Slots Referendum

State Comptroller Peter Franchot (D-Takoma Park) says he's concerned about the national gambling industry's sponsorship of the state Democratic Party's One Week to Victory 2008 Gala fundraiser held Monday at the Baltimore Hilton Hotel.
 
In a letter to Party Chair Michael Cryor, Franchot said he was pleased to attend the event, but was concerned about how indebted the Party leadership was to the national gambling industry.
 
"Not only were gambling interests major sponsors of this event, but the leadership of our state party made a conscious decision to silence those who are not beholden to these special interests," Franchot, a staunch opponent of November's slots referendum, wrote to Cryor.

Martin O'Malley

BALTIMORE -- If November's slots referendum doesn't pass, the remaining option is more cuts, according to Gov. Martin O'Malley (D-Baltimore).
 
"I don't think there is any political will for going back to revenues, because we've already looked at that," O'Malley told PolitickerMD.com at the state Democratic Party's One Week to Victory 2008 Gala on Monday.

Gov. Martin O'Malley's (D-Baltimore) approval ratings during his first two years in office are slightly lower than former Gov. Bob Ehrlich's (R-Baltimore) approval ratings were during his last term in office, according to a new poll conducted by Taylor Nelson Sofres pls for The Washington Post.

O'Malley currently has a net approval rating of 53 percent and a disapproval rating of 37 percent, according to the most recent poll.

Fourteen percent of those surveyed strongly approved of O'Malley, 39 percent approved somewhat, 21 percent disapproved strongly, 16 percent disapproved somewhat, and 10 percent had no opinion.

The same poll taken about year ago showed O'Malley with a net approval of 51 percent and a disapproval of 39 percent. A year before that, Ehrlich's net approval was 55 percent with 42 percent disapproving of his job performance.

O'Malley defeated Ehrlich in 2006 after serving one term in office. Ehrlich, however, has not ruled out a 2010 rematch.

Proponents of November's controversial slots referendum hold a 20 percent advantage over their opponents, according to the pro-slots organization For Maryland For Our Future.

Voters will decide in November if the state constitution should be amended to allow up to 15,000 slot machines at five different locations across the state. A poll paid for by For Maryland For Our Future, and conducted by the Garin Hart Yang Research Group, shows 58 percent of Maryland voters in favor of passing Question 2, 38 percent against it and 4 percent undecided about the ballot initiative.

Two of the area's largest newspapers have taken different sides on the slots machine question on this year's ballot. The editorial board of The Baltimore Sun has thrown its support behind the controversial referendum, and The Washington Post argues slots are nothing but bad news.

Marylander's will decide in November if the state constitution should be amended to allow up to 15,000 slot machine installations at five different locations across the state. The Post's editorial board argues history will repeat itself if the referendum is passed.

Comptroller Peter Franchot (D-Takoma Park) says he'll support Gov. Martin O'Malley's (D-Baltimore) proposed budget cuts at tomorrow's Board of Public Works meeting, but insists he still differs with the governor on November's slots referendum.

"At this point, it is clear we are in the midst of the most serious economic situation we have seen since the Great Depression, and we have no choice but to tighten our belts and reign in State spending," Franchot said in a statement.

O'Malley will be proposing roughly $400 million worth of budget cuts at tomorrow's Board of Public works meeting, according to Shaun Adamec, a press secretary for O'Malley. Adamec says the governor has still not ruled out a furlough program since the state's deficit directly relates to the national economy.

Facing a looming budget shortfall, Gov. Martin O'Malley (D-Baltimore) announced he would be considering steeper cuts to funding for health care and education and is considering a furlough program, according to The Baltimore Sun.

Last month, the Board of Revenue Estimates reported the state's general fund revenues were at roughly $14 billion - $432 million less than original estimates.

To combat the deficit, O'Malley announced he would be asking state agencies to identify cuts of up to five percent in the current year's budget. The governor plans to present these cuts to the Board of Public Works on October 15. 

O'Malley said the nation's economic outlook and the result of November's slots referendum would influence the decision to make more cuts.

Comptroller Peter Franchot is refuting attacks from pro-slots organization For Maryland For Our Future, claiming the charges against him are "outright lies."

Franchot was referencing two new television ads launched last week by For Maryland For Our Future. The organization said the ads were intended to correct Comptroller Peter Franchot's "misleading" and "false public statements" about November's slots referendum.

Anti-slots group Marylanders United to Stop Slots wants WBAL-AM to pull two ads being aired by its pro-slots rival organization.

"These advertisements are false and misleading, and knowingly misstate facts and positions on the issue of Question 2, the slots constitutional amendment on the ballot this fall," wrote the group's senior advisor, Scott Arceneaux, in a letter to WBAL-FM. The letter was in reference to two ads being run by the pro-slots group For Maryland For Our Future.

According to Arceneaux, one ad says slots will guarantee $650 million in new education funding each year. "Simply put, this is a lie," he said.

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