What is referendum Question 2 really about?
By Rep. Michael Willette
(R-Presque Isle)
Question 2 is about harness racing; it’s about gaming in Maine; it’s about our state’s relationship with a proud nation called the Passamaquoddy; and it’s about agriculture and jobs.
All of these are critical and all of these are issues that we have the power to promote.
As legislators do in Augusta, we talk a lot about creating jobs. Most of the time, we’re fighting to help create the right conditions for entrepreneurs, and for businesspeople to employ more people, lower taxes, and set the right kind of regulation to create a business-friendly environment. In other words, we’re usually working on things that make a difference over the long haul.
But every now and then, we all get the chance to vote for something that can make an immediate difference in creating new jobs, saving current jobs and generating substantial revenues for the state without increasing taxes. Question 2 is one of those times.
If we vote “yes” on Question 2 the developers of the racino in southern Maine have pledged that as quickly as they can secure their licenses and permits, they will start construction on their facility. That construction project will put 800 skilled workers on the job, 800 people at a time when people across Maine are desperately looking for work.
And when that facility is completed, it will employ another 570-plus people who will be working for a top flight company. Ocean Properties is a company with 1000 people already working in Maine.
In Washington County, the county with Maine’s highest unemployment rate, we do not have a firm number of jobs to be created but we know the Passamaquoddys are well positioned to fast track their proposed project as well in the host city of Calais. This will put people to work in a part of Maine that for too long has suffered as one of the poorest counties in the country.
Now I said earlier, Question 2 is also about our relationship with the Passamaquoddys. And this is a critical piece of information. Because unlike the southern Maine racino that had already been approved by the voters in 2003, a majority of Mainers have never endorsed a Washington County racino. The Maine Legislature did back in 2007 only to have the measure vetoed by Governor Baldacci. But it is vital for us to keep in mind that allowing the Passamaquoddy Tribe to own a racino is simply fair. Because of an unusual legal history, the Passamaquoddy Nation is one of the few federally-recognized tribes with no gaming rights. That’s why in 2007 the Maine Legislature passed the citizen’s initiated bill to allow the tribal racino in Calais and that’s why Washington County residents voted for that measure by a 70-30 margin.
The jobs we need to save are those of Maine harness racing, an important part of Maine agriculture for over a century and a great preserver of productive open land – land that stays on local property tax rolls. The industry includes approximately 1,700 licensees, race meets at two commercial tracks and nine of our wonderful agricultural fairs and, perhaps most importantly, features family-owned horse farms across the entire state. Maine cannot afford to lose those existing jobs to states like Delaware, New York, and Pennsylvania, where fully-integrated racinos are expanding employment in harness racing.
Given the clear merits of the Question 2, rejecting it would be an unfortunate mistake and we would have a repeat of what happened in 2007, when residents of northern and eastern Maine voted overwhelming for a Washington County racino and felt their votes and their interests were overridden by residents living hours away.
Because Question 2 is plainly in the best interest of the entire state and because the projects also have overwhelming local support, I urge you to vote “yes” on Question 2.
