While the state braces for budget cuts that are expected to significantly impact bread-and-butter programs such as education and public safety, leading politicians are seizing the opportunity to talk about another hot topic - slot-machine gambling.
Gov. Martin O'Malley brought up the November referendum to legalize slots yesterday as he discussed spending cuts that he plans to present Wednesday to the Board of Public Works. A list of recommended cuts he's considering reads like a catalog of unappealing options: public schools, state police, community colleges and health care programs.
After explaining to TV cameras at an event yesterday that the budget cuts have been brought on by the worst national economic climate in his lifetime, the Democratic governor repeated a refrain: "I hope voters will support slots in Maryland."
The need for budget cuts highlights an argument that slots advocates have been making for months in advance of November's gambling referendum. They argue the plan, expected to generate more than $600 million a year, would be the salvation of the state budget. The timing also limits the avenues for anti-slots forces to counterattack.
Comptroller Peter Franchot, the state's most outspoken slots foe and a frequent O'Malley critic, has no choice but to acknowledge the budget crisis - state revenue reports come from his office. He indicated yesterday that he would likely support O'Malley's cuts in the Board of Public Works vote.
Franchot made a more nuanced fiscal argument against the slots proposal - that it would include new spending the state can't afford, including a $100 million annual "bailout" of the horse racing industry, and would strain the budget through increased crime and bankruptcy.
"As we are managing our way through this deficit, we should not be encouraging our citizens to vote for more spending," Franchot said in an interview. "Citizens are scared about their IRAs, college savings plans, their jobs and the economy. Those fears should not be taken advantage of."
The state Republican Party, divided on slots, is in a tricky spot, too. James Pelura, the party's chairman, issued a statement yesterday accusing O'Malley of cutting vital services and planning to raise taxes if the economy gets worse, though the governor has indicated an unwillingness to raise taxes again after having done so last year. Pelura did not mention slots nor O'Malley's plea to voters to approve them, even though the devices are projected to ease the fiscal pressure on the state.
