This casino is self destructing from the inside out. When people that were on their payroll start saying things like "I've promised the people of Maine I would never lie to them and if I keep this job, I would have to break that promise," and staying with Evergreen Mountain Enterprises, the corporation set up to run the campaign, would go against her ethical standards, you can only guess what is going on behind the scenes.
One thing you don’t have to guess about is there are some serious problems with this Casino issue. That is very clear.
Another thing we didn’t need to guess about is how the vote was going to go with our selectmen supporting this effort.
People have speculated that the $90,000 that was put aside for economic development was really seed money for the casino effort. $90,000 at a time when we are making humongous cuts to the public safety budget. Now we have Seth Carey publicly asking for the town to spend money on his effort. I believe that those same three selectmen have planned from the beginning to try to push a huge portion of that $90,000 toward the Casino and soon will be looking for more. They didn’t tell you about it when they suggested it but they’ll have to be coming clean about it soon. What you see is not what you get from this group.
Why would any selectman that cares about our town vote to support an effort that clearly has questionable ethical problems, is supporting undesirable changes to the laws of the state, puts the Casino leadership as a voting member (control) of every board that it’s supposed to contribute money too, is sure to increase crime and social problems in our community and is headed by a man that has serious legal and ethical problems himself?
Please don’t tell me that it’s because we need the economic development it will bring. The Portland Press Herald thoroughly shot that argument out of the water. Most of the money will be taking the fast train right out of the state. If it’s located near Rumford we will be significantly expanding our budget for public safety. Just look at the history of what’s happened in other Casino towns.
I’m not saying there won’t be some economic growth and some increase to our tax base, if it’s located in Rumford. I am saying that the financial and social cost associated with those benefits may be dubious at best.
I have taken a “wait and see” approach to deciding on whether to support this Casino effort. After the events of the past week, I’ve come to fully believe it’s a horrible idea for our community. The straw that broke the camels back was that the lack of quality leadership has created serious problems right from the start. Instead of managing the problems correctly, they have only continued to grow larger. I see little reason to believe this trend will change.
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2 comments:
A casino would destroy Rumford...I think it is ironic that the Rumford Reporter likes to mix in bible lessons in their posts...did they ever read this one:
"He that hastens to be rich hath an evil eye,
and considers not that poverty shall come upon him."
Proverbs 28:22
If anyone would like to know a little more about our town manager's views and background, go to: http://www.me-ri.org/2006%20Candidate%20Survey/2006%20Candidate%20Surveys/S14%20Greaney.htm (sorry it's not hyperlinked - just cut and paste it into the address line of your browser).
I searched Honeywell and Digital and could not find any evidence of his holding a high executive position at either company, let alone CEO. Maybe someone with more tech savvy can find that info.
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