The November referendum on whether to allow slot machine gambling in Maryland is producing some unlikely buddying up among Howard County's elected officials.
Democratic Del. Elizabeth Bobo finds herself on the same side as state Sen. Allan H. Kittleman and Del. Gail H. Bates, Republicans who also want to see the referendum defeated.
Despite that, Bobo and Kittleman said that they suspect most Howard residents favor the idea to allow gambling at five locations in Maryland.
The majority of Howard's 11 state legislators, five County Council members and County Executive Ken Ulman favor passage of the referendum, if only to avoid more state budget cuts or tax increases that the resulting $660 million revenue shortfall could bring.
Bobo, like Maryland Comptroller Peter Franchot, is opposed to the concept of gambling as a way to provide state revenue. Bates opposes gambling for religious reasons. Kittleman said he favors slots as a revenue raiser but strongly objects to listing specific locations - the measure spells out Baltimore City and Allegany, Anne Arundel, Cecil and Worcester counties - in the language of the referendum question.
None of the locations is in Howard County, though Laurel Park Race Track, a likely location, is just over the border in Anne Arundel.
Bobo believes that any revenue from slots would be short and not permanent, especially because competition will grow with Pennsylvania joining Delaware and West Virginia in the business.
"I'm not convinced the revenue will come in the way it is predicted," she said. "Short-term financial planning gets us in big trouble."
A wealthy state like Maryland should be able to balance the budget without gambling, Bobo said.
Kittleman favors slots but called for creating a commission to choose locations instead of letting elected officials choose specific places to be included in the referendum.
"I think the people of Howard County will understand that it's not wise to put locations for slots in the [state] constitution," he said. "Right now, we've just decided who is going to be multimillionaires in Maryland."
The third Howard Republican, Del. Warren E. Miller, sympathizes with Kittleman but also wants to help the state's horse breeders.
Bates said that she is not sure how the voting will go, but she also opposes having the locations in the referendum.
