McDonough unaware Willis served on anti-slots organization steering committee

Secretary of State John McDonough says he was not aware John Willis was on the Marylanders United to Stop Slots steering committee when he consulted with him about writing the language of the November slots referendum.

Voters will decide on November's ballot if the state constitution should be amended to allow no more than 15,000 slots machine installations at five different locations across the state.

McDonough published the text of the November slots referendum on Monday, but has found himself under fire from Marylanders United to Stop Slots – an anti-slot group that says the referendum’s language is biased.

In McDonough’s response to the charges, he mentioned that he had consulted with former Secretary of State John Willis: who is now a professor at the University of Baltimore. According to McDonough, the conversation was about the process involved with writing the referendum’s language. But McDonough was unaware that Willis was a steering committee member of Marylanders United to Stop Slots.

“I never really asked him,” said McDonough in an interview with PolitickerMD.com.

McDonough said “he wouldn’t have cared one way or the other” and believes Willis “gave his advice impartially.”

Marylanders United to Stop Slots Senior Advisor Scott Arceneaux agrees with McDonough. “I don’t think it biases our position either,” said Arceneaux in an interview with PolitickerMD.com.

This is where the agreement over the referendum’s language ends.

Arceneaux criticized McDonough on Tuesday, claiming he failed to mention that Annapolis projects 42.5% of the funds will go to the gambling industry.

“If Secretary McDonough wants to make the language partial to highlight the supposed benefits of slot casinos, why doesn’t he also include the negatives?” asked Arceneaux in a statement.

Except for a slight alteration of the referendum’s title, McDonough says he left the words of the constitutional amendment exactly as it was adopted by the General Assembly. “None of that has anything to do with the function of my office,” McDonough told PolitickerMD.com.

According to the text to be placed on the ballot, the purpose of slots revenue is to provide funding for public schools, community colleges and higher education institutions. It does not state that any other party would be a beneficiary of the slots revenue.

Arceneaux also criticized McDonough for a so-called 20 year lobbying spree on behalf of the gambling industry, but the secretary of state called the statement a “red herring” and says he never worked exclusively for Rosecroft Raceway. I’ve been an “attorney for hundreds of other people,” over the past 20 years he said.

The fight over November’s slots referendum has become a heated issue in the state. While proponents argue the slots will provide necessary funding for the state’s education infrastructure, opponents believe the revenue projections are overly optimistic, and the problems associated with gambling far outweigh the benefits.