Candidates in Maine Disagree On Gambling Law
The top issue that separates Maine's 7 gubernatiorial candidates is gambling. Neither Gov. John Baldacci nor his Republican re-election challenger Chandler Woodcock is a fan of casino gambling, but that's about all they agree on.
The issue elicited a variety of views from the other contestants in the seven-person Blaine House field. But all acknowledge that voters have spoken on the matter, and said yes.
"Mainers gambling is already a reality," Pat LaMarche, the Green Independent Party candidate, told The Associated Press in a survey of all of the candidates on gambling and on specific gambling-related questions due to appear on the November 2007 ballot.
The first referendum question asks whether the Passamaquoddy tribe should be allowed to run a harness-racing track with slot machines and high-stakes beano games in Washington County.
The second asks whether slot machines should be banned in Maine.
Each of the candidates said they would respect the will of the voters. But voters themselves can express contradictory sentiments as they did in 2003 when they allowed slots at harness-racing tracks, but said no to an Indian casino.
Baldacci, a Democrat seeking a second, four-year term, has twice vetoed bills calling for a Down East racino. Now that gambling's here, he agrees with a position taken by the state Gambling Control Board recommending that lawmakers and the public wait to determine the social impact of the new Bangor Slots before allowing any expansion of gambling, thus hinting support for the proposed ban.
Woodcock said he opposes the development of casinos in Maine. But he supports racino projects, as endorsed by Maine voters, as a means of enhancing harness racing and the agricultural community. He supported the proposal for an Indian casino in Washington County when it came up for a Senate vote earlier this year and supports passage of the referendum question relating to that proposal.
The only other party-backed candidate on the ballot, LaMarche, said Maine has state-sanctioned gambling in the form of lottery games and that gambling is widely accessible in other forms.
Out-of-state casinos are few hours away, and "every Mainer with access to a computer has access to e-gambling," said LaMarche.
She believes that a casino, which would create jobs and generate revenue for state programs.
July 17, 2006
Posted By Tom Jones
Staff Editor, CasinoGamblingWeb.com
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