TO:        Friends of CCV

FROM:  Phil Burress, President

DATE:   October 10, 2006

RE:        Ohio voter guides available; casino revenue estimates inflated

State Issue 3:  Learn & Earn or Crash & Burn?

Ohio's Office of Budget and Management says

 slot machine revenue estimates are more than 61% overstated

On November 7^th, Ohio will vote on State Issue 3. The proposal being sold as "Learn & Earn" is attempting to change the state constitution to allow 31,500 slot machines to be installed at Ohio's seven horse race tracks and at two new casinos in Cleveland.

Campaign literature being distributed by Learn & Earn claims the slots will reap annual revenue of $2.8 billion and contribute more than $852 million to college scholarships for Ohio's students.

But a recent government report by the state's Office of Budget and Management (OBM) says the numbers are grossly overstated. As The Columbus Dispatch put it, "Truth often is the first casualty in an election campaign; Learn and Earn proponents are prime examples of that." (See the Dispatch editorial "More deception.")

Inflated numbers on slots...

Are they just overly hopeful or willfully deceitful?

Using comparable numbers from other states, combined with 2006 and 2003 studies by casino giant Harrah's, OBM's "Summary of Proposal and Fiscal Analysis" projects the state could only support about 10,035 slot machines at the proposed locations. According to the report, this will result in 61% less money being lost at the Ohio slot parlors and tracks.

The significant revenue reduction calls into question the inflated numbers proponents are currently using to sell the proposal to voters. Kicking off their campaign in March 2006, gross estimates were $2.3 billion in revenue, generating $700 million for education. After paying $50,000 for a different study, the numbers jumped to $2.77 billion and $831 million, respectively. Now, the OBM says Issue 3 proponent's latest claims of reaping $2.84 billion in slot machine revenue and providing $852 million in education funds is totally unrealistic.

The Columbus Dispatch editorial deserves quoting one more time:

"The Ohio Lottery, enacted more than 30 years ago, didn't solve the problem of adequately funding primary and secondary education, and State Issue 3 won't solve the problem of making college affordable for Ohio's students.

The dispute over scholarship revenue is just the latest example of how proponents have used deception from the start to sell this issue, beginning with a name that makes no mention of gambling [Learn & Earn]. Add to that the misleading advertising and petition circulators, who indicated the proposal would provide scholarships but failed to mention that it legalized slot machines."

The truth is, even the addition of 10,000 slot machines in Ohio will result in far greater harm not only to its citizens but also to its economy after calculating the costs that each problem gambler brings on their local community. In the next edition of the CCV Perspective on Issue 3, we'll address those costs in detail. You won't believe how bad a bet this really is!

New law would prohibit sex offenders from having porn

CCV commends law enforcement officials for connecting the dots

In what appears to be on the cutting edge of legislation aimed at stemming the tide of child sexual abuse, Warren County [Ohio] Prosecutor Rachel Hutzel has proposed a bill to keep hard core pornography out of the hands of pedophiles. A novel idea, some say, particularly if you believe that what someone sees and hears affects one's behavior.

At a recent press conference in her office in Lebanon, Hutzel talked about the connection she and law enforcement officers on hand have seen between porn addiction and sex offenses. Limiting the consumption of this type of material - as has been done in federal prisons, or as with drug use by drug parolees - should combat the alarming increase in the number of child porn and sex offense cases, and subsequently lead to a safer environment for women and children, she says. "The Interment makes it very, very easy for a person to fall into that cycle of addiction and never come out of it until they've committed a sex offense."

Although she was not saying there was a direct cause and effect relationship with porn consumption and sex offenses, Hutzel believes it can be the fuel for sex crimes, citing the way offenders often use various types of pornography to "prepare themselves for a sex offense" or to "groom" child victims.

Want to know where the candidates stand

on the key issues that affect you, your family, and Ohio?

You need OhioElectionCentral.com!

By simply entering your zip+4, you will be provided a sample ballot that will allow you to compare the candidates who are asking for your vote on November 7. We're all in this together. The candidates whom we eventually place in office will enact laws and/or establish policies that directly affect our daily lives.

As we see it, the goal of OhioElectionCentral.com is three-fold:

1.  Inform you what races and issues will be on your ballot, and who the candidates in those races are.

2.  Provide candidates the opportunity to inform you where they stand on important values questions.

3.  Provide you the information necessary to contact candidates directly. You can click on a candidate's name to view a mailing address and often a phone number and/or website in order to contact him/her for additional information. You are encouraged to contact those in particular who have not responded.

Ohio voter guide - click here

We at CCV, along with our strategic partners, have poured a lot of resources into this important educational project.  Thanks for working with us.  Thanks for helping to build integrity into the Ohio election process.

Voters, organizations, and churches throughout Ohio are asked to tell their members, friends, and families about this important information available at OhioElectionCentral.com. You can click here to send an e-mail to friends in your address book right now!

You can also click here for a print-ready church bulletin that encourages informed voting through OhioElectionCentral.com on November 7.