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Thursday, May 27, 2004
Group makes move to repeal racino law
Copyright © 2004 Blethen Maine Newspapers Inc. | ||||||
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AUGUSTA — A group calling itself No Slots for ME! has started a petition to repeal the voter-approved law that permits slot machines at commercial harness-racing tracks. Organizers have submitted the proposal to the Secretary of State's Office and are gearing up to collect enough signatures to have the issue decided next year. They need 50,519 signatures by Jan. 20 to force the Legislature to outlaw slots - and repeal the racino law - or put the question to voters in November 2005. The proposed law, which is only two paragraphs long, declares slots illegal in Maine. It would have the effect of repealing the law that Maine voters passed last November to allow slot machines at racetracks, with local approval. The Secretary of State's Office has not yet drafted the question that would appear on the ballot, and state officials are still reviewing the legislation to ensure that it is written properly. Once the state signs off on the wording, organizers can collect signatures, though they plan to wait until Election Day, Nov. 2, to circulate most of their petitions at polling places. No Slots for ME! is run by four anti-gambling activists from southern Maine, including leaders of successful campaigns in Scarborough and Westbrook that banned slots there. The group's steering committee includes George Rodrigues, co-founder of an anti-slots group in Westbrook; Fred Kilfoil, who helped lead a no-slots campaign in Scarborough; Doug Muir, another anti-gambling activist; and Steve Whiting, who chaired the 2003 campaign by the Christian Civic League of Maine opposing casino and slots referendums. Kilfoil said Wednesday that his group supports repeal because the voters did not have a clear understanding of the issue when they authorized racinos last year. He said promoters led voters to believe they were authorizing "a limited number of slots where gambling already exists," but that is not the case. The announcement of a repeal drive comes as Penn National Gaming of Pennsylvania, which recently acquired Bangor Historic Track from developer Shawn Scott, prepares to open a racino in Bangor with as many as 1,500 slot machines. Scarborough Downs had hoped to open a racino in southern Maine, but it failed to win approval in any of three targeted communities by the Dec. 31, 2003, deadline. The Legislature this year refused to lift the 2003 deadline for Scarborough Downs to find a host community, but the track may renew its bid for more time in the next few years. "I think it's a good idea to repeal it because it's a money-losing proposition for most of us," Kilfoil said. "Slots are the most addictive form of gambling that we have," he said, adding that they divert money from the local economy. Bangor Mayor Dan Tremble said he fears the news of an upcoming repeal effort may prompt Penn National to reconsider its plans for Bangor. Tremble said plans call for the Bangor racino to open late this year or early next year. Eric Schippers, a vice president of Penn National, offered no predictions on when construction will begin. Tremble said that trying to overturn the Bangor and statewide votes for racinos so soon after the voters have spoken "is an insult to the people of Maine." Schippers offered a similar view in an e-mail to the Portland Press Herald/Maine Sunday Telegram. "The people of Maine have spoken quite clearly on this issue, and the people of Bangor have voted at least twice already to support a gaming facility at the Bangor Raceway," Schippers said. Noting that the Legislature has created "a comprehensive, new regulatory oversight process," Schippers said Penn National hopes "a small number of anti-gaming advocates in the southern part of Maine will not be allowed to deprive the city of Bangor and the surrounding region of this tremendous economic development opportunity." Noticeably absent from the No Slots for ME! steering committee is Casinos No!, which led the successful statewide campaign in 2003 to defeat a ballot question that would have allowed an Indian-run casino in Maine. Dennis Bailey of Casinos No! said that group has not decided whether to join the drive for a 2005 repeal referendum, but he said Casinos No! shares the goal of making slot machines illegal in Maine. Bailey said Casinos No! is weighing the logistics of getting involved in a repeal referendum, including the need for money and a staff to mount an effective campaign. He said gambling opponents must weigh the risk of losing a repeal referendum, because such a defeat might open the floodgates for the proliferation of gambling in Maine. One gambling foe who does not plan to get involved in the repeal campaign is Gov. John Baldacci, who opposes slot machines but respects the public's pro-racino votes statewide and in Bangor. "The people in Bangor voted for this," said Lee Umphrey, Baldacci's spokesman. "It's not what the governor likes or thinks is in Maine's long-term interest, but they voted for it and he needs to honor that." Umphrey noted that the governor and the Legislature took steps this year to beef up state oversight of the racino industry, and that Baldacci is banking on those safeguards. The Legislature passed a gambling-control bill this year that creates a state board to license and regulate slot machines. That bill, which Baldacci signed into law May 6, also spells out how racino revenues will be distributed. Penn National charged during the legislative session that the bill would siphon off too much money for the state, but a company spokesman said after Baldacci signed the bill that company officials "are preparing to move forward with a project in Bangor" anyway. Staff Writer Paul Carrier can be contacted at 622-7511 or at:
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