Patrick's casino plan seen losing backers
DiMasi said to be gaining 'no' votes
House Speaker Salvatore F. DiMasi made a concerted push yesterday to stifle Governor Deval Patrick's casino legislation, calling legislators into his office and persuading some of them to switch their positions, according to House proponents of the legislation who called the speaker's moves a setback.
"It's not dead, but he had a good day and we didn't," said Representative Brian Wallace, an ardent supporter of the proposal to license three casinos around the state who has been counting votes in the House. "Some people will stand up on this, but the majority of people won't. It's tough to go up against someone that powerful. He's really tightening the screws and telling people he wants them to vote his way."
Wallace, a Boston Democrat, said that at least eight to 10 legislators switched their votes yesterday under pressure from DiMasi and that Patrick's gambling initiative now has only "an outside chance" of passing.
Representative Martin J. Walsh, another Boston Democrat who is also a major advocate for the casino legislation, confirmed that DiMasi has started making a behind-the-scenes push to scuttle Patrick's bill.
But Walsh said he was optimistic about a possible compromise.
"It's far too early to say gaming is dead in Massachusetts," he said. "The same people who are changing tonight might do something different tomorrow. It's a momentum-swinging issue."
DiMasi's spokesman declined to discuss whether the speaker was aggressively moving to kill the casino legislation, but confirmed there were discussions yesterday with legislators.
"He's constantly talking to members on a range of issues, including casinos," said the spokesman, David Guarino. "The speaker hasn't been shy about voicing his skepticism on the issue."
Patrick officials declined to comment last night on the possibility that votes were switching. Earlier in the day, the administration took issue with the tone of the criticism in a paper DiMasi circulated yesterday, which called the governor's projected gambling revenue from three casinos "significantly exaggerated."
"We expected a fair and open hearing on this proposal, as was promised to us by leadership," Daniel O'Connell, the governor's chief casino adviser, said in a prepared statement. "But the information released and tone projected makes us fear that this may no longer be the case."
One representative who met with the speaker yesterday said DiMasi "made clear that he wants to win this thing."
"It's trying to convince you, 'I'm right, the governor's wrong, and we really want your vote,' " said the representative, who spoke on condition of anonymity because the meeting was private. "I thought it was going to be on substance, talk about the pros and cons. But it's been made pretty clear that it's more than that."
"He doesn't do this very often, so you know when he does it's personal," the representative added.
Patrick administration officials have been aggressively courting legislators, and several Cabinet members are making presentations at the State House today to lay out their arguments for casinos. The governor was bolstered last week when the Greater Boston Chamber of Commerce released a report that backed up many of his estimates.
Patrick and DiMasi have been warring over the casino issue for weeks. The speaker has been under fire after the Globe reported that he played golf and was invited to golf with casino supporters at exclusive South Florida courses. The Globe also reported Monday that he had taken a strong interest in a software contract that the state inspector general found was improperly awarded.
Yesterday morning, DiMasi began circulating an analysis of the governor's revenue estimates done by Representative Daniel E. Bosley, a Democrat from North Adams and ardent gambling opponent. Bosley, who chairs a legislative committee that will hold a public hearing next week on the governor's casino bill, disputes the estimate that the casinos would produce $400 million to $450 million in annual revenue.
"In reviewing the governor's casino proposal, I believe he overstates the benefits and downplays the costs of bringing casino gambling to the Commonwealth," Bosley said in the analysis. "His figures are high, and the projected revenue can not be counted on."
It is the third of Bosley's "issue papers" distributed by DiMasi's office in the last week. Several more are expected before the hearing on Tuesday before the Joint Committee on Economic Development and Emerging Technologies.
"Quite frankly, I don't think we need to twist arms," Bosley said last night in an interview. "The votes just aren't there for this thing. It seems like every time people lose a vote here, they blame someone for twisting arms."
Meanwhile, the Massachusetts Coalition for Jobs and Growth, which backs casino licensing, announced that three more mayors and a prominent union have joined their campaign to support the governor's casino proposal.
The new backers are Mayor James Harrington of Brockton, Mayor Mark P. Hawke of Gardner, Mayor John F. Moak of Newburyport, and the Professional Fire Fighters of Massachusetts, a union representing more than 12,000 firefighters.
"For too long, Massachusetts has been losing revenue to other states; now it's time to harness that growth for the Commonwealth," Harrington said. "We need more jobs with good wages and benefits, not to mention increased funding for local aid."
Matt Viser can be reached at maviser@globe.com. 