North Carolina gambling foes roll out heavy hitters

Wednesday, March 14, 2001 | 10:59 a.m.

RALEIGH, N.C. -- Lottery opponents rolled out their heavy hitters Tuesday, unveiling a coalition of groups and citizens unified against the strongest push to date to approve state-sponsored gambling.

The people behind the bipartisan Citizens United Against the Lottery include three ex-governors, banking chief executives, a former university president and religious leaders.

The group also has the support of the Rev. Billy Graham, said organizer Chuck Neely, a former state House member and gubernatorial candidate.

"We call on North Carolinians to join us today in opposing an idea which is wrong for our state, for our people, and most of all, wrong for our children," Neely said at a news conference.

Lottery bills have failed at the General Assembly over the last decade. But interest is stronger than ever now that Gov. Mike Easley has made a lottery-for-education program a pillar of his campaign and a part of his solution for a burgeoning budget shortfall.

The second year of Easley's two-year budget released Monday has a lottery in place to expand programs that would reduce school class size and provide preschool for at-risk 4-year-olds. Easley's budget says a lottery at first could generate $300 million annually for the state.