Slots vote irks school board
Broward School Board members are concerned about getting their share of revenue from proposed slot machines. But they are also worried about making enemies in Tallahassee.
BY STEVE HARRISON
sharrison@herald.com
Miami Herald
Wednesday, Feb. 02, 2005
One by one, Broward School Board members Tuesday blasted the upcoming March 8 votes on whether to allow slot machines at parimutuel facilities in Broward and Miami-Dade counties.
They feared they won't get their fair share of the tax revenue as promised -- or possibly any at all -- and they were upset that parimutuel industry leaders have not discussed the plan with them.
In short, they said it would be like the state lottery: big promises and little money.
''The smoke has cleared, and we can see that everyone used education to walk us to the altar,'' board member Bob Parks during Tuesday's meeting. `If this was about education, why did no one come to talk to us?''
But even as they talked tough, board members backed away from supporting chairwoman
Stephanie Kraft's resolution to withhold support for the slots referendum. Kraft wants a clearer picture of how the money will be spent before she backs the slots vote.
The board instead passed a watered-down resolution that doesn't withhold its support for more slots. The new version asks state legislators to make sure ``Broward gets its fair share.''
What swayed board members was the fact that it's likely Broward voters will support more slots -- and that Broward has little clout with the Legislature.
The fear is that the School Board would ''cut off its nose to spite its face,'' as one slots supporter said.
''It's going to pass, and if we don't help, we are going to have made enemies,'' board member Carole Andrews said.
Amendment 4 narrowly won statewide approval in November, though it was a slam-dunk in Broward. More than 67 percent of voters voted for more slots at facilities such as Dania Jai-Alai or the Pompano Harness Track.
The amendment changes the state Constitution, allowing voters in Broward and Miami-Dade counties to decide whether to allow slots at seven South Florida race tracks and jai-alai frontons. Any tax revenues on the slot machines would be dedicated to schools around the state.
The Broward County Commission in January voted to hold Broward's election March 8 -- a decision that angered some School Board members who felt they were left out of the negotiations.
Broward County and the municipalities in which the four Broward parimutuel facilities are located have already made deals to get a slice of revenue from the slots.
The amendment states that if the Legislature decides to tax the revenue from the slot machines, the money would be distributed to education statewide.
But there is no formula determining how much Broward will receive. One possibility is that it would be distributed based on the Florida Education Finance Program, in which Broward would receive about 10 percent of the revenue.
Some board members want more.
Though Broward voters enthusiastically supported Amendment 4, Kraft said that if the School Board took a strong position withholding its support, it might be able to convince voters to reject it.
Board member Marty Rubinstein agreed.
''Maybe, just maybe, we can strike this down,'' he said.
MARCH 8 VOTE: Early slots winners: consultants
School boards in Broward and Miami-Dade have taken different positions on the slots question -- positions that mirror those taken by their consultants.
BY JACK DOLAN
jdolan@herald.com
Miami Herald
Friday, Feb. 04, 2005
A key Broward School Board member complained this week that a proposal to help fund education by allowing slot machines at South Florida parimutuels would be a sucker's bet -- but in Miami-Dade, School Board members have remained silent on the question.
Don't look for high-minded policy debates to explain the difference, critics say. Instead look to the highly paid political consultants and lobbyists who advise each board:
Broward officials have long-standing political ties to Dan Lewis, a consultant who was recently hired to coordinate the unlikely collection of activists, Indian casino owners and gambling boat operators who form the anti-slots movement.
The Miami-Dade board is represented in Tallahassee by Ron Book, an influential lobbyist who represents the dog track, horse track and jai-alai fronton owners who want slots.
Consultants on both sides say they haven't tried to influence any school board members on the slots question, which goes before voters in Broward and Miami-Dade on March 8.
But critics say it's naive to believe that politicians don't consider advice from their own lobbyists and consultants -- despite the potential for conflicts of interest when those consultants also work for others.
''The children and the families are the last thing on their agenda. It's all about money and power,'' said Charlotte Greenbarg, chairwoman of Independent Voices for Better Education, a conservative group that supports school choice.
'BETTER SCHOOLS'
''This has nothing to do with giving kids better schools,'' said Dan Hendrickson, vice chairman for campaign finance reform for the Florida chapter of the Sierra Club and a veteran observer of Tallahassee lobbying.
