Governor Listens to Gambling Opponents

EXPANDED GAMBLING OPPONENTS MAKE PITCH TO PATRICK

By Kyle Cheney
STATE HOUSE NEWS SERVICE

STATE HOUSE, BOSTON, DEC. 7, 2009.....Opponents of expanded gambling in Massachusetts, after a sit-down Monday with the state’s chief executive, described an engaged Gov. Deval Patrick ready with a raft of questions about the potential pitfalls of bringing slots or casinos to Massachusetts.

Patrick, who last year championed a failed proposal to bring casino gambling to Massachusetts, quizzed the opponents during a 75-minute meeting –15 minutes longer than scheduled in order to accommodate the governor’s questions, according to attendees.

Kathleen Norbut, president of United to Stop Slots in Massachusetts, said those who attended the meeting urged the governor to get behind a new cost-benefit analysis of expanded gambling in Massachusetts.

“What I sense is, as time has passed and more data has emerged, that disputed the revenues of his proposal and as the economy has significantly changed, he’s had an opportunity to take a look at this and his administration, from a different altitude,” Norbut told the News Service. “I think there was a very important exchange about the need for a fresh cost-benefit analysis, that the economics have changed since his original proposal for casinos.”

A Patrick spokesman described the gathering as “a good meeting.”

“The Governor appreciated the feedback from the attendees and will be following up with legislative leadership promptly,” said the spokesman, Alex Goldstein. A leadership meeting between the governor, Senate President Therese Murray and House Speaker Robert DeLeo, scheduled for 4 p.m., was canceled due to a scheduling conflict for the Senate president, according to the governor’s office.

In September, House Speaker Robert DeLeo said Massachusetts should authorize resort casinos in addition to slot machines at racetracks, laying out a vision of expanded gaming that could launch a proliferation of venues around the state. Murray has called casinos in Massachusetts “inevitable” but Patrick’s support for casinos has softened somewhat and the governor in recent months has made a point of emphasizing that any expanded gambling foray must take into account the human toll on gamblers.

Last month, Patrick described any agreement among state leaders about the future of gambling in Massachusetts as “general,” adding that “by no means is there agreement on exactly what contours it ought to take.” Speaking on WTKK-FM Nov. 4, Patrick said, “I don't want anybody in the Legislature to be thinking about expanded gaming as a quote fix unquote for the fiscal challenges facing the commonwealth. It's not. It's not. It's another job-creating opportunity, which has to be done right and because there are real human costs. That has to be faced. There are real human costs. We have to be very, very clear and careful about the regulatory framework that that business comes into.” Asked by host Jim Braude whether there would eventually be Bay State casinos, Patrick said, “That remains to be seen.”

Opponents of expanded gambling say casinos and slot parlors derive the bulk of their earnings from addicted gamblers, driving many into bankruptcy and steering their dollars away from other areas of the economy. They also cite higher crime rates and ramifications for friends and families of gambling addicts. Backers of casinos cite potential for the creation of thousands of good-paying jobs and hundreds of millions of dollars in tax revenues, at a time when state spending has consistently outpaced tax collections.

The dozen attendees of the meeting included former Democratic lieutenant governor nominee Bob Massie; Sen. Susan Tucker (D-Andover); Rebekah Gewirtz, director of government relations at the National Association of Social Workers; Massachusetts Family Institute director of public policy Evelyn Reilly; Massachusetts Council of Churches associate director Laura Everett; National Organization to Stop Predatory Gambling executive director Les Bernal; League of Women Voters executive director Kelly Marcimo; Somerville Democrat Fred Berman; political consultant Tom Cosgrove; Middleborough resident Jessie Powell, United to Stop Slots Massachusetts webmaster and Bridgewater resident Mary Tufts; and Palmer Citizens Impact Study Committee member Stephen Sears. Secretary of Health and Human Services JudyAnn Bigby, Secretary of Housing and Economic Development Greg Bialecki attended as well.

Norbut said Patrick grilled attendees about “dynamics that have happened on the local level,” including what she described as efforts by some local public officials to force gaming upon their constituents.

United to Stop Slots in Massachusetts is also sponsoring a Thursday forum featuring former Gov. Michael Dukakis, former Attorney General Scott Harshbarger, Sen. Susan Tucker and Democratic U.S. Senate contender Alan Khazei to outline their opposition to expanded gambling. The event is scheduled for 7 p.m. at Faneuil Hall.

A jacketless Patrick invited the attendees into the 2 p.m. meeting, which was requested by the gaming opponents. Norbut said the meeting followed similar appointments with Bigby, Bialecki, Lt. Gov. Tim Murray and First Assistant Attorney General David Friedman.

Norbut said opponents of expanded gambling believe the governor has “modified his stance” on gaming since his proposal failed last year.

“I think he’s certainly taking a different position and learned that both the data and proposal that he put forth was flawed, and that was in the old economy,” she said. “It’s clear to even casual observers that he’s certainly modified his stance.”

Last week, Bialecki said the administration plans to let the Legislature drive the gambling debate, noting that they voted down Patrick’s proposal last session.

Rep. Brian Dempsey (D-Haverhill), who co-chairs the Legislature’s economic development committee, which has jurisdiction over gambling proposals, did not return a phone call seeking comment.