Camps gird for war of words leading up to referendums

PORTLAND – The lines are being drawn for what will be a short and lively campaign with plenty of advertising and rhetoric over the Dec. 30 racino referendums in Saco and Westbrook.

On Monday, the anticasino group Casinos No! announced it would help two groups oppose referendum initiatives asking if slot machines should be allowed at horse tracks in those cities. Casinos No! organized the campaign against a casino referendum, which Mainers rejected 2-1 in the Nov. 4 election.

Meanwhile, a group of Westbrook residents announced Monday they had formed a pro-racino group called Westbrook Citizens for Jobs and the Economy.

Organizers on both sides said they expect to see radio and print advertising, political signs, brochures, public discussions and other elements of traditional campaigns in the three weeks before the referendums. Some TV advertising is possible.

“It’ll have everything you saw from last November’s election,” said Bob Morrill, treasurer of Westbrook Citizens for Jobs and the Economy.

Mainers in November approved allowing slot machines at Scarborough Downs and Bangor Raceway horse tracks, provided local residents also approved.

Bangor voters approved of slots in June, but Scarborough Downs is now looking to relocate because Scarborough voters in the Nov. 4 election opposed allowing a racino in their town.

Casinos No! spokesman Dennis Bailey said his group will assist No Slots Saco and the Westbrook-based Our City, Not Slots organizations in their antiracino campaigns.

Bailey said Casinos No! will provide advice on things such as fund raising, strategy and message-building, as well as providing staff. He said his group also will work to have the racino law amended – if not repealed to let Mainers vote on it a second time.

“People only got half the story, and the half they got was lies,” Bailey said.

Morrill said Mainers knew what they were voting on when they approved slot machines at horse tracks in the November election, 53 percent to 47 percent. He said his group’s campaign will be financed by Scarborough Downs and Penn National Gaming, who have formed a partnership to build a racino in southern Maine.

“The racino opportunity is absolutely understood by voters,” he said. “This vote is a vote for opportunity.”

Capital Seven, the Las Vegas company that wants to bring slot machines to Bangor Raceway, also has become embroiled in the Saco and Westbrook referendums.

Capital Seven is funding a political action committee, Maine Opportunities, that opposes allowing Scarborough Downs and Penn National to build a racino together. Capital Seven said it has a contract with Scarborough Downs to build a racino in southern Maine and has filed a federal lawsuit to that effect.

Maine Opportunities has been broadcasting radio ads urging residents to vote against the Dec. 30 referendums, calling them “casino schemes.”