Promoters of slots in Ohio give up

Andrew Welsh-Huggins

Friday, May 28, 2004 | 8:59 a.m.

COLUMBUS, Ohio -- Backers of a proposal to place slot machines at racetracks gave up Thursday trying to put the issue before voters in November, saying time is short and the cost of gathering signatures is too expensive.

"We waited too long to begin the process," said Neil Clark, a Columbus lobbyist representing Beulah Park racetrack in suburban Columbus.

The House early Thursday morning fell three votes short of the three-fifths majority needed to put the slots plan on the November ballot.

The proposal would have divided the state's share of slots' profits for scholarships, preschool education and school grants.

Clark said the racetracks' strategy had been to see if lawmakers voted in favor of the plan. He said expected legal challenges would likely slow a petition drive, which could cost as much as $3 million to gather signatures and another $500,000 in legal fees.

The deadline for completing those petitions is Aug. 4.

"It's a lot of money to leave on the table," said Rep. William Hartnett, a Mansfield Democrat who wanted the issue before voters one way or the other.

Backers will now pursue two strategies after the November election, Clark said. The first is to persuade lawmakers to vote to put the issue on the May ballot, he said. The second is to begin a petition process to put the plan directly before voters on the November 2005 ballot.

"Right now we would be rushed and probably would not have the right package put together," Charles Ruma, Beulah Park owner, said Thursday. "Obviously we're very, very close."

Another hurdle to proceeding this year was the growing and successful use of lawsuits to block petition drives, said Clark and partner Paul Tipps.

The strategy even has a name, Tipps said: "They refer to it as 'PhRMA-ing."'

PhRMA, or the Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers Association, challenged petitions in several counties last year opposing a plan to let the state negotiate for lower drug prices directly with manufacturers.

Unions and social service groups opposing Secretary of State Kenneth Blackwell's plan to roll back a penny sales tax increase used a similar tactic this year to stall his effort.

A PhRMA spokeswoman said the group follows the law surrounding petition drives.

"If you are opposing whatever is being pushed through via a petition drive, your only recourse is to also follow the rules and laws of the petition drive because it completely bypasses the legislative body," spokeswoman Wanda Moebius said.

Initiatives are still possible in Ohio as long as they're done correctly, said Mark Hatch, public policy director for the Ohio Association of Public School Employees. His group challenged Blackwell's petition drive.

"You're going to have to make sure you dot the i's and cross the t's and your campaign effort is legitimate and honorable and not some kind of game being played on Ohioans," Hatch said.

Using court challenges to block petition drives is one of several strategies used to set the hurdle high for initiative supporters, said Dan Smith, a University of Florida political scientist.

"It's a tactic, one of many in the arsenal of groups that oppose initiatives, and both liberal and conservative groups use it," Smith said.

Clark and Ruma blamed last-minute lobbying efforts by out-of-state casinos and Ohio education groups for helping defeat the legislative proposal.

The state's largest teachers' unions and groups representing school boards, administrators, parents and school business officials hand-delivered a letter to lawmakers Thursday before the vote urging their opposition.

The proposal would hurt schools' efforts to pass levies, wouldn't help the state's school-funding problems and would benefit racetracks over children, the letter said.

"I don't know if that was the thing that killed the bill but I think it probably had a pretty good influence in our direction," said John Brandt, executive director of the Ohio School Boards Association.