0 Comments | Maryland Gazette, Jul 28, 2010 | by ERIN COX
With the location of Maryland’s most lucrative gambling emporium now up to Anne Arundel County voters, the issue has begun to emerge in races for everything from County Council seats to the Governor’s Mansion.
Some political observers do not expect the issue to dramatically drive voter turnout or tip the scales in statewide elections. But a week after Maryland’s highest court ordered a ballot measure on the casino, politicians have begun staking out positions to appeal to local voters.
Some have shunned all contributions from gambling interests, while others have declared support for the Arundel Mills mall casino and its hundreds of millions of dollars in revenue destined for government coffers. Still others have taken a hands-off approach, saying they’re pleased voters will get a chance to clarify what they want.
Gov. Martin O’Malley said Friday that
Laurel Park racetrack is the best venue for a casino, but that he’ll make sure slots revenue begins rolling in quickly regardless of the referendum outcome.
“Anne Arundel can win either way,” O’Malley said in an interview. “Everyone wants to get this up and running, but I think it’s more important to do it right than to do it someplace that people don’t want it.”
His leading political adversary, former governor Robert L. Ehrlich Jr., took a similar yet opposite approach, saying through an aide that the 4,750 slot machines destined for Anne Arundel are best suited for an entertainment destination at the mall in Hanover.
“We’re for getting slots into operation so that it could generate revenue for the state,” said Andy Barth, Ehrlich’s spokesman.
Grass-roots support
Organizations on both sides of the casino debate say they expect grass-roots support from county voters who have been moved to action either by the casino’s location or the fact that it has been delayed.
“Voters in Anne Arundel County are concerned about keeping their taxes down and creating job and career opportunities,” said Joe Weinberg, a principal with casino developer The Cordish Cos. “Our facility at Arundel Mills will generate over $30 million per year in revenue to the county and create 4,000 jobs.”
Heather Ford with Citizens Against Slots at the Mall, a coalition that includes the Maryland Jockey Club and Penn National Gaming, said the petition effort to put the matter on the ballot created an army of anti-casino volunteers.
“We hope that the people who are running for office will help this initiative, because they’ll see it’s in their best interest to support the cause,” Ford said. “They’ll see we have boots on the ground and that we’re well organized.”
If voters overturn zoning for the casino at Arundel Mills, the state would be back to square one and forced to rebid the license for an Anne Arundel gambling facility, officials said.
And that rebidding process would require another round of zoning fights before the County Council.
So far, Democrat Chris Trumbauer, a council candidate, and Mike Shay, the Green Party candidate for county executive, have signed the pledges.
Joanna Conti, the Democratic candidate for county executive, said she thinks turnout from anti-casino voters will help her campaign because she prefers slots to go to Laurel Park.
“As county executive, I will implement the will of the voter as quickly as possible,” Conti said.
Politicians such as County Executive John R. Leopold, who in the past heralded the money the Arundel Mills casino could bring to the county, have chosen not to take sides on the ballot issue.
“Mr. Leopold’s responsibility as the top administrator of the county is to abide by the law and the will of the people,” said Leopold’s spokesman, David Abrams
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