Southeast : Court Clears Way for Nov. 21 Card Club Vote

A controversial election to let voters decide whether to bring card clubs to the troubled city of Hawaiian Gardens will take place Nov. 21 after all.

A Los Angeles Superior Court judge had put the election on hold, citing invalid signatures collected for the ballot measure.

But the state Court of Appeal ruled Monday that court intervention in the case would be inappropriate “given the short time frames for conducting the election.”

City Councilman Rene Flores, who opposes the ballot measure, said: “I’m glad people will get to vote on it, I just hope they read the initiative closely.”

The city is facing a $1.5-million budget deficit, and proponents of the measure say income from card clubs would prevent cuts in popular recreation programs, and even save the city’s recently created Police Department from being dismantled.

Opponents object to the gambling that would be allowed in the poker clubs and some have taken issue with the signature-gathering process.

In the decision, the court stated that some of the arguments raised by opponents of the measure “can be resolved after the election if the initiative is successful.”

Attorney Frederic Woocher, who represents the Committee Against Card Club Assns., said he was disappointed by the ruling, but vowed to fight the matter in court if the measure passes.

“There will be a challenge, I will guarantee you,” he said.