Coalition backs tribe racino plan

By MARK PETERS, Portland Press Herald Writer

Copyright © 2005 Blethen Maine Newspapers Inc.

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AUGUSTA — From his Calais shoe and clothing store, Louie Bernardini watches a daily stream of cars going to and coming from Canada. But rarely does he see people stop in the small Down East city. He says they drive straight through Calais and the rest of Washington County.

Bernardini believes more people would have a reason to stop if the Maine Legislature allows the Passamaquoddy Tribe to build a harness-racing track with slot machines in Maine's easternmost county.

"It would make Washington County a destination rather than a flow-through community," Bernardini told lawmakers Monday at a public hearing.

Bernardini and other members of a coalition of business owners, tribal leaders and members of the harness-racing community testified in favor of a so-called racino in Washington County. Several members of the Legislature's Legal and Veterans Affairs Committee also expressed support for the proposal, despite objections from racino opponents and the threat of a possible veto from Gov. John Baldacci.

Those who testified said Washington County needs help more than any other part of the state. They listed statistic after statistic showing the county lags behind the rest of the state in employment, median income and other economic indicators.

"We have not had many reasons to be positive about the future," said William Francis, owner of the Baring Plantation gift store, Knock on Wood.

Supporters explained that the racino would benefit Maine's tribes as well as the county and harness-racing industry through revenues from the 1,500 slot machines. The Passamaquoddy Tribe would develop the racino and share its revenues as the operator with Maine's three other tribes.

The state would divide the remaining money through a formula similar to the one approved for Bangor Raceway, the only location where slots are legal in Maine. That means harness-racing purses, college scholarships, a prescription-drugs program and gambling regulators would share much of the remaining revenue.

The proposal for Washington County does include changes. Some of the revenue would go to a county economic development fund, and money for the scholarships would go to students attending a state-run college or community college in the county.

Racino supporters portrayed the bill as a reasonable change to state gambling law, highlighting how its language closely follows the state law that allows slots at Bangor Raceway.

They also stressed the partnership among the various organizations. Bill sponsor Frederick Moore, Passamaquoddy tribal representative, stressed that the tribes have learned from past defeats, including a 2003 referendum in which voters rejected a $650 million tribal casino in Sanford.

"It is very important not just for the Passamaquoddy Tribe, but the people of Washington County," Passamaquoddy Chief Melvin Francis told lawmakers.

The racino proposal did face opposition Monday. The Maine Department of Public Safety testified against the bill, as did Casinos No!, a group that opposes gambling in Maine.

Jay Nutting, a lobbyist for Casinos No!, told lawmakers that when slots were approved at commercial racetracks in 2003, the referendum did not include an expansion into new facilities. If lawmakers give slots to the tribes because they think it is the fair thing to do, he asked, then what will happen when another group requests one?

The operators of Maine's two commercial tracks, Bangor Raceway and Scarborough Downs, are not opposing the Washington County proposal.

It is hard to gauge how far the proposal will go this year. State Sen. Kenneth Gagnon, D-Waterville, who co-chairs the Legal and Veterans Affairs Committee, described support for the bill in Washington County as formidable. He predicted the committee would back it, and he expects the full Senate to do the same.

But House Majority Leader Glenn Cummings, D-Portland, said the bill will face challenges in the House. Opposition will come from southern Maine lawmakers whose communities have clearly expressed that they don't want to see an expansion of gambling in Maine.

"There is going to be some level of skepticism," Cummings said.

Baldacci opposes a racino in Washington County, but has not specified whether he would veto the bill if it passes the House and Senate.

Baldacci co-sponsored a bill for a Calais casino when he was a member of the Maine Senate in 1993. But his spokesman, Lynn Kippax, said Monday that the governor has since come to believe there are better ways to develop the state's economy, and because of that, opposes the expansion of gambling beyond the Bangor racino.

Staff Writer Mark Peters can be contacted at 623-1031 or at: mpeters@pressherald.com