The pressure is on Prince George’s and Montgomery County residents to vote their wallets, not their hearts, when it comes to a November ballot referendum that could bring 15,000 slot machines to Maryland.
Residents of the two Washington suburban counties are the most solidly anti-slots voters in Maryland, making up the only region in the state where more people say they will vote against slots than for them in November, according to a recent poll.
Patrick Gonzales, president of Gonzales Research & Marketing Strategies, said his Aug. 29 to Sept. 5 study shows 50 percent of Prince George’s and Montgomery voters oppose slots, 42 percent favor them and 8 percent are undecided.
So, Gov. Martin O’Malley, the main proponent of the gambling referendum, has put the squeeze on suburban voters at recent stops in both counties, lobbying for slots at every mention of local fiscal problems.
Will the state help fund its mandate for a likely very costly storm-water management plan in Montgomery?
“I sure hope so,” Gov. Martin O’Malley told The Examiner. “That’s another reason it’s so important we pass slots.”
Heard about the 10 days of mandatory unpaid leave for Prince George’s workers, and at least two furlough days for Montgomery employees?
“Furloughs, cuts, tax increases, those are all the things that every state is going to be wrestling with, as will Maryland,” O’Malley said. “I do believe that if we’re able to pass the slots referendum in the fall, we’ll be in a better place for handling this than we will be if it doesn’t pass. If it doesn’t pass, it will take what’s already painful and ugly decisions and just make it all the worse.”
The message is getting through to local leaders, who are increasingly lining up behind O’Malley.
Montgomery County Executive Ike Leggett had been a opponent to slots for 15 years but last week endorsed the idea, saying he worried that if the measure failed, state budget cuts would fall disproportionately on Montgomery County.
In Prince George’s, where local church and community leaders are among the most outspoken foes of the slots referendum, County Executive Jack Johnson has said he isn’t opposed to slots, just as long as there aren’t any in his county.
Del. Luiz Simmons, a fervent anti-slots state legislator from Montgomery, says he’s resigned to slots ultimately passing. According to Simmons, it will be tough for opponents of the measure to counter the money and star power of those in favor of slots.
“The governor is running around telling people it will mean higher taxes if they don’t pass it,” Simmons said. “People will be flummoxed. There will be millions spent by the gambling industry to disfigure the public’s understanding of what’s at stake, the governor will be leading the charge, and under those circumstances, it will pass.”
