Vermont racetrack, casino get support in campaign

Wednesday, Nov. 1, 2000 | 9:29 a.m.

"If it were to be a racetrack again, that would be my preference," she said during a campaign stop. "You have that facility, it seems a shame not to use it."

Dwyer also said if a casino or other small gambling operations were needed to support the racetrack, she would consider allowing that if voters decided they wanted it.

"If you could put horses back there and that was the contingent upon which you allowed a small casino operation - but only if they would agree to do horses - I think that would be a great thing for the economy," she said Tuesday.

Anthony Pollina, the Progressive Party candidate for governor, visited Bennington County Monday and said that he would like to see a multi-use cultural and convention center developed at the site of the Green Mountain racetrack.

"It should be brought back under Vermont ownership. It could be a major player in the regional economy," he said.

Five years ago, a Las Vegas developer proposed a plan to reopen the Pownal track and support it with casino gambling. A bill was introduced in the Legislature, but it died in the face of strong opposition led by Gov. Howard Dean.

Kathleen Summers, Dwyer's campaign manager, said she and Dwyer had met this fall with supporters who had expressed an interest in developing the Pownal track, including Angelo Bisceglie, a lawyer from Newark, N.J.

Bisceglie described himself Tuesday as someone who gets involved in political races of candidates who appear to be solid and have a good cause. He said he knew people in Vermont who asked him to get involved in the Dwyer campaign, and he said he had been impressed with what he had read about the Republican challenger.

According to Bisceglie, the people he represents are interested in looking at the Pownal track, among other sites, for a development project. While nothing was final, he said there had been discussions about developing a therapeutic resort, hydroponic farming and a casino.

Bisceglie told the Rutland Herald that individuals in his group had given money directly to Dwyer and also to the Republican Governors' Association. He said he understood the contributors could not require that the money be given to any particular candidates, but he said they had asked that consideration be given to Dwyer when the RGA decided how to allocate its funds this year.

Bisceglie wouldn't estimate how much money might have been given. He said each member of the group was free to make his own decision about how much to contribute.

Summers said there had been discussions about giving between $25,000 and $30,000 to the national party, but she said she had no idea how much had been given.