Sen. Jehlen plans no vote on casinos

Sen. Jehlen plans no vote on casinos
By Evan MacDonald/winchester@wickedlocal.com
Wicked Local Winchester


Winchester, MA — Next week, the Massachusetts State Senate is expected to take up a bill that would bring three casinos and a slot parlor to the state. When the time comes, State Sen. Patricia Jehlen plans to vote against the measure.

Jehlen, whose district includes Winchester, Medford, and parts of Woburn and Somerville, said she doesn’t think casinos would be beneficial to Massachusetts.

One of the proposed locations for a casino is Suffolk Downs in East Boston, which is only about five miles from the border of Jehlen’s district. She’s worried that the areas around a casino could see an increase in crime and traffic, and that local businesses would suffer a loss in revenue.

“There’s no new money here,” she said. “People are just going to stop spending in one place, and start spending at the casinos.”

She feels the state legislature should be concentrating its efforts elsewhere.

“There’s not a need for more gambling, there’s a need for more jobs,” she said. “That’s where our energy should be going.”

Proponents of the bill, which was approved by the state’s House of Representatives Sept. 15, have argued that it could create more than 15,000 new jobs, many in the construction industry.

“Those 15,000 new jobs would be good, but how many local jobs will be cut or eliminated?” Jehlen said. “That’s never been established.”

Jehlen said any additional revenue a casino brought in would be lost in other areas, such as increase in spending for crime prevention.

“It’s a very strange thing to bring in an industry that requires so much mitigation,” she said. “And the more you spend to mitigate, the less you get in benefit.”

Jehlen said gambling revenues are heavily dependent on the economy. She pointed to the fact that the unemployment rates in Nevada are among the highest in the country.

“Massachusetts has maintained its economic stability better than almost any other state through this recession,” she said. “We’ve done better than most because we have some stable and growing sectors. I think we would want to invest, and encourage development, in things that are sustainable, rather than cyclical.”