On paper, Question 1 appears to be a referendum on whether to allow a casino to open in York County. In reality, it represents the very worst of politics. Big money. Special interests. Shady deals. Dubious promises.
I urge all Mainers to vote no on Question 1, regardless of whether you support or oppose gambling, to send a simple message: Maine’s political process is not for sale.
Our state Constitution was amended in 1908 to give Mainers a mechanism to pass legislation at the ballot box. The “citizen initiative” was born, and it’s been used dozens of time since then to pass new laws.
The citizen initiative can be one of the purest expressions of democracy. It takes questions about the public good directly to the public itself. That’s what makes Question 1 such a perversion. The York County casino question isn’t designed to benefit the public good. It’s designed to benefit one man: Shawn Scott.
[No on Question 1: York County casino proposal a bad deal for Maine]
If that name sounds familiar, it’s for good reason. Scott was the man behind the creation of the Bangor casino back in 2003. Back then, he was a relative unknown. He spent more than $2 million buying a majority share of the Bangor harness racing track and financing the referendum campaign, which was approved by voters. Two months later, Scott sold the track and the casino license to a national gambling corporation and rode into the sunset, $51 million richer. Scott successfully hijacked the citizen initiative to make a fortune.
Now he’s looking to do it again. Aided by allies including his sister, Lisa Scott, he has spent years crafting a law that would benefit only himself. They used a complex web of shell companies and political organizations to obfuscate the money trail and to hide his involvement in the campaign. He has spent millions of dollars getting the referendum approved for the ballot and is spending millions more on misleading ads designed to convince Mainers to use their right as voters to line his pockets.
The value of a York County casino license is estimated to fall somewhere between $150 million and $200 million. Scott says he is invested in Maine and dedicated to making sure the casino is a success for jobs and the economy. That’s the same thing he said back in 2003. But we know the truth: Scott doesn’t care about Maine workers or Maine’s economy. He just wants to make his millions.
[A York County casino is good for Maine — and its tribes]
I’m a businessman myself, so I’m not opposed to anyone making a dollar. But there’s a difference between the honest pursuit of business success and the shallow, shady greed that brought us Question 1.
Our political system should not be the plaything of the rich and the powerful. A lot needs to change to prevent wealthy parasites like Scott from latching on to our political system for their own greedy ends. We need campaign finance reform to bring transparency to the process so that we know who stands to benefit from campaign contributions and expenditures, and to ensure a level playing field so that deep-pocketed special interests cannot drown out the voices of the people.
Until then, there’s one thing we can do: We can send Scott packing on Nov. 7. We can tell him and every other millionaire who thinks they can buy our referendum process that Maine is not for sale. We can say no to Question 1, to false promises and greed.
Mike Carpenter is the lead Senate Democrat on the Legislature’s Veterans and Legal Affairs Committee, which has jurisdiction over elections and gambling in Maine. He served four years as Maine’s attorney general.
Follow BDN Editorial & Opinion on Facebook for the latest opinions on the issues of the day in Maine.