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A personnel shift in Congressman Dan Lungren’s
office has local residents talking- talking about what the shift may mean in
terms of the politics for a potential Indian gaming casino in Plymouth. The move by Lungren’s former
Intergovernmental Affairs Director Peter Tateishi from the public sector to the
private sector is the source of concern. Tateishi has
resigned his position in Lungren’s office and subsequently accepted a position
as a contract employee for the Ione Band of Miwok tribe. According to
Ione Band of Miwok tribal administrator Pam Baumgartner after the tribe became
aware that Tateishi had left Lungren’s office they retained Tateishi by
contract to provide the Tribe with consulting services and communication
strategies.
The Tribe contracted Mr. Tateishi after he left
Congressman Dan Lungren’s Office. As for Congressman Lungren’s Office- the Congressman’s views on the Ione Band
of Miwok issue remain clear and has not changed since he took a solid position
in October of 2006. That was just after the US Department of the
Interior Department of Indian Affairs Associate Solicitor Carl Artman issued an
opinion that the Ione Band of Mi-Woks Indians were a tribe that had been
restored to a federal recognition status. This in turn allowed the lands
proposed for a casino to qualify as the restored lands of the tribe. This is
significant because it is a path to a casino on the land. In the October 27th
2007 letter to the Secretary of the Interior Dick Kemphorne, Congressman
Lungren aggressively attacks the legal and logical nature of the Artman
determination, challenging it from multiple angles. Lungren’s position is
clear, according to his staff, and does not change based on personnel changes.
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