If the measure passes in both counties, and the terms of the deal are not altered later by the legislature, the parimutuel industry will contribute at least 30 percent of the slots revenue -- some $438 million in the first year -- to public education, Book said. That money would then be divided among school districts in more than 60 Florida counties, leaving only a relatively small share for Broward and Miami-Dade.
''I can't even fill up the gas tanks of my school buses for that kind of money,'' said Broward School Board Chairwoman Stephanie Kraft.
On Tuesday, Kraft urged her colleagues to take a public stand against the slots proposal unless the gaming industry guarantees Broward more money. The board backed off her suggestion, though, and instead passed a watered-down measure that asks the Legislature to ensure that the district gets its ''fair share'' of the proceeds.
Kraft's support for a guarantee echoes the name of a new anti-slots organization formed by Lewis: Citizens for a Guarantee.
Nonetheless, Kraft said that she has never discussed the slots issue with Lewis. She said she was upset when she heard he'd been hired to fight the measure. ``I didn't want people to think I was opposing the slots because of him.''
Kraft, like at least three other Broward board members, has hired Lewis as a consultant during her own campaigns. In 2002, when she ran unopposed, she paid his firm more than $20,000.
ANTI-SLOTS STANCE
Lewis referred questions for this story to Roy Teicher, a consultant he recruited to help defeat the slots issue. Teicher said he has not even attempted to persuade the School Board to adopt an anti-slots stance.
Likewise, in Miami-Dade Book said he has not tried to lobby School Board members to support the parimutuels.
''I have not had any discussions with board members in any way, shape or form on this issue,'' he said.
Book did, however, make clear in an e-mail to Miami-Dade school officials that his gaming clients seek a slots law that imposes little regulation.
`NO LIMITS'
''We encourage a good regulatory bill with little or no limitations on the number of machines, no limits on days or hours of operation, and the ability to physically build or rebuild our existing facilities,'' Book wrote on Jan. 21 to Alberto Carvalho, who oversees the school district's lobbying and reports directly to Superintendent Rudy Crew.
''I'm not sure I remember that [quote] being in there,'' Book said when the passage was read back to him this week. ``But I don't have a prohibition in my contract against lobbying the Dade School Board.''
Carvalho said he requested the e-mail explaining the issue from Book. The Herald obtained a copy of the e-mail under state open records law.
Crew has no plans to ask the School Board to take a position on the March 8 vote, his spokesman said.
( Herald staff writer Matthew Pinzur contributed to this report. )
Mayor feels 'lied to,' joins foes of slots
Hollywood's mayor says her city has been unfairly left out of the potential revenue from slot machines, and she is vowing to fight the gambling measure.
BY JERRY BERRIOS
jberrios@herald.com
Miami Herald
Wednesday, Feb. 09, 2005
Hollywood Mayor Mara Giulianti has declared slot machines a bad bet for her city, and vowed to take on the powerful forces persuading voters to approve the measure in a March 8 referendum.
Under tentative agreements with parimutuels, Hallandale Beach, Dania Beach and Pompano Beach would get a portion of slots revenue if voters agree to allow them at parimutuels in those cities.
Hollywood's take: zero.
Although Hollywood has no parimutuel, Giulianti says the city deserves a piece of the pie.
''It's not fair,'' Giulianti said. ``Right now, the people don't understand that it could cost them money, not save them money.''
She foresees higher city taxes because of increased traffic, and because mutual aid agreements would force Hollywood to dispatch emergency workers to nearby parimutuel sites.
Lawyers and lobbyists for the parimutuel industry had promised that Hollywood would be taken care of, Giulianti said.
''I'm disappointed,'' she said. ``I feel lied to by all of them.''
Giulianti is joining a growing group of municipal leaders who oppose the measure.
Fort Lauderdale, Davie and Plantation are among the cities that have passed resolutions asking the county to delay the vote until more information can be gathered on the impact.
Giulianti says Hollywood is surrounded by gaming: the Seminole Hard Rock Hotel & Casino on U.S. 441, gambling boats at Port Everglades, the Hollywood Greyhound Track to the south in Hallandale Beach and Dania Jai-Alai to the north in Dania Beach.
The mayor cemented her position after a Friday meeting with Dan Atkins, the general manager of the Hollywood Greyhound Track and the chairman of Yes for Local Control, a political action committee supporting slots.
Atkins said Monday that Giulianti needs to consider the benefit to Hollywood schools. He estimated Broward County schools could receive at least $40 million annually.
