Attorney to represent harness racing panel

BANGOR – A Bangor attorney has agreed to represent the Maine Harness Racing Commission, which is facing civil lawsuits from two Maine Indian tribes and a statewide anti-gambling group.

Bernard Kubetz of the Bangor law firm Eaton Peabody confirmed Wednesday that he had agreed to serve as the commission’s legal counsel.

“I am obviously very new to the case,” he said.

He acknowledged that he has a great deal of catching up to do and not much time in which to do it, given Penobscot County Superior Court Justice Andrew Mead’s plan to “fast track” appeals of the commission’s decision to award a conditional license to Penn National Gaming.

Mead said last week that he wanted to rule on the legal challenges made by the Penobscot Nation and Passamaquoddy Tribe, as well as from CasinosNo!, by March 31.

The groups claim that commissioners erred when they voted 3-1 earlier this month to deny the tribes and CasinosNo! intervenor status, or legal standing.

Ordinarily, staff in the Maine Attorney General’s Office would represent a state agency such as the Harness Racing Commission in court.

However, Attorney General Stephen Rowe last week informed the commission that it would have to obtain outside council, to be approved by Rowe, to represent the commissioners on appeals of its decisions.

At the time, Rowe indicated his decision was based on the five-member panel’s failure to follow his staff’s legal advice with regard to a request for legal standing from the two tribes, which want to operate a racetrack casino at Bangor Raceway.

The required racing license was issued to Penn National.

The Attorney General’s Office had advised the commission earlier this month that the tribes did have intervenor status in the licensing process. To that end, Rowe noted, “it would not be appropriate for this office to defend actions taken by the commission that were contrary to our advice.”

Rowe added that constitutional issues regarding the installation of slot machines at the raceway would have to be reviewed by his office.

In a related matter, Gov. John Baldacci’s second nominee to the five-member Maine Harness Racing Commission, Ann Jordan, was confirmed Wednesday in Augusta in a 12-1 vote.

Baldacci’s first nominee, George McHale of Orrington, sailed through his Senate confirmation without opposition. Also known as George Hale, the veteran sportscaster had served on the commission before, including time as its chairman.

A member of the Humane Society of the United States, Jordan was appointed to the state Animal Welfare Advisory Council by former Gov. Angus King in 2001 and continues to serve. Agriculture Commissioner Robert Spear named her to a working group on animal welfare in 2001.