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Aug 18, 2008 5:50 pm US/Eastern
Md. NAACP Campaigns Against Slots Referendum
BALTIMORE (WJZ) ―
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The Maryland chapter of the NAACP held a stop slots news conference Monday.
CBS
Slots opponents are stepping up efforts to defeat the referendum on the November ballot. The Maryland chapter of the NAACP held a stop slots news conference Monday.
Political reporter Pat Warren explains they may have their work cut out for them.
The vision of millions of Maryland dollars falling into the coffers of the state of Delaware and other gaming states has long been seen as a persuasive argument for legalizing slots.
"I'll probably vote for them," said one Marylander.
But anti-slots forces fight any such inclination. On Monday, opponents announced a campaign in Baltimore City to convince voters to vote against the referendum in November.
"We're encouraging all of our citizens throughout the state of Maryland, all of our NAACP-ers, to join us and clergy in fighting and stopping slots," said Marvin "Doc" Cheatham, Baltimore NAACP.
Governor O'Malley proposes using slots revenue to fund education, avoid future budget cuts and support the state's horse industry.
State Comptroller Peter Franchot believes gambling on slots as a revenue source is a sucker bet.
"Slot machines are the wrong direction for our great state to go in," said Franchot.
Another direction may decide the debate, and that is the direction of the economy. Analyst Ariban Basu says voters may see slots as an alternative to taxes.
"Well, the retail tax has already gone up to six percent, Marylanders probably don't want to see more increases in those types of taxes. To others, slots stands out as a potential revenue stream, and many people may not like it, but they may be more inclined to swallow the bitter pill of slots to make up for those lost revenues," said Basu.
Opponents, however, say slots revenues will not stave off higher taxes.
They include a coalition of faith leaders who say they will actively campaign against the referendum.
Slots supporters say their polls show most voters are in favor of the referendum.
(© MMIX, CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved.)
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