Casino Debate in Newport Includes Campaign Finance Mudslinging

The two lobbyist groups butting heads over expanded casino gambling at Newport Grand -- Jobs for Newport and Citizens Concerned about Casino Gambling -- have focused on the issue of jobs, Newport’s economy, tourism and what makes sense now and in the future for the City-by-the-Sea.

They’ve also focused on each other. With the Nov. 4 referendum approaching, things have headed up this week with both sides blasting each other over alleged violations of campaign finance laws.

And both were ordered Monday by the state Board of Elections to update their most-recent campaign finance reports in response to complaints filed over alleged missing data. The board voted unanimously to give each group more time to disclose information about their contributors.

Jobs for Newport, which is backing the casino proposal, must disclose more information about individual donors and their contribution amounts, the board ruled. Their current filings list “Jobs for Newport” as the sole donor and lawyers for Jobs for Newport argued that it’s common knowledge who the backers are: former Providence Mayor Joseph Paolino Jr., Peter de Savary and Paul Roiff. So far the group has spent $604,000 on their campaign.

But board members said that the law requires individual donors must still be listed.

In terms of the CCACG complaint, the board provided more time for the group to disclose more information about two donations — one from David Booth of Jamestown for $5,000 and Fred Warren of Newport for $10,000. Jobs for Newport has highlighted an $8,500 donation to CCACG from a Chinese woman they allege is married to a senior advisor in an investment firm that has holdings in Caesars Entertainment and past holdings in gaming companies.

Will Farrell, Jobs for Newport campaign manager, said the allegations are “deeply troubling” and “CCACG is using campaign funds from associates of Caesars Entertainment in an attempt to shut down a major local business that employs local residents and provides millions in local and state revenue.”

A ”fact sheet” released by Jobs for Newport claims that the private equity firm in question, HarbourVest Partners, claims Ceasars Entertainment as as current portfolio company and has previously invested in Gala Coral Group, a European betting and gaming company and Global Cash Access, a cash access provider that specializes in the gaming industry.

CCAG political director Dawn Euer in an e-mail message said that “the donor and her husband are no longer on the board that Jobs for Newport is trying to implicate.”

In fact the woman, Patricia Bilden, said her husband retired from the firm more than three years ago.

“Jobs for Newport continues to harass our donors and supporters while trying to distract from the real issue facing Newporters - do they want to increase their reliance on unstable gaming revenue,” Euer said. “Again, we have continued to make a good faith effort to comply with all known issues with our campaign finance reports. We can not say the same for Jobs for Newport. They are blatantly skirting campaign finance law and have already spent over $604k trying to manipulate the outcome of this election.”

Jobs for Newport Spokesman David Preston said that the group will seek more clarification from the elections board before submitting more information about their contributors.

“That will allow us to determine how best to be as open and transparent as possible,” Preston told the Providence Journal.

Overall, Euer said CCACG was pleased with the actions of the elections board on Monday.

“I’m glad that the Board of Elections is standing up for everyday Rhode Islanders and is requiring Jobs for Newport to disclose the true origin of their funding,” she said. “It’s disturbing that Jobs for Newport is trying to disguise over $604,000 in ’donations’ behind a ‘corporations are people’ argument. In the age of big money and special interests, Jobs for Newport seems to think campaign finance disclosures don’t apply to them; we disagree and more importantly, so does the Board of Elections. People have a right to know exactly who is influencing elections.”

Jobs for Newport, according to a release, has proposed the addition of table games, a concert and performance center with seating for thousands, a full service European-style spa and fitness center, and exhibition, large meeting and banquet spaces at the current location of Newport Grand. They claim the more-than $40 million project would create create 400 construction jobs and over 350 jobs in gaming and hospitality management. It would also save the 175 existing jobs at the current facility.