State Republican Party Chairman Mike Stuart has unleashed a firestorm with his announcement of a petition drive to trigger a recall vote on whether to continue to allow table games at the Tri-State Mardi Gras Casino outside Charleston.
Stuart says Tri-State has broken most of the promises it made in 2007 while trying to convince voters to allow table games. After a bitter campaign, Kanawha County voters approved table games by just 343 votes.
Tri-State said at the time it would spend $250 million on a new casino, a 250-room hotel, a convention center, a 12,000 seat arena, a spa and other amenities. Five years later, Stuart argues, a 150-bed hotel is on-site, but the rest of the plans have failed to materialize.
Tri-State owner Danny Adkins says the recession, the county-wide smoking ban and increased competition have slowed, but not stopped, development.
“I’m proud of what we’ve done and I’m willing to keep going,“ Adkins said on Metronews Talkline Thursday. “I will defend what we’ve done out there and tell everybody, ‘we’re not done.’”
The buzz under the state Capitol dome Thursday following Stuart’s announcement was on his motivation and the political implications. Stuart says he’s just trying to hold Tri-State accountable for the promises they made.
In a letter to Tri-State, Stuart wrote, “Prove to the citizens of Kanawha County that you can be trusted.”
Stuart’s bold move has significant political implications in this election year.
Stuart’s press packet included a list of Democratic politicians who accepted campaign contributions from Tri-State’s owners in 2007-2008. Stuart clearly hopes voters will agree that Tri-State pulled a bait-and-switch in 2007 and take it out on the track’s Democratic supporters.
Additionally, Republicans may try to tie Governor Earl Ray Tomblin to any controversy over whether Tri-State has lived up to its promises. Tomblin’s mother and brother are long-time greyhound breeders who run dogs at Tri-State.
In the 2011 Special Election, Republican Bill Maloney criticized Tomblin for his continued support of the Greyhound Breeding Development Fund, which had paid over $2 million to Tomblin family kennels.
If Tomblin is smart, when he’s asked about the table games issue, he’ll say it’s a local issue, for the people of Kanawha County to decide. Still, the table games issue could attract more conservative voters to the polls in November and they would be more inclined to vote for Republican candidates.
Kanawha is the state’s most populous county. Tomblin beat Maloney there by just under 900 votes (18,376 to 17,780). A wedge issue that puts Tomblin at a disadvantage could make a difference if the 2012 election is as close as last year when Tomblin won by just 7,500 votes.
Another view, however, is that Stuart’s decision to force the gambling issue on the ballot again could backfire. Charleston Mayor Danny Jones, a Republican, fears that could happen and he’s trying to talk Stuart into dropping it.
Jones believes Kanawha County voters will be more concerned about the potential loss of jobs and tax revenue from Tri-State if it loses table games. He’s worried voters will blame Republican candidates for creating a divisive issue.
Stuart’s table games play is a new wildcard in the 2012 election. And in political races where opponents are holding similar hands, one card can make a significant difference.