Tribal casino plan pushed in response to Oxford proposal

A proposal for a casino in Oxford County is spurring the Passamaquoddy Tribe to have the state's voters reconsider the tribe's plans for a casino in Washington County. Black Bear Entertainment LLC gathered enough petition signatures that have been certified by the Maine Secretary of State for its proposal for a four-season resort casino in Oxford in western Maine to be considered next November on the statewide ballot. Now, the tribe, which has twice had its casino or racino proposals turned down on statewide ballots, is trying to get the legislature to approve a competing measure for a tribal casino and an Oxford County casino to be on the ballot, along with the stand-alone Oxford County proposal.

The Passamaquoddy governor at Pleasant Point, Richard Doyle, says the competing measure would specify that the tribal casino would be in Washington County. "Calais makes sense to us," he says, since customers could be drawn both from Canada and the U.S. Calais was the site for previous racino and casino proposals by the tribe.

"We came up with the idea first," before Hollywood Slots in Bangor and the Oxford County initiative, Doyle says, noting that the tribe has been attempting to establish a casino or racino in the state since 1992. "As a matter of fairness, we put our hat in the race again. It's been an idea of the tribe for a long time. It's a viable project for the tribe to pursue," he says.

Since the 2007 referendum defeat of a Calais racino, the tribe had not been actively pursuing a gambling proposal until the Oxford County measure was approved in February to be on the ballot. However, Doyle says the tribe might have considered pressing for one again at some point. "A casino has never left our realm of ideas for economic development."

With the citizen initiative for the Oxford County casino, the legislature can enact the initiative exactly as submitted; not act on the measure, in which case it will be placed on the November ballot; or place the initiative on the ballot together with a competing measure, so that voters can choose between the two measures or reject both. Passamaquoddy Rep. Donald Soctomah is proposing language for the competing measure for the legislature to consider, suggesting that it be for a tribal gaming proposal in Washington County, an Oxford County casino and possibly table games at Hollywood Slots. "Both counties are in desperate need of jobs and revenue," he says.

State Senator Kevin Raye of Perry says, "I'm certainly supportive of the effort to include the Passamaquoddy Tribe and Washington County." He says he brought Rep. Soctomah together with proponents of the Oxford County casino proposal to explore the possibility of working together. "It's too early for me to predict if that will work, but they agreed to keep the discussion going to see if there is a way to do it," Raye says. "The Passamaquoddys and other Washington County residents have been working on this issue for two decades, so I'm very troubled by the prospect of seeing those efforts relegated to the sidelines as yet another gaming facility is approved for elsewhere in the state. I believe it is a matter of fairness."

The legislature's Legal and Veterans Affairs Committee was scheduled to hold a hearing on the Oxford County casino initiative on March 11. Rep. Soctomah was expected to present his competing measure proposal, and Black Bear Entertainment was expected to ask the committee to vote out the Oxford County proposal with an "ought not to pass" recommendation, since Governor Baldacci would be expected to veto the legislation if it reached his desk. With the committee's rejection of the citizen initiative, it would be sent out directly to referendum vote in November.

As proposed under the initiative, 4% of the net income of the Oxford County casino would be forwarded to the tribal governments of the Passamaquoddy Tribe and the Penobscot Nation. Another 42% of the net income would be distributed to various sources, including 25% to the Department of Education for K-12 education, 4% to the University of Maine System Scholarship Fund and 3% to Maine Community College System scholarship funds.

The 4% of the net income for the Passamaquoddys and Penobscots would amount to an estimated $5 million annually to be split between the two tribes, but Doyle comments, "Four percent is nice, but if we had our own casino it would be a lot better." He adds, "They're just trying to appease the tribes so we don't do a competing measure." The Passamaquoddy governor understands that the Oxford County casino supporters fear, if a competing measure is on the ballot with their proposal, that "would be handing CasinosNo! another victory."

Along with efforts to get legislative approval for a racino or casino, the tribe has twice taken the gambling issue to voters in the state. In 2003 a proposal by the Passamaquoddy and Penobscot tribes for a casino in Sanford was turned down 2-1, while voters favored allowing slot machines at the commercial harness racing track in Bangor, which became Hollywood Slots. The Passamaquoddy Tribe's racino proposal for Calais was then rejected in a statewide referendum in 2007 by a margin of 52% to 48% or about 12,000 votes.

Although originally the competing measure was being considered to include the Passamaquoddy Tribe and Penobscot Nation, Doyle says only the Passamaquoddy Tribe is proceeding with the proposal, although it is supported by the Penobscot tribal government. The Passamaquoddy Joint Tribal Council was scheduled to discuss the competing measure at a meeting on March 10. Doyle notes that the initiative has support among councillors.

"If voters approve the Oxford County proposal, they should have the chance to approve ours," says the Passamaquoddy governor. "We feel optimistic" about the chances for passage on a statewide ballot. Doyle notes that in a gubernatorial election year the tribe "may get a truer gauge" of the population's support for the proposal. "There seems to be a lot of support in the state," he says.

Black Bear Entertainment is hoping for support among the state's voters, too, with spokesman Peter Martin observing, "The Hollywood Slots experience has proven that a casino can fit in nicely with a community, contribute to the state's economy and create jobs." He says market studies show that Black Bear will attract up to an estimated 50% of its customers from outside Maine, thereby drawing new visitors to Maine.

As supporters for a tribal casino have pointed to the high unemployment rate in Washington County, Black Bear Entertainment points to the 11% unemployment rate in Oxford County and the loss of 2,000 manufacturing jobs in the last couple of years. Black Bear's proposal would create an estimated 1,000 jobs and would direct approximately $32 million annually to the state's education budget.