House GOP divided on casinos but says state needs broader jobs strategy
Massachusetts’s small caucus of Republican legislators said this morning that it is divided on the state’s casino bill set for debate this afternoon, but members agree that gambling alone will not solve the state’s jobs problem.
“Whether you’re a proponent or you’re an opponent, the potential for jobs from expanded gaming [is] down the road,’’ said House minority leader Bradley H. Jones.
“There is more that we should do,’’ he added.
Jones said he supported a casino bill last year but is withholding support this year until he learns the fate of more than 150 amendments filed last week. He is especially interested in amendments that would shift revenue from casino taxes to programs such as road construction, he said.
Jones made his remarks beside two dozen Republicans who held a press conference to announce a “jobs tour’’ in which they will gather ideas for solving unemployment. The tour so far includes seven stops in Republican legislative districts, but lawmakers said they may add more. They have established an e-mail address as well, [email protected] to solicit ideas.
The tour follows Democratic Governor Deval Patrick’s “summer conversations’’ tour as well as a “listening tour’’ by Elizabeth Warren, the Harvard professor and former Obama administration official who announced today she is seeking the Democratic nomination for US Senate. Senator Scott Brown, a Republican, also held a “jobs tour’’ in August.
When asked about the recent flood of listening tours, Jones cracked his own joke about the increasingly crowded Democratic field seeking to challenge Brown.
“We were thinking of coming out and announcing that we’re all running as Democratic candidates for the United States Senate,’’ he said.
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