In the battle over slot machines, City Councilwoman Rochelle "Rikki" Spector has emerged as an unlikely soldier for Pimlico Race Course.
The strategy conceived during the summer had Spector persuading Pimlico to make good on a decades-old improvement project. In return, she would take the political risk of supporting the track's grand but predictably much-debated expansion plans, which include slot machines.
"I knew I was taking a big step," said Spector. "Listen, if I can't do better, I won't do anything. But if it is worth it, I'll face the music. And I have to take this opportunity to make it work. I'm not going to back off of this just because it is sticky."
And it has gotten sticky for Spector. A week after she introduced a bill proposing a large-scale Pimlico expansion -- that might include a hotel, banquet halls and concert theaters -- the councilwoman stands accused of ignoring her constituents and cozying up to the track.
"I think she is doing the bidding of the track. Rikki is completely out of touch with the community on this issue," said Aaron Meisner, a resident of Mount Washington, which borders Pimlico and is represented by Spector.
"I didn't see this coming, and I think that is the sentiment of the neighborhood in general," Meisner said. "That she is in the forefront disturbs me."
A tough sell
Pimlico Race Course officials knew their growth plans -- transforming the sleepy residential track into a bustling gambling complex -- would be a tough sell, and they needed someone trustworthy up front. Joseph A. De Francis, co-owner of Pimlico, has a lot of influence in the horse racing community but little in the neighborhoods that surround the Baltimore track.
Enter Spector, the repeatedly elected council member from the city's northwest neighborhoods.
But her role -- softening Pimlico's image as it seeks zoning rights to grow into a large entertainment venue -- is proving difficult. At two community meetings this week attended mostly by Pimlico area residents, the skeptical audiences had tough questions for Pimlico officials.
And during both meetings, Spector, who was not expected to speak, jumped from her front row chair to grab the microphone and verbally spar with anyone opposed to the project.
`They won't listen'
"They won't listen," Spector said after Thursday's meeting.
