John Willis

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.