repubgazette6-15-07jeffersondefeatcostshancockwysong

Having Fun

With Mojo

Hey kids, would you mind proofreading this letter?

Hey kids! Governor Manchin here! Would you do me a favor today? I wrote a letter to my buddy Bill Richardson, the governor of New Mexico! He's running for President, and he asked me if I would like to be his running mate! Would you mind taking a look at it? Thanks!

Dear Bill,

Thank you for your very kind invitation to be your running mate in the 2008 campaign, if you win the Democratic nomination for president. Let me be frank. Your chances of winning the nomination are worse than me naming Jefferson the County of the Year. You have little money and less charisma, and as you know, I have tried to give you some good advice in both those categories. But no matter how much time you spend on it, your hair just never looks as cool as mine. And hey, what about that healthy lifestyles thing we always talk about? Looks to me like you've been doing too much of the calorie testing yourself, although you have slimmed down a little. Bottom line, there's an office in Washington reserved for me, but it doesn't say Vice President on the door. Thanks anyway. Maybe someday I'll make you the same offer. Maybe.

Mojo

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The extent to which West Virginians were sold a bill of goods in regard to the riches promised through table games is brought home by an analysis of just how dependent the legislation was on passage of the measure in all four racetrack counties.

During debate over the legislation in this year's regular session, pro-gambling lawmakers and other supporters constantly touted the total revenue the state stood to gain with passage of the bill. Few, if any, ever discussed just how much less would be gained by failure of the measure in any of the four counties, particularly Jefferson, since it would have accounted for nearly 50% of total table games revenue.

Over just the next three years alone, the state hoped to reap about $114 million into its Table Games Fund from its tax on tracks. But with Jefferson out of the picture, that figure drops to just $44 million.

And, if Kanawha County voters kill the August 30 referendum -- more likely in the wake of the Jefferson defeat and the successful tactics used there that can be largely applied to Kanawha -- the total take would drop to just $32 million -- a difference of $82 million, and a big hit on Gov. Joe Manchin's plan to use 76% of the money for debt reduction. By casting their lots with gambling interests, state leaders have taken residents on a ride of false hope and misleading expectations.

Hancock vote may be in jeopardy

Party officials say law not met in regard to poll worker notification

Republican officials in Hancock County are questioning whether the law has been met in regard to notification of poll workers for a table games vote scheduled in that county for June 30.

The problem is that state law requires county parties be notified 84 days in advance of an election of the number of poll workers they can provide. While that window was met when the vote was scheduled for June 9, the clock should have started when a new election date was set.

Local GOP officials believe a new 84-day window should have been provided, and that there is no provision in state law for simply trying to call a new election date an "extension" of a previously scheduled election.

While Delegate John Doyle is receiving most of the credit -- or blame -- for the defeat of the table games bill in Jefferson County, it may have in fact been the work of another Delegate on behalf of the measure that actually helped kill it.

Delegate Locke Wysong actively campaigned for passage of the measure. But a land development project of Gene Capriotti, Wysong's uncle, is said to be highly unpopular in the region. Because of his uncle's unpopularity over the project, Wysong's endorsement of table games with the pro-growth faction may have hurt table games as much, if not more, than John Doyle's opposition to it.

A breakdown of precinct results supplied by Delegate Walter Duke seems to support that notion. Wysong needed to deliver his district in a big way to offset Doyle's efforts in his district. But in the end, precincts in Wysong's district barely favored table games, with 2185 residents voting in support, 2133 opposed -- a victory of only 52 votes, in spite of Wysong's active endorsement.

Voters in Delegate Bob Tabb's district defeated the measure by a vote of 951-766. But Doyle did his anti-referendum work well, leading to a defeat in his district by a margin of 1065, with the vote 2543 against, 1478 in favor. All 13 precincts in Doyle's district defeated the measure, which failed county-wide by a margin of 5626-4429.

Of course, in John Kerry fashion, Doyle actually voted for the table games bill before he campaigned against it.