Maine's Indian tribes told members of a legislative policy committee that their gambling requests must be included in any statewide vote on a proposed casino in Oxford County. The tribes want their own gaming facility in Washington County rather than four percent of the revenues promised under the Oxford proposal. Some critics of the tribes' request fear the alternative could amount to a de facto defeat of the Oxford plan at the polls.

Gov. Bill Nicholas, governor of the Passamaquoddy Tribe at Indian Township, didn't mince his words during a public hearing on the citizen initiated bill for an Oxford County casino. "We are here today for the competing measure."

Members of the Legislature's Legal and Veterans Affairs Committee have limited choices under Maine law. They could recommend that the full Legislature enact the bill, or that it should not pass and move directly to the November ballot box.

Or they could craft a competing measure, which, if Nicholas has his way, would allow casino table games at Hollywood Slots in Bangor, a casino in Oxford proposed by Black Bear Entertainment and a tribal casino in Washington County.

"We've always, always wanted to work cooperatively with anything that had to do with diversifying the gaming industry for the economy, and that's a necessary component to this state," Nicholas said. "I believe a compromise -- I think Black Bear Entertainment and their investors, the Passamaquoddy Tribe, and even Penn National or Hollywood Slots -- we should get together and come up with a competing measure."

"Competing measures generally are used by the Legislature when they believe the initiated bill is not in the best interest of the public -- I don't believe that's the case here," says Peter Martin, of Black Bear Entertainment, who watched in amazement as much of the attention on his proposed Oxford casino was eclipsed by the increased discussion about a competing measure.

Martin says he just wants the legislators to vote his bill "ought not to pass" so that it can go on to the ballot in November on its own accord instead of being included with a competing measure that he says could confuse the voters.

Martin also says that if the tribes want a casino, they should go through the citizens initiative process and that their request amounts to an unintended use of the competing measure process.

"They're generally not used by groups or individuals to take a shortcut around the process, which is going out and getting signatures and bringing them to the secretary of state," Martin says. "So we do have a problem with the process if that was allowed to happen. We'd like to go out clean, we'd like the peoaple of this state -- over 100,000 of them signed this petition -- to get to look at this issue. I don't believe it serves the interests of the Passamaquoddy's or us to have a competing measure because, pretty much, they'll both lend itself to giving it to the 'no's.'"

"Cornwall Wood Products, Oxford Homes, Burlington Homes, Robinson Manufacturing -- now, this is not close to being the entire list of companies that we've lost, but it's a pretty good start," says Rupert Grover, a Norway businessman.

Grover says Oxford County has lost its share of good jobs over the years and that a casino offers some hope of employment to young people who want to remain in the area with their families.

"As is much of Maine, we're desperate for companies to locate in the area, but so far there have been very few," Grover says. "We are prepared -- we the investors -- are prepared to take our money and invest it in the casino, or in, I should say, the four-season resort."

Ed McColl, representing Scarborough Downs raceway, says what those in the harness racing industry don't need right now is another source of competition for gambling dollars.

"Harness racing has hundreds of wonderful Maine families, thousands of licensees, over 100,000 acres of beautiful, productive farmland, and it's imperiled if Maine continues to have other forms of gaming that aren't expensive, that don't support those activities, that are going to rob these families of their livlihoods," McColl said.

The Legal and Veterans Affairs Committee will begin working the Oxford casino bill next Wednesday.