The hunt for votes has intensified in Annapolis as the House of Delegates weighs a measure that would put slot machine gambling before the voters in November 2008, possibly ending years of gridlock in the state capital over the issue. Supporters were scrambling yesterday to line up the final votes to ensure the "super-majority" needed for the referendum to clear the House, where opposition to slots has been strong.The article doesn't quite do justice to the bidding war which must be going on behind the scenes. The real untold story is what promises legislators are extracting in return for their support.
Not only are legislators lobbying one another, but the Democratic governor is talking to legislators to garner support for the historic referendum. House leaders have taken preliminary whip counts, and Del. Kumar P. Barve, the majority leader, said yesterday that they are probably close to lining up the needed 85 votes.
One legislator who says he changed his mind for other reasons is first-term Democrat Craig Rice (D-15):
When Gov. Martin O'Malley proposed a voter referendum on legalizing slot machine gambling, freshman Del. Craig L. Rice opposed it because he thought the General Assembly should decide major policy decisions and not send them to the ballot box.
But Rice changed his mind when fellow legislators who represent the proposed sites for slots parlors asked him to vote for the referendum.
"Slots are not proposed for my district, so I deferred to them," said Rice, a Democrat who represents Montgomery County.
