House, Senate vote in support of tribal racino

While the Maine House of Representatives and Senate have voted in support of the Passamaquoddy racino bill, both bodies failed to give the two-thirds majority that would be needed to override an expected veto of the measure by Governor John Baldacci. On April 10, the House voted 80 to 62 for the bill, which is 12 votes short of two-thirds, and the following day the Senate voted 22 to 12, which is one vote short. The bill will go back for another vote in the House before heading to the governor.

Passamaquoddy Rep. Donald Soctomah says the Senate vote may persuade some House members to reconsider their votes against the bill. "It's a strong vote. It's sending a strong message from the State House," he comments.

Senator Kevin Raye of Perry says both houses are "on the cusp" of having enough votes for an override, but he notes that "it's a different dynamic" to vote on overriding a veto, with legislators changing their votes in both directions. "It's hard to predict," he observes.

Soctomah says that CasinosNo! has been "lobbying hard" against the proposal and successfully changed some votes in the House. "They're bent on destroying this." He is urging supporters of the bill to call the governor's office and ask him not to veto it. "The communities have to be active, too," he says. If the initiated bill is vetoed and the legislature fails to override the veto, it will go to a statewide referendum.

Soctomah believes that other gambling proposals that have now come forward for legislative consideration, including a bill to allow the Penobscot Nation to operate 400 of the 1,500 slot machines currently allowed by Maine law and a proposal for a casino in Oxford County, have not hurt the Passamaquoddy Tribe's proposal. He has heard some comments, though, that the racino bill is "opening the floodgates" to gambling in the state.
The tribe's racino proposal is for not only a commercial harness racing track with up to 1,500 slot machines, but also for a destination resort, with a hotel and an 18-hole golf course. No site has yet been decided on by the tribe.

The Passamaquoddy Joint Tribal Council recently voted to increase the amount being set aside in the racino measure for scholarships at the Washington County Community College from 1% to 2 1/2% of the racino's revenues. Based on the revenue stream at Hollywood Slots in Bangor, that would amount to over $1 million, according to Soctomah. Another 1% of the revenues would be targeted for scholarships at the University of Maine at Machias.
Although the increase in scholarship revenue has "helped a little with the chances of passage" of the measure, Soctomah notes that some legislators are wondering why other counties are being left out of the scholarship funding. The Washington County legislative delegation replied that Washington County is where the funds are needed the most, Soctomah notes.

The House and Senate votes follow on a strong 12-1 vote by the Legal and Veterans Affairs Committee in favor of the bill. One member of the committee, Rep. Gary Moore of Standish, noted that he had heard racist comments by legislators about the proposal, and Soctomah says he heard, indirectly, that another legislator was told that the reason that unemployment is so high in Washington County is because no one wants to work. Soctomah says he has responded by stating, "The people in Washington County are hard-working people, and they just want a chance to make a living." Soctomah says that he praised Moore for making his comments. "Most people wouldn't have come forward," says Soctomah. "It took a lot of guts."

The tribe's representative says he would much rather have the legislature enact the measure than have it go to statewide referendum, noting that would be costly. He says the people of the state have already voted to support two racinos, one at the Bangor Raceway and the other at Scarborough Downs, which was rejected locally. Although those racinos are for existing harness racing tracks, and the Passamaquoddy proposal is not for an existing track, Soctomah notes that Washington County once did have three racetracks.

In his testimony in support of the bill, Raye stated, "The fact that the Maine's Native people have been denied that same opportunity to bring economic growth to their home area and Maine's poorest county is a source of great pain and sorrow for the Passamaquoddy people and for the people of Washington County, who have long supported the Passamaquoddys' dream. We have been forced to watch from the sidelines as the progress and economic boost we have long sought for our area has instead lifted others." He noted that Washington County's unemployment rate is chronically more than double that of the rest of the state, the median household income is the lowest in Maine at less than half the median income of Cumberland and York counties, and Washington County children under 17 suffer a 70% higher rate of poverty than their counterparts across Maine. He noted also that the Domtar mill in Baileyville had just announced that it would be closing down its paper machine for over a month, laying off 100 workers.

"I hope we will once again vote to extend equality of opportunity to a part of Maine sorely in need of an economic lift and extend fairness to Maine's tribes who have long sought to strengthen their economic position," he stated. "The time has come to reward the 15-year effort of the Passamaquoddys and the people of Washington County and give them an opportunity to develop a full-fledged racino resort -- an endeavor that envisions a hotel, conference center and expanded golf course -- amenities that can provide the critical mass necessary to help us become a destination."