The Passamaquoddy Tribe handed in an estimated 61,000 signatures Monday calling for a referendum on an Indian-run racino in Washington County, saying it is now up to the Legislature to authorize the gaming parlor or face political fallout at the polls.
“The intention is to put it before the Legislature first. They could do the wise thing and enact it,” said tribal Rep. Fred Moore, or face a political battle that will be played out at the polls in November.
“We’re 90 to 99 percent Democratic currently,” Moore said of the tribes in the state. “That’s changing rapidly. We don’t like to be held and kept on welfare,” he said, and want a chance to create businesses, including a racino and an LNG terminal on tribal-owed coastal land.
“We will support those who support us and oppose those that don’t,” he added.
The Legislature last year twice approved a racino bill for Washington County, first allowing a race track and slot machines to be set up there without voter approval and then putting it out for a statewide vote.
Both bills were vetoed by Gov. John Baldacci, who has opposed casino-style gambling in the state even though voters statewide approved slots at the horse track in Bangor – the governor’s home turf.
When the Legislature came back into session this year, the tribe pushed for sending a new bill to committee that would allow Washington County alone to vote on a racino in a June referendum. That proposal easily passed the House, but was defeated by the Senate last week by one vote.
Legislators across party lines, who support the racino, say what’s good for Bangor is good for Washington County.
“It’s not about the Indians, per se,” Moore said. “It’s about Washington County.”
The county is one of the poorest in the state and a racino, proponents say, would attract Canadian tourists who pass through Calais on their way to somewhere else.
State Rep. Ed Dugay, a Democrat from Cherryfield in Washington County, said Monday he has been working with the tribe for the last three months to help gather signatures.
“The tribe has actually become the economic development force in Washington County,” Dugay said.
Both Dugay and Moore said they wouldn’t be surprised to see the Legislature take up the racino issue one more time once the petition signatures are validated.
Under law, at least 50,519 signatures – or 10 percent of the number of people who voted in the last gubernatorial election – have to be certified by the Secretary of State for the question to appear on the ballot. That office has until March 1 to validate the petitions.
The question on the petition reads: “Do you want to allow a Maine tribe to run a harness racing track with slot machines and high-stakes beano games in Washington County?”
Moore said signatures have been gathered from across the state and in every major town in Maine.
“There’s no reason they can’t look at these signatures and see this as a clear expression of Maine voters,” Moore said.
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