Don’t let special interests buy state government
Who has the greatest influence on Pennsylvania government? That question is a lot harder to answer today than in the past thanks to the fact that currently, there is no law requiring lobbyists to disclose who hired them, how much they’re being paid or how much money they’re spending to influence elected officials. This is especially important now, given the pressure that is being applied to allow slot machines and other forms of casino gambling within our borders.
Several years ago, the legislature passed a lobbying disclosure bill that was signed into law by Gov. Tom Ridge. While the law had some flaws and was not as strong as it could have been, it shed some light on the lobbying process. People could have some sense of who was throwing weight around Harrisburg. But prominent lobbyists (who frequently also happen to be lawyers) took that law to court and overturned it, just in time for this new effort by the gambling cartel to impose their will on Pennsylvania (as they are trying to do Maryland and Ohio, as well).
Government corruption seems to be an automatic side effect of introducing casino gambling into a state or community, and we’re seeing possible evidence, even while it’s still illegal. News reports indicate that at least three members of the Schweiker administration are being subpoenaed for questioning concerning alleged interference in an application process for a horse track license in Delaware County. The Rendell administration also intervened in this same case.
Why did they want this application process slowed? Why did the Harness Racing Commission, which is supposed to be separate and independent of the governor, accede to the requests from both governors’ offices to postpone the approval process? Could it be so that “better-connected” contributors or friends of people in high places could get a chance to bid for one of the remaining licenses?
On another front, one of Harrisburg’s most prominent lobbyists has apparently been hired (by whom, we don’t know) to press for recognition of one or more Native American tribes for purposes of opening up one or more casinos in Pennsylvania. Already, almost the entire business district of a small town in Fayette County has been bought up by a developer, with hopes that an Indian tribe will be granted recognition. Should slots-at-the-tracks pass, they will have a clear path to opening a huge Indian casino.
This same lobbyist has met with Philadelphia Mayor John Street and other prominent politicians to look into placing an Indian casino in Philadelphia, perhaps near the convention center.
Similar plans are underway in Ohio, where a developer says he’ll be building a $900 million bingo hall near Dayton to convert to a casino should tribal recognition occur.
The lobbying and campaign spending in Maryland should give some insights into the dollars flowing here in Pennsylvania’s halls of power.
Common Cause reports that gambling-connected contributors gave more than $500,000 over the past four years to influence Maryland’s elections. Newly elected pro-slots Gov. Robert Ehrlich benefited the most, receiving $121,260 in contributions. Ehrlich’s heavy-handed efforts to deliver slots at race tracks were characterized by the Washington Post as “Slots – or Else” as the new governor warned county officials they might lose state aid (for things like hospitals, police and schools) if they don’t toe the line on slots.
How much is being spent here in Pennsylvania, and just who is funding this effort to change the face of the commonwealth? We simply don’t know. But we do know this: any honest citizen or elected official should not sit idly by and let the government be hijacked by special interests. Let’s clean up this process.
If the legislature refuses to say no to the gambling lobby, at the very least, let’s put expanded gambling to a vote in a statewide referendum. Perhaps that way we can get this issue, which threatens to drastically change the nature of our communities, out in the sunlight and out of the backrooms and parlors, where this lobbying effort is done under cover of darkness.
Michael Greer is president of the Pennsylvania Family Institute in Harrisburg.