Poll: Mainers want slots law as written

BANGOR – According to a report released Tuesday, almost 61 percent of Mainers who took part in a recent public opinion poll said that the racino legislation approved on Nov. 4 should remain as is.

Even more of them – more than eight in 10 respondents – were supportive of the citizen referendum process, a means through which Mainers can place legislation directly on the ballot by collecting the required number of signatures.

A third of those contacted said state lawmakers should be allowed to amend the law as they see fit.

These are among the findings of a survey of 400 Maine residents conducted by a Portland firm, Strategic Marketing Services.

The poll was commissioned by the Citizens Committee for Revitalization of Historic Bangor Raceway, chaired by Brewer businessman and former horseman Tom Smith. The group, which consists of area residents who support the notion of a racetrack casino at Bass Park, is funded in large part by Shawn Scott, the millionaire entrepreneur who introduced the racino concept to the state almost two years ago.

Last year, Scott and his Capital Seven LLC led a successful statewide campaign to obtain voter approval to allow slot machines to be installed at the state’s commercial harness racing tracks, namely Bangor Raceway and Scarborough Downs.

Since the passage of that citizen-initiated legislation, Gov. John Baldacci, a vocal opponent of gambling, has introduced emergency legislation that would significantly tighten regulation of slots and allow the state to collect millions more in administrative costs beginning in fiscal year 2004.

Racino supporters are concerned that if the state takes too much of the revenue from slots, the Bangor project will no longer be economically viable.

On Tuesday, racino supporters hailed the results as proof that Mainers support the original slots legislation – and that they want the governor and lawmakers to allow it to remain intact.

“Capital Seven is excited to see these poll results. They confirm what we believe already to be true – that Maine voters want their votes to be respected and Question 2 to stay as it was passed,” said Christen Graham, a spokesperson for Capital Seven.

“The other thing that we thought was interesting about the poll was the demographic breakdown. To see the overwhelming support across the state – including southern Maine – shows that this issue transcends slot machines. The issue at hand now is the merit of our vote. Do our votes count? That is what most Mainers want to see protected,” Graham said.

Smith agreed.

“It just reaffirms our belief that it was the right thing to do. People responded 2 to 1 in our favor,” he said on his way back from Augusta, where he delivered copies of the poll’s findings to every member of the state’s House of Representatives and Senate.

“A lot of people around town are upset about the way this thing has gone,” he said in reference to the governor’s competing legislation.

The Legislature’s Legal and Veterans Affairs Committee already has conducted a public hearing and two work sessions on Baldacci’s bill. They are slated to hold another workshop at 1 p.m. today.

Despite racino supporters’ elation with the poll’s findings, the Baldacci administration remains concerned about the potential adverse effects of an expansion of gaming in Maine.

“Regardless of the results of this survey, the governor’s assertion is that the people who voted for Q2 were not given accurate or timely information,” Baldacci spokesman Lee Umphrey said Tuesday.

Umphrey added the governor’s office was not on Smith’s mailing list. Baldacci got his copy of the poll from David Nealley, Bangor city councilor and Capital Seven executive vice president.

“The governor hopes to partially rectify this by putting a Gambling Control Board in place and having as much public discussion as possible in the Legal and Vet Committee hearings to ensure that the public interest is protected,” he said.

Dennis Bailey, whose firm engineered the defeat of an Indian casino initiative last month, has been a vocal opponent of Scott and the racino concept.

“I just saw Shawn Scott’s poll,” he said Tuesday. “I’m sure that if you asked, ‘The governor is concerned that the voter-initiated bill will allow convicted felons to operate a racino. Knowing this, now do you think the Legislature should tighten the regulations?’ more than 60 percent would say yes.”