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Casino is All Consuming in Sanford, Maine

"…While the casino debate has grabbed the attention of statewide voters in the past few weeks, in Sanford the issue has raged for more than a year. It is almost impossible to walk down the street without hearing a casino-related discussion. The red and white political signs for both sides went up months ago. The sign holders, rallies and campaign events have become part of daily life.

"Sanford is where the Passamaquoddy Tribe and Penobscot Nation want to build one of the state's largest construction projects ever if voters approve the Nov. 4 referendum that would allow the tribes to operate a gambling casino in return for 25 percent of the slot revenues. The tribes plan a massive six-story complex with an 875-bed hotel, gambling halls, a convention center, performance theater, retail shops, restaurants and an 18-hole golf course.

"Sanford won the tribes' favor when it became the only community in southern Maine to open the door to a casino last fall. The nonbinding referendum asking residents if they favored legalized gambling in town passed by a 540-vote margin, with just more than half of the voters showing up at the polls.

"…Not only has the casino become the biggest issue to hit town, say many of the town's political observers, the casino debate has left a permanent mark. They say whatever happens next month, the casino proposal has sent Sanford in a new direction.

"The debate took off last winter shortly after casino proponents, led by lawyer and tribal investment adviser Tom Tureen, and Erin Lehane, spokeswoman for the pro-casino lobbying group Think About It, gathered enough signatures to put the casino issue on the statewide ballot.

"…The discussion has been heated throughout and has sometimes turned nasty.

"…In more recent weeks, a number of residents have filed complaints about vandalism and theft of political signs. An anti-casino sign was burned and a pro-casino sign belonging to a homeowner who is part American Indian was replaced with one that read: `We took your land - Get over it!!!'

"At Town Hall, the issue has taken up increasing amounts of time. Selectmen quibbled for weeks about whether to allow the voters a chance to hold another binding vote on the casino proposal. Selectmen moved on to a several weeks-long debate on whether to appoint a volunteer citizens group to study the impact of a casino in town. Residents began to show up at meetings to air their views on the casino. Now the casino is a regular item on the agenda, sure to draw a crowd of supporters on both sides of the issue…"

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