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Ellen Belcher is the Dayton Daily News opinion pages editor. She writes about state government, education, the environment, higher education and all things Dayton.
Martin Gottlieb is an editorial writer and columnist for the Dayton Daily News opinion pages. He focuses on the political process itself and does such national issues as war, the economy, taxes and Social Security, as well as a hodge-podge of local and state issues.Home > Blogs > A Matter of Opinion > Archives > 2010 > April > 12 > Entry
Guest column: Constitution not a chew toy for casinos
2010 ELECTION
This commentary was written by David Zanotti is CEO of the Ohio Roundtable, a conservative think tank.
It took casino consultants 22 years of defeats, and more than $100 million in wasted campaign spending, to figure out that the way to win in Ohio was to cut the number of players at the ballot box.
Casino gambling passed in Ohio because the amendment making it legal was placed on the ballot in 2009, an election off-year, where voter turnout was fractional.
Now the casino owners, with the help of the General Assembly, are placing a constitutional amendment on the May primary election ballot where turnout will be even smaller.
The casino “big dogs” got themselves into a jam in Central Ohio. The people there don’t want a casino. A handful of well-connected people there don’t want the casino near their business development — the Arena District in downtown Columbus — either. So, Penn National agreed to move the casino to “the other side of town” and a much larger facility.
Only problem is that the constitutional amendment Penn National wrote in 2009 prohibits the move. So now, Penn National is using a primary election vote to erase their mess-up and move their bigger casino into somebody else’s neighborhood.
The state constitution and the ballot box are now part of Penn National’s business plan. Even sadder, Penn has figured out that to expand its empire, all it has to do is place an amendment in a primary election when the majority of Ohio voters does not vote because they have no reason to vote.
Primary elections determine candidates for Ohio’s two anemic “major” political parties. The majority of Ohio voters are not Democrats or Republicans, but registered as “nonaligned” or independent voters. They can vote for issues on a primary election day, but if they don’t know an issue is on the ballot, there is no reason for them to go to the polls.
This is why you haven’t heard a word about Ohio Issue 2 this spring — even though early voting on the measure has already begun. The casino industry is happy to leave the majority of Ohio’s independent voters out of the decision-making process — even on their constitution.
What makes this really sad is we are not talking about a vote to change the zoning on the local corner property. This is the constitution being used like a chew toy by the biggest dog at the Statehouse. This document was supposed to be the covenant of “we the people,” creating the highest law in the state.
Now it is the convenient toy of a monopoly industry that always sets the odds in its favor.
The casino owners have painted Ohio into a dangerous corner. The General Assembly should forward a simple proposal to the voters to fix this mess.
Any amendments to the state constitution should only appear on the November ballot in a major election (even numbered) year. This is the best way to insure true majorities of Ohioans are included in the debate about constitutional changes.
If this change does not happen quickly, the casino industry will keep using the Ohio Constitution like an erasable white board. They will be back on the ballot over and over again to change the rules on casino gambling to their liking.
Legalizing casinos in Ohio will eventually prove to be a disappointment. Casinos never match their economic promise and leave a host of ruined lives in their wake.
Letting the casino industry use the constitutional amendment process on the cheap is an embarrassing insult to the rule of law.
A “no” vote on Issue 2 on May 4 will send a message to the Ohio General Assembly to re-think its role as an easy facilitator to the casino owners. We encourage all voters, especially those independents not aligned with either political party, to go to the polls and vote “no” on Issue 2.
Permalink | Comments (2) | Post your comment | Categories: Guest Columns, Ohio government, Ohio politics
Comments
By Philman
April 12, 2010 5:34 AM | Link to this
Liberals in General hate the Constitution, and try to change what it says all the TIME.WHY do they think that (THE PEOPLE ) in the first Amendment are a different people than are mentioned in the second Amendment?. the Answer is they dont, they just hate the second Amendment and try to change our Constitution to suit them & their Liberal AGENDA, and the lamestream media change agents are their tools.
By Claire
May 4, 2010 8:05 AM | Link to this
Could you be specific and explain how this editorial represents being a “tool?” On what basis do you think that liberals hate the constitution? A rant and a bunch of CAPITAL LETTERS do not make an argument, they just make your position look ill-conceived and inadequately reasoned. …Don’t they?