She called the meeting with Atkins ''a disaster'' and admitted she walked out.
''They are greedy,'' Giulianti said. ``They could do right by us.''
The mayor says she will use the city's newsletter, New Horizons, and her column in the South Florida Sun Times to get her anti-slots sentiment out.
Information could also be posted on the city's cable channel.
''It's a very simple message -- if you vote for this, your taxes go up,'' Giulianti said.
Slots opponents Fort Lauderdale Mayor Jim Naugle and Davie Mayor Tom Truex were thrilled Tuesday when they heard Giulianti will oppose the referendum.
Dania Beach Mayor C.K. ''Mac'' McElyea was less than thrilled.
''I think Mara Giulianti should mind her own business,'' McElyea said.
He said money will go into the city's coffers and the activity will help spur redevelopment.
''If she wants to mess with Dania, just look out,'' McElyea said. ``[Hollywood] may be big, but they aren't as big as they think they are.''
GAMBLING: Debate over slots hits mailboxes
With less than a month before voters decide whether to allow slot machines at local parimutuels, both pro- and anti-slots groups are gearing up for a fight.
By Tere Figueras Negrete & Erika Bolstad
tfigueras@herald.com
Miami Herald
Febebruary, 11, 2005
Voters in Miami-Dade and Broward can bet on a flurry of pro-slot machine pamphlets to hit their mailboxes in the days leading up to a high-stakes vote that will decide whether to allow Vegas-style slots at local racetracks and jai-alai frontons.
The first wave of campaign material appeared this week, with radio and television ads expected to increase in the days leading up to the March 8 election.
The mail-outs reinforce the industry's claims that taxes from the slot machines will help fund education. They depict a glum-looking student sitting in a classroom.
''Maybe if he started sooner, he'd actually be ahead today,'' reads the mailer, which continues: ``Florida schools need funding for early childhood education. On March 8th, you can vote YES to give it to them.''
If the proposal to bring slots to the counties' seven parimutuel facilities passes, tax revenue would be used for education, but the state Legislature has yet to determine exactly how the money is to be spent.
Earl Bender, campaign manager for the pro-slots group Yes For Better Schools and Jobs, said the mailers are meant to outline the general benefits of boosting the state's educational fund.
''There's a need for more money. There's a shortage of classrooms and computers,'' said Bender. ``This is a good step toward solving all those issues.''
But opponents argue the slots machines are highly addictive, labeling them the ''crack cocaine of gambling'' that will bring with them a host of social ills.
The anti-slot camp during the November effort consisted of an unusual coalition of anti-gambling advocates, Indian gaming interests and gambling boat operators.
GRASS-ROOTS EFFORT
So far, the local anti-slots movement is concentrated mostly in Broward County, said Robin Rorapaugh, a political strategist who is leading the campaign with Roy Teicher. Most of its focus will be on grass-roots campaigning, including talking to every Democratic and Republican club in Broward, plus homeowners associations, condo organizations and religious and civic groups.
They also plan to rely heavily on their partners in the Christian Coalition, who will be organizing opposition to the measure.
''Definitely, the faith-based communities are active,'' Rorapaugh said. ``You can hear the rumblings in the background.''
Rorapaugh said they plan to send out mailings, but their budget is much more limited. Unless they raise more money, they say they don't expect to have any broadcast advertising -- let alone Spanish-language advertising.
The Hispanic market will play a key role for the pro-slot group, said Stacey Brenan, communications director for Yes For Better Schools and Jobs.
The group has a point person to deal with Spanish-language media interviews, and is considering a Creole-language effort to appeal to Haitian voters.
Mail-outs in Spanish are also in the works.
NARROW WIN
Florida voters amended the state Constitution to allow Broward and Miami-Dade residents to vote on whether they want slot machines at parimutuel facilities in the two counties.
The November referendum narrowly won a statewide victory, but the proponents note, to a substantially larger margin of victory in Miami-Dade and Broward.
''Both overwhelmingly supported it,'' said Brenan, who added that the campaign leading up to next month's vote will be ''moderate'' compared to last year's statewide effort, which cost the industry more than $14 million.
The anti-slots camp is counting on the calendar, noting that an off-season election may up their chances. ''We don't think people are going to get out of bed and go vote for slot machines,'' Teicher said.
( © 2005 Herald.com and wire service sources. All Rights Reserved. http://www.miami.com )