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Over 600,000 Signatures Supports Legalization of Casino in Ohio
Over 600,000 signatures were submitted yesterday, August 1, 2006 to support the legalization of slot machines in Ohio. It is a call for an election ballot on November.
At the same time, nearly $1.9 million in revenue funded the sponsor's measure of questions about the sources. Seven racetrack owners and two Cleveland developers each committed $355,000 to the effort.
The pro- gambling Learn and Earn committee reported that all of its income came from the Ohio Legacy Fund from its official campaign-finance statement due Monday.
David P. Zanotti, of the Ohio Roundtable, a leading opponent of expanded gambling, said, "We knew the racetracks and developers were going to pay for the petition signatures. There's no surprise in that. Why they would disguise the identity of their donors speaks volumes about how they do business and what their intentions are for Ohio."
Charles J. Ruma, chairman of both the Ohio Legacy Fund and Learn and Earn opposed this saying, "It has to do with the campaign laws and how this is organized. We're not hiding anything. We're not hiding one iota about this campaign."
Ruma added, he is prepared to spend $200 million or more to expand the entertainment center including slot machines and hotels in downtown Cleveland.
"People are fed up with nothing happening, we've seen 16 years of stagnant growth in Ohio," noted Ruma.
James Lee, a spokesman for Balckwell's office said, Learn and Earn's reliance on the the Ohio Legacy Fund doesn't seem to violate any campaign-finance law. "As the law stands, both nonprofits and corporations can contribute to ballot initiatives."