National Harbor to Host Anti-Gambling Conference

By Annapolis Notebook
Sunday, September 21, 2008

T aylor Branch, a Pulitzer Prize-winning biographer of the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. and an acclaimed chronicler of the civil rights movement, will headline a two-day anti-gambling conference at National Harbor on Friday.

Branch is a member of the steering committee for Marylanders United to Stop Slots and has spoken out on the issue before. A national group called Stop Predatory Gambling snagged him to deliver the keynote address at an event designed to "sharpen the focus on relying on predatory gambling as a way to fund government," executive director Leslie Bernal said. November's ballot question on slots, if approved, would authorize up to 15,000 machines at five sites in Maryland.

Other scheduled speakers include Bishop John R. Schol, head of the Baltimore/Washington United Methodist Conference, the Rev. Jonathan Weaver, an anti-slots activist from Prince George's County, and Comptroller Peter Franchot (D), the most vocal state politician fighting the referendum. Other religious leaders, policy wonks, lawyers and journalists active in the anti-gambling movement also are scheduled to speak.

The National Harbor locale was strategic: It's a gambling-free environment. "It's one of the nicest entertainment properties on the East Coast that does not have gimmicks like slots machines," said Bernal, a Boston native.

The conference will feature workshops on how electronic gambling works, how slots are marketed, how they can become addictive and how many state governments are increasingly dependent on gambling revenue to fund their budgets.

-- Lisa Rein

Former O'Malley Staffer Joins the Anti-Slots Effort

Tom Smith, a 2006 campaign staffer and former member of Maryland Gov. Martin O'Malley's administration, has joined the anti-slots forces aligned against his former employer.

Smith, 41, who lives in the District, is now the deputy campaign manager for Marylanders United to Stop Slots.

"It's time we stop betting on Annapolis politicians and vote no on slots," said Smith, already on message, in an interview Friday. "Slots are the crack cocaine of gambling."

Smith served as director of advance in 2006 for O'Malley (D).

He later joined the Department of Business and Economic Development as a director of economic development for the capital and Western Maryland region. Smith was let go after a year as part of a department reorganization, he said.

-- John Wagner

State Plans No Charges Against EBay Vote Seller

The Maryland state prosecutor's office has declined to pursue election fraud charges against a Catonsville man caught trying to sell his vote for the November election on eBay.

Aaron Fischer's auction had opened at $3.99. He offered potential bidders the chance to "influence the political climate like never before" in the presidential election and said he would video himself casting his ballot "to ensure your vote counts."

The auction was brought to the attention of Maryland election officials, who called eBay and informed the company's marketing department that vote selling is illegal. Ebay then created software that detects similar offers, which had popped up on the site from several states. The case was referred to the Maryland state prosecutor's office.

In a Sept. 8 letter to Jared DeMarinis, director of candidacy and campaign finance for the Maryland State Board of Elections, chief investigator James I. Cabezas said the probe was closed. "Notwithstanding conducted interviews, there is insufficient evidence to prove criminal intent," Cabezas wrote.

Fischer did not respond to an e-mail.

-- Lisa Rein

Magazine Says Senators Among Nicest, Meanest

Maryland is home to one of the nicest and one of the meanest members of the U.S. Senate, at least according to Washingtonian magazine.

In an annual poll of Capitol Hill aides, Sen. Barbara A. Mikulski (D-Md.) topped the list of "meanest" senators. Sen. Benjamin L. Cardin (D-Md.) ranked No. 2 on the "nicest" list.

The survey produced plenty of good news for House Majority Leader Steny H. Hoyer (D-Md.), who topped three House categories: "workhorse," "most eloquent" and "member I'd most like to see as president in 2012."

-- John Wagner