For immediate release
January 19, 2010
Contact: Martin Cothran
Phone: (859) 329-1919

LEXINGTON, KY–A spokesman for an anti-expanded gambling group charged that Gov. Steve Beshear was avoiding making responsible fiscal decisions to the legislature in his new budget by premising it on slots revenue. “The Governor is passing the buck,” said Martin Cothran, spokesman for Say No To Casinos, “and passing the buck is not a good governing strategy.”

“Kentuckians have this strange notion that a governor should govern, not pass the responsibility to make good fiscal decisions to someone else.”

The Governor’s inclusion of slots revenue in his budget will force state lawmakers to either make cuts themselves or to try to cobble together another slots bill that is unlikely to pass. “To put out a budget based on something that is unlikely to happen is the height of fiscal irresponsibility,” said Cothran.

The group said that slots legislation has little chance of passing either the House or the Senate and to assume that gambling revenue will be available is to simply ignore political reality and place the burden of budget cuts on the legislature.

“The leaders of both chambers of the General Assembly have advised the Governor not to do this. He should listen to good advice.”

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
August 26, 2009

Contact: Martin Cothran
Phone: (859) 329-1919

LEXINGTON, KY— An anti-slots group pointed out last night that although State Rep. Robin Webb won a special election in the 18th Senate District to fill the vacated seat of Charlie Borders, the total anti-casino vote was higher than the pro-casino vote. “The anti-expanded gambling vote in this race was split,” said Martin Cothran, spokesman for Say No To Casinos, who pointed to the fact that the third candidate in the race, a Democrat who switched party registration at the last minute, was also against slots at tracks.

“If you add up the numbers, the tracks lost,” Cothran said. “The gambling industry picked up the seat, but lost the vote.

“The gambling industry went ‘all-in’ in this race. It dumped in a load of cash. They had a money advantage, an experienced, better-known candidate, a huge voter registration advantage, and split opposition. And then they won by only 282 votes. The champagne was certainly flowing last night, but when the political reality sets in, they’ll need a good hangover remedy.”

The vote total of the two anti-gambling candidates, Dr. Jack Ditty (Republican) and Guy E. Gibbons, Jr. (Independent) was 9355, with Webb’s total only 8684.

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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
June 19, 2009

Contact: Martin Cothran
(859) 329-1919

“We should be saddling horses, not taxpayers,” said Martin Cothran, spokesman for Say No To Casinos. Cothran charged that taxpayers were being saddled with over a billion in debt to bail out wealthy horse racing tracks.

“At a time when many Kentucky taxpayers are struggling to pay their mortgages, state lawmakers in the House just voted to saddle taxpayers with the biggest mortgage since 1990 to bail out wealthy horse tracks, some of which pay their top executives millions of dollars in wages and benefits. There is no guarantee that we can pay this back.”

“State lawmakers just foreclosed on common sense,” said Cothran. “Unless the Senate stops this, financial irresponsibility will be Kentucky’s signature industry.”

The comments came after the House approved slots legislation with just 1 vote over the needed 51 votes – 52 to 45.

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In today’s Glasgow Times:

Johnny Bell wants badly to help the Glasgow Independent School District replace its 44-year-old high school. So badly he was at least thinking about whether he could best serve his community by voting against expanded gambling or voting for a new Glasgow High School.

But then, he said, House Democratic leadership made it plain in a two-hour plus caucus meeting Tuesday – you either vote for slots at the tracks or you get nothing.

Bell has twice introduced bills to help districts like Glasgow raise more money for buildings – only to be told each time the state budget couldn’t handle it or now isn’t the right time.

“But I found out today we change the rules in midstream, and if a person is not able to vote for the gambling issue, then their school won’t be built,” said an obviously upset Bell after the caucus meeting.

Read more here.