A proposed constitutional amendment to allow casinos in Columbus, Cleveland, Cincinnati and Toledo has dominated the campaign season. More was spent in the state for and against the gambling proposal than during 2008's hotly contested presidential contest.

It is the fifth gambling proposal Ohio voters have seen in 20 years. They roundly rejected all the others.

There also are two other statewide issues on the ballot.

Issue 1 would pay bonuses of up to $1,000 to war veterans who served in the Persian Gulf, Afghanistan and Iraq. Issue 2 seeks to create a new state board to oversee livestock care. Farm interests seeking to avoid legislation sought by animal rights activists proposed the board.

Several big-city mayor's seats are up for election as well, including those in Cincinnati and Cleveland.

The casino campaign has been particularly nasty, fueled by tens of millions in spending by gambling rivals Penn National Gaming and MTR Gaming Inc. and their friends. Ohio is a coveted prize for casino operators, which have achieved legalization in most neighboring states.

Ohio Gov. Ted Strickland authorized a slots-like lottery game at horse tracks amid this year's difficult budget negotiation. But that's on hold pending a court challenge.

The ballot issue asks voters to amend the Ohio Constitution on such casino issues as the parcels on which casinos could be built; how to distribute a 33 percent casino tax to counties, cities, schools and gambling regulation and addiction services; and the combined $300 million in ongoing state license fees and minimum initial investments required for each facility.

The Ohio Jobs & Growth Committee has centered its campaign in favor of the proposal on a University of Cincinnati study it commissioned, which found casinos would create almost 40,000 full-time and temporary jobs. Labor unions that have opposed past gambling issues were persuaded by the issue's key backer, Cleveland Cavaliers owner Dan Gilbert, that the promise of jobs were legitimate and offered key grassroots support.

TruthPAC, which opposes casinos, has fought back aggressively. The group has suggested in ads, flyers, media campaigns and news conferences that the jobs figures are exaggerated, the backers' business motives are suspect and the proposed tax formula is unfair.

An Ohio Newspaper poll conducted by the University of Cincinnati's Institute for Policy Research found that 59 percent of registered voters supported the casino proposal - Issue 3 on the ballot - leading into the final push to Election Day. Political experts attribute the support to voters' desperate hope for jobs.

Republican U.S. Sen. George Voinovich, a former Ohio governor, made two well-publicized pleas to Ohio voters to reject the issue. Standing aside influential church leaders, Voinovich made biblical references to the evils gambling can bring to families and the economy.

The University of Cincinnati jobs study predicted 39,251 jobs and $4 billion in overall economic impact from the four casino sites. The social costs of expanded gambling were not considered.

Of the total jobs predicted, 15,807 would be permanent, the study said. Of those, 7,500 would come from direct in-state employment at casinos. A quarter of the casino jobs would pay $27,500 a year or more, and 2 percent - 150 jobs - would pay $80,000-a-year executive salaries.

The average casino wage, according to the study, would be $26,300 a year, about $13,700 lower than the most recently calculated state median.

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On The Net:

Pro-Casino Campaign: http://www.yesonissue3.org

Anti-Casino Campaign: http://www.truthpac.org

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Comments
posted at 11/3/2009 9:01:58 AM (17606)
akron23refugee said:

The average casino wage would be $26,300 a year...$13,700 less than the state median? 2 things wrong with this statement...

1. We in Ohio currently are facing a 10.1% unemployment rate. Given this rising number and the enormous amount of temporary employment agencies (that pay on average $8 an hour) I have a very hard time believing that the median income in the state of Ohio is $40k per year.

2. With the 10.1% unemployment rate, and the amount our state spends on food stamps/benefits, $26,300 would be a God-send to a lot of people who are capable and willing to work.

Bring these jobs here to Ohio. Vote YES on issue 3.

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