Governor, brother at odds on Bangor racino proposal

AUGUSTA – Only hours after his older brother appeared before the Bangor City Council in support of a proposed minicasino at Bass Park, Gov. John E. Baldacci condemned the plan and pledged to use the full power of his office to defeat the initiative.

“I’m opposed to it,” the governor said. “Whether it’s casinos or racinos, as far as I’m concerned, I’m opposed. I will speak out against them. I think there’s a better way [for economic development] – a longer lasting way.”

On Wednesday evening, the governor’s brother, Robert Baldacci, attended a Bangor City Council work session as a managing director for the consulting division of Pierce Atwood in Portland. The firm has been retained to promote a plan by Capital Seven LLC – the company that now operates the city-owned harness racing track at Bass Park – to install as many as 500 video lottery terminals, or slot machines, at the raceway. In the gambling industry, facilities that combine live track betting with slot machines are known as “racinos.” The proposal will ultimately be decided by voters in November during a statewide referendum.

The councilors agreed to the lobbyist’s request for a March 23 public hearing on a proposal to move the necessary local Bangor referendum vote on the gambling plan from November to June. Ironically, the question would be considered at the same time the governor wants voters to act on his $70 million economic bond package. Baldacci said that stimulus plan, along with his Pine Tree Opportunity Zone programs, are the real tools to economic development and prosperity in the Bangor area.

Eight of the designated opportunity zones would be created across the state to establish broad tax incentives encouraging business expansion. Some Bangor racino proponents maintain that revenue from organized gambling is the only way the city will be able to construct a new auditorium or civic center.

“There are other ways,” said the governor, a Bangor resident. “They need a plan to build a civic center and I don’t think they’ve actually come up with a rendition of what they’re looking for. I want to work with them and help them. The Pine Tree Zone could be used to encourage someone in the hotel [industry] as part of the overall development.”

While acknowledging his brother’s involvement on behalf of racino proponents inserted a certain “awkward” quality to the debate, the governor also said his brother is a private businessman who “has a right to pursue his own interests.”

“The governor has seven siblings who harbor different beliefs on a whole range of topics,” said Lee Umphrey, the governor’s communications director.