SEATTLE – A minister, an environmentalist, a tribal chairman and a union boss walk into a bar.
Sounds like the start of an old joke, but it was actually the beginning of a new campaign against Tim Eyman’s latest initiative. About a dozen political and community leaders kicked off the No on I-892 campaign in the bar area of a restaurant on Wednesday.
The initiative would expand gambling in Washington state and use the revenue to lower property taxes. Businesses such as card rooms, restaurants and bowling alleys could have electronic slot machines, which currently are allowed only in tribal casinos. A 35 percent user fee on the machines would pay for lowering property taxes.
The opposition group stands out for its diversity – from the Christian Coalition to labor unions and an environmental organization, Democratic former Gov. Mike Lowry to Republican King County Prosecutor Norm Maleng.
“Sometimes politics makes strange bedfellows,” said Brian Cladoosby, president of the Association of Washington Tribes and chairman of the Swinomish tribe. Though some coalition members oppose all forms of gambling, even tribal gambling, he said they all agree on one thing: defeating I-892.
Some painted the battle over I-892 as a struggle between good and evil.
“This is about the morality of our society,” said the Rev. Leslie Braxton, who leads Mount Zion Baptist Church in Seattle. He said allowing electronic slot machines would be like “dropping another highly addictive substance into our neighborhoods … a vice that gains control of their souls. Who will repair our damaged lives?”
Others viewed the campaign more pragmatically.
“What brings good businesses and good jobs into the state of Washington?” Lowry asked. “Quality of life is a very big issue, and I-892 is directly against the quality of life in the state.”
Speaking for the No on I-892 coalition, Maleng promised that members would put their money where their mouths are. He said the group will match the efforts of I-892 supporters, in media advertising and in public forums: “It is going to be a public campaign.”
The most recent campaign finance reports show that I-892 opponents have raised more than $3 million as of July 31. Supporters of the initiative have raised only $619,000, though that report was filed at the end of June.
Initiative sponsor Eyman, who has successfully sponsored a string of tax-cutting initiatives, said the diverse arguments from opponents won’t make much difference on election day.
“People make up their minds not based on what the sponsors say and the opponents say. A monkey could be the sponsor of I-892 and the voters would still approve it,” Eyman said Thursday. “At the end of the day, in the privacy of the ballot booth or sitting at the kitchen table with their mail-in ballot, voters are going to ask themselves a very simple question: Is this proposal reasonable?”
Eyman scoffed at arguments that expanding gambling would hurt quality of life. He said the initiative would simply give more options to people who already gamble on electronic slot machines at tribal casinos.
“The argument that suddenly you’re going to create more gamblers defies common sense,” Eyman said. “All this initiative does is give the fixed number of people who already use these machines more places to go.”
Opponents disagreed. They said there’s a big difference between an electronic slot machine at a tribal casino and one sitting in a local tavern or restaurant.
“We don’t need to double the type of gambling we have now,” said Maleng, noting that electronic slot machines are often called “the crack cocaine of gambling.”
“Now, you have to go somewhere to gamble,” Maleng said. If I-892 passes, he said, “For the first time, it would come right into the neighborhoods.”
So far, nontribal gambling companies have been the main contributors to the I-892 campaign, while tribes have funded the opposition.
“This is a battle between the tribals and nontribals,” Eyman said. “The referees are going to be the voters. Everybody else is fun to listen to, but they’re definitely on the periphery of the debate.”
On the Internet
I-892 sponsors: www.justtreatusthesame.com
Opponents: www.permanentdefense.org
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