The mayors of Cleveland and Cincinnati are working together to push a November 2005 ballot issue that would allow individual cities to decide whether to legalize gambling.
Ohio voters have twice rejected casino gambling referendums. The key to the latest proposal is to let voters allow a city to make the call, rather than a strict up-or-down vote to legalize gambling in Ohio.
"I think it's likely that in November 2005 Ohio voters will be asked to approve some kind of casino measure," Cincinnati Mayor Charlie Luken said Sunday.
Luken said it would be a tough sell in the rural parts of the state and with Ohio Gov. Bob Taft, who opposes the issue.
That's why the mayors hope if the focus is just on cities, voters would be more willing to pass a measure.
"We think that's the best message: Let Cleveland decide what is right for Cleveland," said Cleveland Mayor Jane Campbell.
The proposal came after months of private discussions, according to Campbell, who first pitched the idea last week in outlining her vision for the city's future.
"This is not something I just hatched," Campbell said of her casino announcement.
In the last four months, Campbell met a half-dozen times with Cuyahoga County Commissioner Peter Lawson Jones, Joe Roman of the Greater Cleveland Partnership and Ernie Novak, board chairman of the Convention and Visitors Bureau of Greater Cleveland, to discuss the idea.
Campbell and Luken also have met to discuss the issue, as recently as two weeks ago.
Ohio allows bingo, wagering on horse races and a state-sponsored lottery but forbids casino gambling.
Roman, whose organization represents businesses in the region, will lead a 90-day study to look at the economics of gambling in Ohio. The study will gauge how many Ohioans gamble and how many regularly travel to casinos out of state.
"The numbers will tell us the market and how many travel to Detroit, to Indiana, to Canada," Roman said. "We need to know what that means."
Luken said he already knows what it means: Too many Ohioans are spending money in other states.
"We're watching all this money go to other states and it's just silly," he said.
Roman has been marshaling support from Cleveland's business community and will travel to Cincinnati to enlist the help of business leaders.
Jeff Jacobs, a Cleveland developer whose company operates several casinos in other states and owns property in the Flats entertainment district in Cleveland, said casino proponents might be overreaching in a state that has consistently voted against gambling.
"They're swinging for a home run," said Jacobs, who said a more modest proposal might fare better. "They might need to dual-track those efforts with something that is more of a single or double."
cincypost.com
