AROUND AND AROUND

Opponents of a casino at the Bangor racetrack, including this newspaper, had a lengthy opportunity to make their case to the public last June, before a local vote, and again before the November elections. In both cases, voters supported the racino. That should be more than sufficient evidence to city councilors circulating a petition that the question has been answered.

The November ballot not only asked the question statewide but voters knew the city had already reached an agreement with the developer Capital Seven to operate the facility. Bangor voter strongly supported the racino with this agreement in place this fall.

City Councilors Gerry Palmer and Annie Allen, among others, nevertheless have started to gather signatures on a petition they hope would cancel the deal with Capital Seven to bring the slot machines to Bangor. Whether it would do that is under some dispute. Their petition asks, “Shall the Order or Resolve, a copy of which is hereto attached, Be Adopted?” The order instructs the city manager to enter Bangor into an agreement with Capital Seven. City Manager Ed Barrett has already done that, so the petition, which could lead to a referendum if enough signatures are collected, doesn’t appear to serve much purpose except potentially to inform councilors that the public disagrees with a decision it supported when the council did too.

In responding to a reporter’s question about the propriety of a councilor circulating a petition after disagreeing with the majority of councilors on a question, Mr. Palmer said, “I haven’t given up my citizenship rights” by serving on the council, which is obviously correct. And two of the responsibilities that come with keeping those rights to see that the city maintains its good reputation by honoring its agreements and to keep issues before the council moving along.

Many more pertinent questions about the racino remain to be answered. Bangor would do best to concentrate on those and ensure it operates in as cleanly and open a process as possible.