AUGUSTA – A full-fledged advertising campaign by Maine horsemen aimed at taming proposed racino regulations riled the governor and lawmakers Tuesday. The ads were later pulled and the Senate went on to approve the proposal.
“Lies, innuendo and intimidation are not how we do business in Maine,” Kurt Adams, the governor’s chief lawyer, said Tuesday at a press conference. The governor demanded that the ads be pulled.
The television, radio and newspaper ads “were the most upsetting piece of garbage I have ever witnessed in my life,” said Rep. Patricia Blanchette, D-Bangor. “The people that ran those ads owe the governor and the legislative committee that has worked (on) LD 1820 through the process an apology.”
In a final vote on the racino bill Tuesday afternoon, the Senate passed it 29-3, sending it on to Gov. John Baldacci for his signature.
Hours earlier the Maine Harness Horsemen’s Association pulled the ads. “We made the call at 10 o’clock this morning,” said Bill Hathaway of Turner, secretary and former president of the group. Hathaway said he would apologize for any inaccuracies “that might have been in the ads if I could find one, but I haven’t been able to find one yet.”
Money for the ads came from Shawn Scott’s Capitol Seven, Hathaway said. Scott sold Bangor Raceway – location of the state’s one racino – to Penn National Gaming Inc. While the sale price is not public, there’s speculation that if the racino bill takes effect, Scott’s price from Penn National would diminish, said Bangor Mayor Dan Tremble.
The ads encouraged Mainers to call lawmakers and urge them to reduce the amount of the state’s take of racino profits. The original law behind Question 2, approved by voters last November, said the state and horsemen would split 25 percent of racino profits. Tracks would have gotten the remaining 75 percent.
The law passed by the Senate Tuesday will give the state and Maine horsemen essentially 49 percent of the profits, with the track getting 51 percent.
The 49 percent tax “is Baldacci-speak for no racino,'” the ads said, taking the governor to task numerous times for not sticking with the referendum’s original wording. The ads said the high rate would cause the racino to fail.
By noon, a press conference was under way with lawmakers and others condemning the ads for “attacking” the governor. The ads were “the latest underhanded tactic by the corrupt elements of the gambling industry that highlights the need for rigorous governmental oversight and regulation,” Adams said.
After the press conference, Hathaway responded that while the racino tax rate was proposed by legislators, not Baldacci, the ads targeted him because “the governor’s the boss. I find it difficult to believe that the governor doesn’t have any influence over the legislative process.”
Hathaway said that more offensive ads had originally been developed by Scott, but they never ran because Maine horsemen objected. Horsemen were then given the authority to put together the new ads.
“The ads are fairly innocuous,” said Denise McNitt, a spokeswoman for the Maine Harness Horsemen’s Association. “Our intention was not to make the governor mad,” but Baldacci “is the guy at the top of the pyramid.”
Lawmakers said the rate is similar to rates in other states, and that a portion of the money would be used to protect taxpayers from illegal gambling activities. “We’re giving it our best estimate as to what will it cost the state,” Blanchette said, saying if the tax turns out to be too high, it could be changed next year.
bwashuk@sunjournal.com
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