Shawn Scott is the only \u201centity\u201d to qualify because, in 2002, he purchased the struggling Bangor Raceway for just over $1 million.<\/p>\n
The following year he bankrolled a successful referendum to authorize slot machines at the raceway, allowing him to sell it for a $50 million profit.<\/p>\n
\u201cThey were not truthful with Maine voters when they were hustling those signatures, and maybe this deserves a response that is equally as measured,\u201d Mason told the Portland Press-Herald this week.<\/p>\n
\n\u201cThis is not the will of the voters, this is the will of 62,000-and-change people, who signed this petition. I would highly doubt even one percent of whom actually read what they were signing. They were promised this would help horse racing, this would help education and every other carrot that was hung out there. This is not the will of the voters yet,\u201d he added.<\/strong><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\u201cIf we don\u2019t stop some of these types of referendums in the legislature, they are going to get more and more and more extreme,\u201d Mason said. \u201cWe as a legislature have to decide when are we going to take our role as the people\u2019s representatives seriously.\u201d<\/p>\n
However, Mason and Luchini\u2019s \u201cenact and repeal\u201d strategy may struggle from legal challenges. While there is little, if any, support for the casino referendum in the legislature, some lawmakers have said they will not support Mason and Luchini\u2019s plan because it may ultimately be unconstitutional.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
A controversial Maine casino referendum, which lawmakers say is designed to deceive voters for the benefit of a shadowy casino developer, will be fought tooth and nail in the legislature. That\u2019s the promise of Senate Majority Leader Garrett Mason (R-Lisbon) and Representative Louis Luchini (D-Ellsworth), who believe that controversial figure Shawn Scott has hijacked the […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":42,"featured_media":50455,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[62,13,61],"tags":[],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\n
Maine Lawmakers Fight Back Against \u201cDeceptive\u201d Casino Ballot Question<\/title>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\n\n\n\n\n\t\n\t\n\t\n