PLEASANT POINT – Several members of the Passamaquoddy tribe said Wednesday they believe racism played a role in voters’ rejection of their efforts to build a racino in Washington County.

It was a day of bitter disappointment for many tribal members just hours after the votes were counted from Tuesday’s statewide referendum. Most of the political signs that read, “Vote Yes on 1” were gone. Faces were grim. Conversations were muted at the elderly meal site.

The tribe had hoped to build a harness racetrack, casino, hotel and conference complex in neighboring Calais. The plan called for a multimillion-dollar destination facility on 700 acres.

But they ran into organized opposition in the form of CasinosNO!, a political action group which ran a highly effective advertising campaign urging the measure’s defeat.

Leading up to the vote, some Passamaquoddys said they were mildly optimistic that the proposal would squeak by. But by 10 p.m. Tuesday the narrow margin that separated the yes votes from the no seemed to hold firm. In the end, with 99 percent of the votes counted Wednesday, the question went down in defeat 142,347 to 130,056.

Tribal member Clayton Cleaves, who was in his office at the housing authority overlooking Passamaquoddy Bay on Wednesday, said he knew why the measure had failed.

“My friend, coming from the heart, I really truly believe that it is racism,” the soft-spoken Cleaves said. “You have naturally born Indian-haters, that’s the bottom line.”

It has been like that forever, Cleaves added. “For some reason they want us to stay under welfare. But we are going to pop out of that, I don’t know when, [but] we are going to come out of that.”

Pleasant Point Chief Rick Phillips Doyle said it is difficult not to think racism played a role in the outcome, given the history of the now 1,400-member tribe.

“I think to a large extent it was,” he said. “I was thinking that it was more of the same oppression we’ve been under for hundreds of years. I don’t discount that because time and time again, every time we propose something or try to do something as a tribe, we are always being told, ‘No, you can’t do it, you can’t do it,’ yet other people can do it. There is no social justice.”

Tribal member Ken Poynter said he was not surprised by the loss. “The state of Maine has an extensive history of being anti-Native. I don’t see that changing now or in the future,” he said.

“I think it is classism and racism,” tribal member Sandi Yarmal added. She is executive director of the reservation’s health center.

Niki Hilderbrand, another tribal member, agreed. “I think the people in southern Maine are prejudiced against the Indians,” she said. “They don’t want anything to happen up here, especially for the tribe.”

“It sucks,” tribal member Thomas Tinker, a clam digger, added. “It would have brought jobs, and it would have helped a lot of people around here.”

CasinosNO! Executive Director Dennis Bailey said the vote wasn’t about racism. “Why did the 2000 statewide vote go down in defeat?” he asked. “That was a statewide referendum to put slot machines in Scarborough Downs. We defeated that one, too. I understand their feelings, but I feel it is misplaced. That is certainly not CasinosNO! motive. … I am not going to pretend that racism doesn’t exist in Maine, but I don’t think it was a big factor in the outcome of that vote,” he said.

Economic help needed

“We need economic development,” tribal elder Joseph “Cozy” Nicholas said Wednesday. “What is the state going to do to help us?”

Gov. John Baldacci offered an e-mail response to the economic development question raised by voters in Washington County.

“I know that there is a lot of disappointment in Washington County and particularly in Calais. We will continue to work with local leaders on sustainable economic development,” Baldacci said in a prepared statement. “I hope that this vote will allow us to move forward and work together cooperatively for a strong economy not only in Washington County but in the entire state.”

Maine House Speaker Glenn Cummings, who opposed previous gambling initiatives but supported the latest measure, said Tuesday’s outcome was “very conclusive.” Now, the Portland Democrat said, the Legislature needs to look at alternatives.

“The need doesn’t go away simply because the racino was defeated,” said Cummings, who believes one approach could be offering residents of Washington County free tuition to its community college.

CasinosNO! chairman Philip Harriman said voters spoke clearly even though the opposing side spent far more money to get its pro-racino message across. He agreed that the vote intensifies the focus on helping Washington County.

“There’s no reason to celebrate,” said Harriman. “We would hope that legislative leaders and the governor will see this as an opportunity for another agenda for economic development.”

One possibility, Harriman said, is development of an east-west toll highway from Calais to Coburn Gore as proposed in August by Peter Vigue, president and CEO of Cianbro Corp. Another is declaring all of Washington County a Pine Tree Zone so businesses are offered incentives to locate there. Deep-water port development is another possibility, Harriman added.

Tribal member Cleaves said he wanted economic development and said he would extend a hand of friendship to the opponents to help the tribe pursue their goal.

“I would then say to them how can we become partners in a number of economic ventures,” he said. “I would say to them welfare is the root of all evil for any community and especially in our community here on the reservation,” he said. “It perpetuates the use of drugs and alcohol. It perpetuates more and more welfare. It perpetuates a lack of education. Kids drop out. … You know that is actually more detrimental to the taxpayers in the state of Maine than a casino or LNG,” a reference to an Oklahoma-based company’s efforts to build a liquefied natural gas facility at Pleasant Point.

The Passamaquoddy want to be less dependent on state and federal aid, Yarmal said. She said the state owes the health center hundreds of thousands of dollars in MaineCare payments. “I think that what would have happened with the passage of a racino, we would have been less reliant on the state of Maine,” she said. “I think that would be true of all aspects of tribal life.”

With the defeat of the racino, Nicholas said, economic development is needed now and not in the future. He offered a message to all those people from Portland to Texas who donated thousands of dollars to CasinosNO! “If you want to help bring in economic development, use all the influences you think you have by voting no and bring something in here,” he said.

But Bailey countered that he has worked on economic development in Washington County in the form of an LNG facility, but people in Washington County were divided on that issue. “Washington County has to decide what it wants,” he said. “I will gladly work on anything they decide they want.”

Backlash on gambling

“If people are so opposed to gaming, then all gambling -including state lotteries – should be stopped,” tribal member Poynter said. “Let’s not be hypocritical. It is either one way or the other. You can’t have it both ways. It would be interesting to find out of those who oppose the racino how many buy lottery tickets or scratch tickets. That would be an interesting thing to learn.”

Tribal elder Pat Sockabasin wondered why Bangor could have a racino, but the tribe could not have a racino. “If it’s good for one, then it’s good for the other,” she said.

Bailey agreed it was unfair to allow a private corporation to operate a racino in Bangor while denying the same thing to the tribe. He challenged the tribe to join CasinosNO! “to eradicate this blatant unfairness. If you truly believe that it is unfair to allow a single entity to operate slot machines in Maine, then let’s work together in a statewide effort to end this unfairness and end Maine’s growing addiction to slot machines,” Bailey said in an e-mail. Without the tribe’s help, Bailey concluded, CasinosNO! would not be able get Hollywood Slots out of Bangor.

But the tribe is not going to give up on gambling. Pleasant Point Chief Phillips Doyle said Tuesday it was time to regroup and go after it again. He said he was impressed with the favorable vote in Washington County. Around 70 percent of voters here supported the racino. “That is going to be the key to our eventual success as a county if we come together and support each other,” he said. “The tribe is glad to see our neighbors come out and help us.”

The Associated Press contributed to this report.