By John Wagner
Washington Post Staff Writer
Friday, February 1, 2008; B02

More than nine months before voters will be asked to decide the fate of slot-machine gambling in Maryland, advocates on both sides of the issue have enlisted national political consultants as they start mobilizing for a spirited fight over an issue that has divided the state for years.

About 20 representatives of the horse racing and gambling industries, labor unions and other pro-slots constituencies gathered yesterday in downtown Baltimore for an organizational meeting led by Craig Varoga, a longtime political operative who played leading roles in the presidential campaigns of former Iowa governor Tom Vilsak (D) and Gen. Wesley Clark (D).

Other consultants at the meeting included Silver Spring native George Rakis, a former political director of the Democratic Governors Association and Varoga's partner in a firm that specializes in "independent issues" communications, and Jennifer Swanson, a fundraising consultant who has worked for the presidential campaigns of former senator John Edwards (D-N.C.) and the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee.

The meeting was held at the offices of Gordon, Feinblatt, Rothman, Hoffberger & Hollander, a law firm whose lobbyists are among those retained by the Maryland Thoroughbred Horsemen's Association. The agenda, participants said, included an overview of similar ballot questions in other states, which have failed in some cases even after receiving favorable poll results.

Yesterday's meeting occurred two weeks after StopSlotsMaryland, the state's leading anti-slots group, announced that Scott Arceneaux, who ran the aborted gubernatorial campaign of former Montgomery County executive Douglas M. Duncan (D), would be part of the organization's leadership team. Arceneaux more recently served as the political director of the presidential campaign of Sen. Christopher J. Dodd (D-Conn.).

StopSlotsMaryland has also said that it is retaining Martin Hamburger, who was a consultant to the campaign of Sen. Benjamin L. Cardin (D-Md.) and is a partner in a media consulting firm.

Maryland voters will be asked whether the state should legalize as many as 15,000 slot machines at five locations in Baltimore and in Allegany, Anne Arundel, Cecil and Worcester counties.

Revenue from slots is a significant source of funding for the long-term budget fix that lawmakers passed in the General Assembly's special session in November. The state's ailing horse racing industry also has a great deal riding on the outcome.

Two existing racetracks would be among the eligible sites for slots, and a significant share of the proceeds from all locations would be used to subsidize the industry in Maryland.

"This is a campaign that's about more than a ballot initiative," said Gerard Evans, a lobbyist for the Maryland Thoroughbred Horsemen's Association who attended the pro-slots meeting. "If we don't succeed, people will lose their jobs. People will move out of state, and the horse racing industry will be decimated."

Participants said yesterday's meeting took place with the blessing of Gov. Martin O'Malley (D), who proposed the November referendum as a legislative compromise, and Senate President Thomas V. Mike Miller Jr. (D-Calvert), one of the legislature's leading slots advocates.

"In order to pass the referendum, it's going to require a pretty broad coalition of supporters," said Fred Mason, president of the Maryland and District chapter of the AFL-CIO, who attended the meeting. "Labor has supported slots as an economic development project, and we hold to that."

Mason said slots revenue flowing to the state government would also help the state workforce, which is represented by unions.