Full Disclosure

After Bob Gallagher, Jr. won the mayoral election last fall, it came as no surprise that his father, Bob Gallagher, stepped down from his long-held position on the city's Planning and Zoning Commission.

Even though the planning and zoning post carries no compensation, city officials are urged to avoid even the appearance of a conflict of interest.

Last year many of the major cities in Iowa -- including Bettendorf -- kicked in $25,000 each to fund a lawsuit by the Iowa League of Cities against the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.

The lawsuit, challenging the EPA's authority to enforce regulations concerning discharge of partially treated sewage, didn't get to first base because the league's Washington, D.C. law firm missed a filing deadline.

This fall's mayoral campaign rhetoric over the city's $111-million debt seemed but a faint memory this week as the Bettendorf city staff laid out an "aggressive" $18-million capital improvement plan calling for an additional $10 million in general obligation bonds.

Mayoral candidate Patricia Malinee made the city's sizeable debt the focus of her campaign against Robert Gallagher, Jr. And, in the closing days of the campaign, even Gallagher's mailers and phone calls expressed a desire to address the growing indebtedness.

When the late Bernie Goldstein went to Des Moines 20 years ago to convince state legislators on the economic benefits of low-stakes riverboat gambling, his pitch included a large full-color artist's rendition depicting Bettendorf's "future" riverfront.

Next to a new hotel and graceful Lady Luck riverboat was the future "Mark Twain Amusement Park." Upstream were a number of multi-story condominiums overlooking a marina.

A year ago, the Bettendorf City Council's annual "goal-setting" session resulted in its two "top priorities" being action to strip the remaining authority from the elected park board.

And, for the second year in a row, the same January goal-setting resulted in a "high priority" focus on the Life Fitness Center, even though it received far less in taxpayer "subsidies" than most other city enterprise funds.

Who can blame Davenport city leaders for wanting to ditch the Isle of Capri, Inc. for another gambling operator promising a new $75-million land-based casino and a larger slice of the gambling take.

But don't try to sell the deal as a downtown development bonanza, or claim a casino downtown will result in "synergy" to boost the urban business core.

Every casino project to hit the Quad Cities - from Bettendorf to Davenport to Rock Island - has claimed it would trigger investments in the downtown/riverfront with other businesses locating nearby. The reality has been just the opposite.