Racino bill lacks votes to beat veto Baldacci firmly opposed

AUGUSTA – An affirmative final vote Friday in the Maine Senate on a proposed Washington County tribal casino and racetrack, called a racino, fell far short of the two-thirds support needed to overturn a promised veto from the governor.

While prospects for a supermajority vote remained promising in the 151-member House, hopes were fading in the 35-member Senate following the 19-15 vote Friday afternoon. Although the tally was the same as a preliminary vote taken in the Senate Thursday, different senators were absent for each ballot.

If Sen. Karl Turner, R-Cumberland, had been present Thursday he would have supported the measure and the Senate vote on the casino would have been 20-15.

On Friday, racino opponent Sen. Mary Black Andrews, R-York, was absent and Sen. Lois Snowe-Mello, R-Poland, changed her Thursday “yes” vote to a “no.” Had Andrews been present Friday, the vote for the tribal racino would have been 19-16.

Gov. John E. Baldacci said Thursday he would veto LD 1573 if it reached his desk on the basis that the legislation was “not sustainable economic development.”

The bill was, in fact, forwarded to the governor for his signature Friday. Members of the governor’s staff said Baldacci had not changed his mind and that the promised veto could be expected “at any time” after this weekend.

Sen. Kevin Raye, R-Perry, was not holding out much hope for overriding Baldacci’s veto in the Senate. If all 35 members were present during such a vote, it would require 24 affirmative votes to overturn the veto and allow the bill to become law over the objections of the governor.

As a result, some lawmakers were planning on a full-court press to try convincing the governor that Maine’s Indian tribes and the residents of Washington County need the kind of economic activity the casino could bring to stimulate growth in the state’s poorest region.

“We hope to appeal to the governor’s conscience,” said Sen. Kevin Raye, R-Perry. “The governor needs to look into his conscience and put politics aside.”

State Reps. Don Marean, R-Hollis, and Gary Moore, R-Standish, are both horsemen and said Friday they will lead a group of harness racing drivers and trainers plus members of the Passamaquoddy and Penobscot tribes to the State House on Thursday.

Marean, who is a member of the U.S. Trotting Association’s Board of Directors, expects the group to arrive at 9 a.m. and for the event to run from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m., primarily in the parking lot nearest the governor’s office.

“We want to say thank you to everyone for all the support we received on the racino,” Marean said in a prepared statement. “We want to draw the attention of the governor and hope he finds a soft spot in his heart not to veto this legislation. We just want to show that we’re not giving up. This is an opportunity that knocks only once in a coon’s age. We just want to show we’re honest in our intent and serious about this.”

The bill would allow Maine’s Passamaquoddy Tribe to operate up to 1,500 slot machines, a horse racing track and, potentially, a high-stakes bingo hall, hotel and other facilities somewhere in Washington County.

Sponsored by Passamaquoddy Tribal Rep. Frederick Moore, the legislation requires proceeds to be distributed, in part, to Maine’s three other tribes, county development initiatives, and provide dedicated funds benefiting the harness racing industry and college scholarships.

The bill also requires municipal approval to operate slot machines before the tribe will be eligible to receive a slots-operating license at whatever location they select.