March 28, 2024
BANGOR DAILY NEWS (BANGOR, MAINE

A casino for Calais

It is understandable. Some legislators have not decided how they will vote in what is expected to be a close decision on the bill to allow the Passamaquoddy tribe to build a casino in Calais. This difficult issue has been complicated deliberately, as tough political choices often are, by opponents pumping misinformation beneath an overlay of fear.

Augusta’s anxiety level was raised by a report that a land mine buried in the casino bill eventually would detonate, shattering state authority over the project. The provision, a holdover from early drafts of the bill, not only was known to all sides, but the tribe has said it is willing to drop it.

Similarly, the tribe has challenged a report that it would not be able to negotiate for slot machines under the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act (IGRA), if state legislation fails and the Passamaquoddys are forced to litigate in order to build a casino. The experience nationally — 50 tribes in six states where commercial slot machines are not permitted have slots in their IGRA casinos — suggests that the Maine tribes have at least a very good shot at the slots if they go to court.

But the fear is especially disturbing.

There is the fear of crime, the fear of Atlantic City-style casino strip developments, and also the fear that the project might fail. There is the fear that the casino will erode native American culture and undermine morality generally, and the fear that Washington County’s unemployed (18 percent of the population has no work) will be lured into menial jobs.

That’s a lot to be afraid of. But there’s one more: There is the fear that the project will succeed, bringing social challenges that come with ending poverty and lack of aspirations. There may be more people in the county. They will need services. If the economy diversifies and strengthens, the political power structure might change.

Lawmakers should not vote against this bill out of fear.

They should vote for the project, because it stands on its own merits.

The casino bill is a jobs bill. It is about the opportunity for people who have no prospect of employment to find work. Proponents believe there will be 720 jobs in the casino alone, the majority of them in support areas such as accounting, management and personnel, and hundreds more in businesses that will supply the casino with goods and services.

The bill is about Maine saying yes to investment and potential, up to $40 million in the casino and resort complex and spin-off developments, plus recreational businesses and enterprises that may be attracted to the area because of activity generated by the casino.

There is risk, certainly, in both areas. This is a business venture. But the economic gamble is by the casino developer, Harrah’s, which has a solid, international reputation, and also by investors in the hotel and satellite operations. Maine risks disappointment.

The bill is important for Maine for another reason. Although the attorney general is correct when he argues that lawmakers should not be intimidated by IGRA, they also would be wise not to ignore it.

The Maine legislation is the product of negotiation between the state and the tribe. If it fails, and the tribe litigates to build a casino under the Indian gaming act, Augusta will have very little to say about issues that are important to Maine: law enforcement, security, size and spin-off economic development. Odds are that the tribe, rather than drop the project in the epicenter of high unemployment in northern Washington County (itself a political decision to make the casino more palatable to the Legislature), will put it on tribal land in Bethel, a more rational business choice.

Mr. Carpenter believes that a recent court decision on IGRA that went against Rhode Island and for the Narragansett tribe buttresses his belief that the federal law may not apply to Maine. The Passamaquoddy attorneys argue that while the land claims settlement does partially reduce tribal jurisdiction in this state, it does not extinguish their IGRA option.

In this dialogue, the casino bill is reminiscent of the Indian land claims settlement process of almost 20 years ago. Early in that process, Augusta had leverage and opportunity, but it refused, to its later regret, to negotiate with the tribes directly. Instead, it lost in court and had a federal resolution imposed upon it.

Attorney General Carpenter believes Maine will prevail before the bench against its federally recognized Indians. Deja vu. The Passamaquoddy tribe can point at its repeated success in litigation over two decades, and that of scores of tribes across the country under the 1988 Indian Gaming Regulatory Act.

There is gain for Maine in the concessions and controls in this bill, won through political negotiation. It is gambling to let them all ride on a court case. For lawmakers with long memories, history says it is a poor risk.


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