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Bessemer: Two mayors’ vetoes, two judges’ rulings and a district attorney’s warning have not deterred Bessemer City Council President Earl Cochran and several council members from attempting to legalize electronic bingo gambling in the area. In an action council member James Stephens calls an “illegal phone vote,” Cochran, along with council members Louise Alexander, Jesse Matthews and Dorothy Davidson, passed a resolution to join the City of Fairfield in attempting to keep Jefferson County District Attorney for the Bessemer Cutoff Arthur Green from “condemning their charitable bingo operations.”
Green initially ordered 13 electronic bingo gambling halls in Jefferson County’s Bessemer Cutoff to close by Nov. 5 but has now extended the deadline to the beginning of the year, according to The Birmingham News.
Officially passed at the Nov. 3 meeting, the resolution authorized Attorney Edward E. May II, son of Bessemer Mayor Edward May, to represent the council in the case. It also “ratifies any action previously taken” by May II. Mayor May previously vetoed two ordinances proposed by Cochran, who heads the council’s bingo committee with Davidson and Alexander.
“The attorney had already represented the council in court before we ever had a public meeting to address the issue,” Stephens said.
During the council’s meeting, Stephens said he questioned Cochran’s comment that the lawsuit wouldn’t cost the city a penny. Stephens said, “I said, ‘Who is funding this?’ and he said, ‘Never mind.’”
Stephens continued, “I am shocked, appalled and deeply disappointed at the lack of class and character displayed by our elected officials when the gambling interests can influence and cloud their judgment this way.”
Walker County: Electronic bingo gambling facilities in Walker County must remain closed until a final decision about their legality is made by the Alabama Supreme Court, said Jefferson County Circuit Judge Robert S. Vance.
Vance, who ruled the games illegal Oct. 26, denied the request to remain open by lawyers of electronic bingo hall operators and machine manufacturers Nov. 3. They claimed about 1,000 people would face financial hardship based on this ruling, but no appeal of the case has yet been filed.
In his Nov. 3 decision, Vance said he cannot allow criminal activity for any period of time, despite the circumstances, according to The Birmingham News.
“The final order inescapably leads to the conclusion that continued operation of electronic bingo in Walker County would constitute illegal gambling. … this court cannot condone and permit continued criminal activity for any period of time,” Vance wrote in his order.
Jefferson County: Jefferson County District Attorney for Birmingham Brandon Falls reported Nov. 2 that all electronic bingo gambling operations had closed down in cooperation with his order to shut down by Oct. 31.
At least 44 electronic bingo gambling halls were operating in Jefferson County prior to his order, according to The Birmingham News. About 30 of those were in the Birmingham division overseen by Falls. (For an update on the electronic bingo gambling operations in the Bessemer Cutoff division overseen by District Attorney Arthur Green, see Bessemer entry above.)
Attorneys representing 17 electronic bingo gambling operations in the Birmingham division filed a lawsuit Oct. 30 against Falls, saying he had exceeded his authority. They are asking that the operations be able to remain open while cases await an Alabama Supreme Court ruling.
Argo: Argo Mayor Paul Jennings said he is still waiting to see what happens with Jefferson County’s electronic bingo gambling law before pursuing his earlier announced attempt to open an electronic gambling facility in the Jefferson County part of Argo.
Other areas in Jefferson County, such as Kimberly and Tarrant, have also quietened their attempts at bringing in electronic bingo gambling since the recent rulings deeming it illegal.
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