattering of casino foes who urged the council to adopt the resolution.

Businessman/philanthropist Paul Christensen said there seems to be a flaw in federal law that attempts to correct "all the unjust deeds we did to the Indians when we came here." He questioned why people who have only a small amount of Indian ancestry are classified as tribal members.

"I think I might be related to Queen Elizabeth someway, and I'm not receiving any royal benefits."

Ed Lynch, chairman of the anti-casino group Citizens Against Reservation Shopping, acknowledged that building a casino near La Center would create construction jobs, but advocated the tribe look to other sites farther north. Lynch said the average wage at the casino resort might be $28,000, but that doesn't mean there won't be lower-wage jobs.

"There are a whole bunch of those that are $10, $11, $12 (an hour) jobs," he said.

Tom Hunt, a representative of Citizens Against Reservation Shopping, said a council resolution is one of the few avenues the city has to try to influence the process.

The city's timing is good since the federal government wants to give more weight to the wishes of local officials in reviewing tribal casino proposals, he said.

"The landscape is changing," Hunt said. "The Department of Interior is listening and will listen to the resolution you pass tonight."