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New Bedford Demands Casino Referendum Anew

Posted on September 19th, 2010

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The seeming indecision and lack of action by legislators and the government in general when it comes to the issue of expanding gambling facilities in the state of Massachusetts are pushing the citizens to consider putting matters into their own hands. One of the largest cities of the state, after being faced with the fact that no legislation expanding gambling is in sight, has its citizens who support expanded gambling hoping that a vote will put the issue forward. Legislation is taking a long while for the issue to be addressed. The earlier proposal months ago had been approved by both houses of the state’s congress, only to be vetoed by the governor. Another piece of legislation on whether residents of the city of New Bedford should have a non-binding vote on whether a casino will be built on their are has been in the works this week on both the House and Senate and is expected to be decided on by the governor next week

The issue of casinos has also been a hot topic of discussion among candidates of the elections. While the incumbent governor Deval Patrick has been clear about his stand against having “racinos” or putting slot machines in the state’s racetracks, an opposite position has been taken by his main rival, Tim Cahill, an independent candidate. He has been quoted in interviews saying that if he were to be elected, he would approve legislation for the establishment of three resort casinos and two racetrack facilities to be installed with slot machines. What Cahill says he is in favor of is exactly the same with the bill that was approved by the state’s House and Senate this year, but was vetoed in July by the governor, who claimed that he did not favor the racino segment of the bill. He returned the bill to congress, but was not acted upon for months because both houses were already on recess and formal sessions ended on the 31st of July.

Cahill has seemed to link his platform to the failed bill, because when asked about what his first act as governor will be, he always answered that his would approve a bill on expanded gambling for Massachusetts. Meanwhile, the Republican gubernatorial candidate, Charles Baker said that what he would support for is only a single casino. He used the stalemate between the legislature and the governor to issue statements on the former. He said, “We had 18 months here to get something done on this.” When asked about why he did not agree with the bill the legislature passed to him in July, Governor Patrick said he did not reject the entire bill, and was actually in support of the three resort casinos that the bill pushed for. He however did not support the installation of slot machines in horse race tracks because this would translate to contracts that would not require bidding for the state’s racetrack –Suffolk Downs in East Boston, Plainridge Racecourse in Plainville and Raynham Park. He has said that the bill he rejected would have favored the rich owners of the race tracks. In support of his decision, he said, “If all we do is favor the interest of a few powerful [track owners]… then we will be doing what the people dislike the most about the traditions of Beacon Hill.”

The proposal for the referendum has been endorsed by the city council of New Beford and was filed by the city’s delegation in Beacon Hill. The vote would ask resident voters whether or not they are in favor of their city hosting a casino. In two previous polls, the city’s resident s have always voted in favor in having a casino in their area. In his endorsement of the voting bill, a councilor for New Bedford, David Alves, said, “I just wanted to show one more time that the city of New Bedford is supportive of gaming and should stay on the radar for both state reps and senators, noting the fact that our community is supportive of gaming. I think we’re an excellent and ideal location for gaming.”