In Montgomery’s political circles, so far mum’s the most popular word on slot machine gambling.
The anti-slots movement being led by Marylanders United to Stop Slots lists more than 100 steering committee members, but only six state legislators and one council member representing Montgomery County are on the roster.
Montgomery Councilman George Leventhal, the lone participant, said he’s working against slots because he doesn’t think the state can get the machines without doing business with companies linked to organize crime.
“We should raise money in an appropriate and transparent way, and I don’t think slots machines are that,” Leventhal said. He says he’s not bothered that no other council members have joined Marylanders United to Stop Slots.
Fellow slots opponent Del. Luiz Simmons, however, is frustrated with his state legislative colleagues.
“Slots are the easy road for politicians to travel down; it holds the promise of a free lunch, all net-net and no cost,” the Montgomery Democrat said. “Overwhelmingly, those who lose money are the poor, the old, the vulnerable and racial minorities, the very same people we’re always saying we are trying to help.”
County Executive Ike Leggett last summer asked Montgomery’s state legislators and council members to hold their fire on the topic. Now, Leggett’s spokesman Patrick Lacefield reiterated that Leggett remains personally opposed to slots but said he has not yet decided whether to publicly lobby for either side during the months before the November referendum.
Simmons said, “The Montgomery County political establishment has caved in here.” What bugs him the most, he added, is that Montgomery’s state legislators, who largely fought together against slots proposals from former Republican Gov. Robert Ehrlich, were vital to passing this year’s referendum.
“I thought when many people spoke out against Ehrlich’s slots, that they spoke on principle,” Simmons said. “It turns out they spoke on politics. Here’s a group that said rhetorically, we’re against slots, but when push came to shove, the referendum couldn’t have passed without them.”
