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October 14, 2008

PACs race to spend

Political action committees are spending at a fast clip in the weeks leading up to the Nov. 4 state referendum. The PAC backing a proposed casino in Oxford has already spent $552,029 between Sept. 15 and Sept. 30, 18 times more than its opposing PAC, Casinos NO!, which has raised $77,700.

All the pro-casino money has come from Olympia Gaming Maine LLC, the Las Vegas company that wants to build the four-season resort, the Associated Press reported. Much of the money for Casinos NO! has come from L.L. Bean Chairman Leon Gorman and his wife, Lisa, of Yarmouth, who gave $40,000, and another family member, John Gorman of Yarmouth, who donated $25,000, according to the AP.

Meanwhile, the group leading the effort to overturn a beverage tax imposed by the Legislature to pay for the state's Dirigo Health Program has raised more than $2 million to support its campaign. Fed Up With Taxes, a PAC backed by beverage companies, Maine business and the Maine State Chamber of Commerce has raised money from Pepsi, Coca-Cola and other drink producers, according to the Kennebec Journal. Its opponent, a group called Health Coverage for Maine, has raised just $177,540 - $40,000 of which was donated from the American Medical Association.

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