The number of local elected officials and activists who have signed up to lead Protect Our Neighborhood's (PON) efforts to stop  "stealth" attempts to expand casino-style gambling without a local vote has more than tripled, according to PON President and Commerce City Councilwoman Kathy Teter.

Denver City Councilman Charlie Brown, a new member of PON's leadership team.

Mesa Co. Commissioner Janet Rowland, another new PON leader.

"Last year, we fought back two last-minute attempts to bring slot machine gambling into just about every Colorado neighborhood," Teter said. "Our newly expanded leadership team will ensure that we're well prepared to take on any similar efforts during the 2011 legislative session."

Denver City Councilman Charlie Brown, one of the new PON leaders, notes, "Count me out on expanding gaming. It's a bad hand for our state and especially our neighborhoods."

Another new PON leader, Mesa County Commissioner Janet Rowland, explained her decision to become involved in the anti-gaming expansion effort: "Here on the Western Slope we have a long history of local control and a widespread expansion of gambling would have grave impacts on our kids, our neighborhoods and our county services. I don't support any expansion beyond where it exists today without voter approval on both a state and local basis."

Colorado's constitution requires approval of voters at both the state and local levels before casino gaming can be expanded beyond Central City, Cripple Creek and Black Hawk. Since 2003, six different attempts have been made to bypass these requirements, including two attempts in the spring of this year.

"Declining state revenues have made some legislators so desperate to find new funding that they're willing to ignore our constitution," said Teter. "They think they can sneak gaming expansion past the constitution by calling it video lottery or video keno, but it plays like a slot machine and pays like a slot machine, it's casino gambling."

In addition to Brown and Rowland, new PON leaders are:

Jim Bensberg, El Paso County, County Commissioner
Jeff Chostner, Pueblo,County Commissioner
Darryl Glenn, Colorado Springs, Councilman At-Large
Dennis Hisey, El Paso County, County Commissioner
Terry Maketa, El Paso County, Sheriff
Bob Murphy, Lakewood, Mayor
Bill Swenson, Longmont, Former State Representative
David Casiano, Parker, Mayor
Macon Cowles, Boulder, City Councilman
Carlos Guara, Montrose, Former Mayor
Peggy Littleton, El Paso County, County Commissioner-elect
Kevin McCaskey, Jefferson County, County Commissioner
Jim Taylor, Littleton, City Councilman
Sean Conway, Weld County, County Commissioner
Marc Williams, Arvada, City Councilman At-Large

Returning PON leaders, in addition to Kathy Teter, are:

Ron Weidmann, Centennial, City Councilman
Judy Weaver, Pueblo, City Councilwoman
Robert Broom, Aurora, City Councilman
Grayson Robinson, Arapahoe County, Sheriff
Hannah Rush, Pueblo, Citizen Activist