Mark Fisher editorial board
Mark Fisher, a tea party Republican running to become the next governor of Massachusetts, talks to the editorial board at The Republican newspaper. (DAVE ROBACK / THE REPUBLICAN)
(Staff-Shot)
SPRINGFIELD — Republican gubernatorial hopeful Mark Fisher says if there were more good-paying jobs in Massachusetts, the conversation would never had shifted to a debate over casino gaming.
But since the voters are preparing to decide the fate of the 2011 Expanded Gaming Act, as previously passed by the state legislature, Fisher says he is supporting the repeal effort, despite the fact that Springfield voters approved an MGM casino by city-wide referendum in 2013.
"I'd like to have the chance to repeal it and bring other jobs in that don't involve people losing their money to pay for the jobs," Fisher told the editorial board of The Republican newspaper. "I think this is a state-wide issue and not a local one. I may be wrong, but I think its a state-wide issue."
The repeal effort has had a storied history, tracing back to when casino opponents took issue with the initial law prior to its passage, which authorized the licensing of up to three resort-style casinos and one slots parlor in the Commonwealth.
Advocates say the casinos will spur economic development around the facilities and bring money already being spent at out-pf-state casinos back to Massachusetts. Opponents say the promises of good jobs and further development have been oversold, and caution that the decline of New Jersey's Atlantic City is a sign of over-saturation in the market, particularly in the Northeast US.
But if the voters decide to keep the state's casino law at the ballot box in November, and Fisher clears the September primary and ends up becoming the next governor, he says he wouldn't take any actions to overrule the will of the voters.
"If we had more good jobs here, we wouldn't be talking about casinos," Fisher said. But if the people speak, I'm not Obama with my pen."
Fisher is a tea party Republican competing with Charlie Baker for the GOP nomination to run for governor in November. Baker has said he feels the MGM Springfield proposal, as approved by the local voters, should proceed with the state taking a wait-and-see attitude toward expanding gaming beyond that.
Stick with MassLive.com for more from the editorial board meetings with the 2014 gubernatorial candidates.