Gambling defeat may have political fallout

By Joe Biesk
Associated Press

FRANKFORT June 26, 2009 08:41 am

— Kentucky’s fierce debate over whether to legalize video gambling at horse racing tracks may have fizzled in the Senate earlier this week, but its political fallout will likely radiate into the 2010 legislative elections.
The General Assembly’s special session had not even ended before talk shifted to what the legislation’s demise means for the future — for both sides. The state’s next legislative elections aren’t for another 18 months, but the political combatants were already gearing up for gambling’s next round.
“We’ve already heard rumblings of people that are filing and considering filing and announcing that they are going to run against particular candidates that voted for and against the gambling measure,” said David Edmunds, a spokesman for the Kentucky Family Foundation, which opposed the measure.
Gov. Steve Beshear added to the rhetoric Wednesday at a rally of horsemen in Lexington, blaming Senate Republicans for killing the measure.
“We’ve either got to change some of the state senators’ minds or we’ve got to change some of the state’s senators,” he said.
Beshear, a Democrat, ran for governor in 2007 on a promise to supplement Kentucky’s horse industry with money generated from an expansion of gambling. So far, he’s still trying.
On his first shot, Beshear offered a plan that would have put the question to Kentucky voters on whether the state constitution should be amended to allow casino gambling. That measure didn’t get a vote by the Democrat-led House.
This year, Beshear tried a different approach when he offered a plan that would have legalized video slot machines at Kentucky’s horse racing tracks. Revenue would have gone to boost purses, breeder’s incentives and the state budget.
By the time the measure squeaked by the House, for the first time ever, it called for a $1.1 billion new school construction package that would have been paid for with gambling revenue.
The Republican-led Senate balked at the plan, and it failed to muster enough votes to get out of committee and to the full chamber. Senate President David Williams, a Burkesville Republican, countered with a proposal that would have boosted purses and breeder’s incentives by taxing lottery tickets and out-of-state wagers on Kentucky horse races.
It breezed through the Senate. But it, too, did not get a vote — this time in the House.
“It was time for an up-or-down vote,” Beshear said. “Where the people of Kentucky could see once and for all who stood with the horse industry and with the 100,000 Kentuckians who work in that industry to support their families.”
The video gambling plan lacked support in the Senate, and that’s not likely to change any time soon, Williams said. The issue will “never end” as long as the governor continues to push for it, Williams said.
Williams, however, noted that candidates who opposed an expansion of gambling won in each of three recent special elections in the Senate. That trend would likely continue, Williams said.
“When you have the sort of talk that’s gone on in the House and Senate where lobbyists and (horse) track presidents and other people want to identify members to target in the coming elections that don’t agree with them, why should I give them a list of individuals that vote pro or con on this situation?” Williams said. “I mean, that’s what they want. They want to be able to target individuals.”
House Speaker Greg Stumbo, a Prestonsburg Democrat, said there will likely be “a pretty strong backlash” against Senate lawmakers who opposed the plan.
“I wouldn’t want to go home and defend a vote of non-action on behalf of my leadership, that when people expect you to act and also wonder why for example you wouldn’t vote for schools in your own district,” Stumbo said. “I think that’s the political downside of it.”
Where the debate will go next remains to be seen.
Beshear said he was uncertain of his next move and would likely need time to regroup. Edmunds said he expected another push for the constitutional amendment during the 2010 legislative session, which begins in January.
“We’ll need some time to assess and evaluate our options and that will take some time,” Beshear said. “But I remain committed to finding answers, and my resolve to ensure that we remain the horse capital of the world has never been stronger.”