Editor:

Fool me once, shame on you. Fool me twice, shame on me.

I imagine this is how the publishers of both the Current and the Scarborough Leader must be feeling about now. First there were Karen Vachon’s letters to the editor in both papers telling us how good it will be for Scarborough to bring a gambling machine into a declining harness track touted as the new heart of town. (Scarborough Leader, Oct. 3, and the Current, Oct. 9, 2008.) Unfortunately, neither newspaper identified Karen Vachon as an employee of Scarborough Downs. That information should have been included with her signature.

Now we discover Dan Warren, a former town councilor and state representative, and a lawyer, was paid $30,000 for his support of the Scarborough Village Partnership and slot machines. A full-page personal letter from Mr. Warren in the Scarborough Leader (Oct. 31) and in the Current (Oct. 30) urged voters to support more gambling in Scarborough, telling us it would “fit well in our town.” Those full-page advertisements should have been labeled ‘paid endorsement.’

According to testimony at the March 26 meeting of the Maine Commission on Governmental Ethics and Election Practices, Mr. Warren was paid for the advertisement.

I’m well aware that many people in town were swayed by his endorsement and Scarborough is extremely lucky there were 240 more sensible voters who helped kill slot machines. 

If voters had known Dan Warren’s support was paid for, would the margin have been that small? 

That the partnership waited until January to file an amendment to their campaign finance report identifying Mr. Warren’s paid support was no oversight. 

Penn National and its partners are not naïve. Not only did Scarborough Village Partnership fool the Current and the Leader, they almost fooled the voters. 

Susan DeWitt Wilder

Scarborough