The chairman of a group fighting Maryland's slot-machine referendum threatened yesterday to resign to protest "personal attacks" on Gov. Martin O'Malley made by the campaign and its political figurehead, Comptroller Peter Franchot.
The chairman, electrical union business manager Charles E. Graham, accused Franchot of a "hidden agenda" of personal ambition that Graham said was revealed in the group's latest television ad. The ad echoes arguments Franchot has been making for months.
Less than 24 hours earlier, Franchot - a self-styled rebel among Maryland Democrats - made an early exit from the state party's annual fundraising gala at the Baltimore Hilton hotel. He said he was denied a speaking role because of concerns that he would use the opportunity to rail against the slots proposal that O'Malley backs.
It was the latest act in a months-long political sideshow pitting Franchot against O'Malley and other Democratic leaders, including Senate President Thomas V. Mike Miller. The rivalry has become increasingly barbed as Franchot emerged as the face of the anti-slots movement and O'Malley decided to champion the referendum on the proposal to legalize slots. Miller has been a proponent of slots for several years.
The behind-the-scenes drama comes as Marylanders United to Stop Slots, the ballot committee, is making its final push to derail the slots proposal, which some polls have shown enjoys a wide margin of support. The group, which has raised only a fraction of what the pro-slots ballot committee has received from donors, is urging supporters to donate even small sums to keep a television ad on the air.
It was that 30-second television spot, launched yesterday on Baltimore stations, that prompted Graham to reconsider his position as chairman of Marylanders United to Stop Slots, he said. The ad accuses "Annapolis politicians" of trying to deceive voters and likens the slots proposal to the recent federal bailout of Wall Street. Graham said it appeared to be a campaign commercial for Franchot.
"He's got a hidden agenda, man, and I didn't realize it," Graham said. "What I don't like is the personal attacks that the campaign has taken against the governor and Mike Miller."
Graham's union, the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers, Local 26, opposes slots out of concern that they will bring poverty and addiction to vulnerable communities, and it was an early donor to the anti-slots ballot committee. The union gave $25,000 in March, a few days after the committee was formed.
