Maryland?s legislature wrapped up the 2006 session the same way it began: with sharp division on important matters. Yet the issue that historians will record as the hallmark of the Ehrlich years was nearly entirely forgotten. The question of whether slot machines should be decriminalized in our state was almost totally absent. How did the governor?s top legislative priority completely vanish in four short years? In a nutshell, legislators and residents alike foundthat that the more they learned about slots, the less appealing they became.
Remember the early days of 2003, when the governor and his allies in the national gambling industry were promising that slots would be our salvation? We were told that massive revenues would solve problems ranging from budget issues to education to open space. It got to the point where every question put to the administration had one answer: slots.
But fundamental questions remained unanswered. The numbers being put forth were suspicious. Questions about the negative effects of gambling on communities were brushed aside. The governor went so far as to compare the devastating impact of gambling addiction with a fondness for chocolate.
The Maryland Senate, under the tight control of President Thomas Mike Miller, passed a slots bill without meaningful debate in 2003. This came as no surprise. Racetrack owner Joseph DeFrancis had given $225,000 to a Federal PAC then chaired by Sen. Miller. The FBI found this contribution to be suspicious enough to launch an investigation that was later dropped without explanation.
Meanwhile in the House of Delegates, elected officials were asking some very tough questions. Why were so many proposed locations in minority areas of the state? Why should the state make billionaires of license holders, some of whom were based not only outside of Maryland, but outside of the United States? Why should the racing industry be trusted with such an enterprise when it has a decades-long history of poor management and failure? The House stood up for all Marylanders and asked the tough questions. And gambling proponents had no answers.
Their solution was to simply ramp up their efforts to influence the process with two time-honored traditions: lobbying spending and campaign gifts. Common Cause recently issued its 2005 campaign finance report. Pro-gambling lobbying expenses have now come very close to $5 millionover the past four years. The gambling industry has made another $1 million in campaign gifts over the same period.
This is a critical point, and it leads us to look at two basic facts. First, as a regulated industry, legalized gambling would have only one path to business expansion: the legislative process. And second, the best way to control that process is through an ever-increasing stream of political contributions and lobbying.
This would lead to a huge financial advantage for pro-gambling candidates and create an Annapolis that would be extremely friendly to those seeking gambling expansion. This has occurred in the wake of gambling bills in other states. In Pennsylvania ? where a massive slots bill passed in the middle of the night with no public hearings ? a table game bill was being drafted even before the ink was dry on the slots bill. Closer to home, our lottery began sucking money from poor neighborhoods in the early 1970s as a once-a-week drawing. Today we can be fleeced every four minutes thanks to the wonders of Keno. Expansion is real, massive and an inevitable part of Big Gambling?s strategy for Maryland.
We have a strong economy and have other, better options. Like any smart business, we need to grow our economy by focusing on our strengths. We have a highly educated and talented work force. We are leaders in life sciences, technology, national security and asset management. By closing the door to slots, we can focus on what Maryland does best.
Aaron Meisner is an investment adviser specializing in socially responsible investing. He served as Coordinating Chairman of StopSlotsMaryland, the statewide coalition of civic and religious groups opposing gambling expansion in Maryland, from 2003 to 2006.
