Conn. officials to address casino foes in Maine

YORK – Two elected municipal officials from the Connecticut areas where casinos are located are scheduled to speak Wednesday evening when opponents of casino gambling in Maine hold what’s being billed as a “war-room planning session.”

Mayor Wes Johnson of Ledyard, Conn., and Selectman Bob Congdon of Preston, Conn., are scheduled to address casino opponents at the 7 p.m. meeting in Saco.

The Mashantucket Pequot Nation owns the Foxwoods Resort Casino near Ledyard and the Mohegans own and run the Mohegan Sun in Uncasville.

Maine Indian tribes want to build a casino in southern Maine. Their proposal is expected to go before the Legislature next year, but voters in seven southern Maine communities have already said they don’t want casino gambling in their towns, near their towns or in the state.

Biddeford appears to be more open to the proposal, and officials from the city were to visit Connecticut to look at the casinos there.

Johnson said Monday he planned to discuss the impact of casino gambling on public safety, quality of life, taxes, planning and zoning. He also plans to discuss the process through which Indian tribes seek federal recognition in order to operate casinos.

Casinos do have positive effects, Johnson acknowledged, but they probably are outweighed by negatives. For example, they create jobs, but Johnson said the labor pool in his area is too small to meet the demands of a casino.

As a result, it must hire workers from other countries, and their wages are insufficient to secure adequate housing. Johnson said that in one town neighboring Ledyard, there are cases in which 18 to 20 casino workers live in a single house.

In another town, the schools have enrolled new students from cultures representing more than two dozen languages, creating hardships for the local school system.

“It’s things like that that need to be looked at before people say this is a good idea,” Johnson said.

Supporters say a casino would produce $100 million in annual revenues for Maine. Connecticut’s casino industry has helped the region to weather defense-industry cutbacks and helped balance that state’s budget.

It has also provided extra aid to cities and towns and has boosted tourism in southern New England.