Pari-mutuel wagering supporter Orluff Opheikens called the race less than 30 minutes after the polls closed Tuesday night.
"We're getting stomped. That's what you call it, isn't it?" Ophei-kens said. The initiative to legalize pari-mutuel wagering on horse races by county referendum, supported by Citizens to Put Utah First, was trounced 60 percent to 40 percent.With all but one San Juan County district reporting, Initiative A failed with 449,052 Utahns voting against the measure and 296,529 voting for it. Election results are not yet official.
"I think the voters really sent a clear message that they don't want gambling in Utah. I think the size of the margin pretty much makes that clear," said Hugh Matheson, campaign manager of Utah Citizens Against Parimutuel Gambling, at a victory party Tuesday night.
"I think the broader lesson is, no matter how you dress up a gambling proposal, Utahns aren't going to go for it for a variety of reasons."
The initiative carried in six counties - Carbon, Daggett, Grand, Summit, Tooele and Weber. Supporters had expected strong support in Weber County, where the initiative received significant financial backing, but it passed by only 297 votes.
Jon Freston, spokesman for Citizens to Put Utah First, blamed the loss on UCAP's fat war chest and the involvement of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.
"I think it's just the weight of being outspent 8 to 1. We had to fight on two fronts: On one hand we were being preached against in the ward houses on Sunday and the other six days, we were being outspent 8 to 1," Freston said.
"If anyone thought this was a fair fight then Rocky was a real flying squirrel."
The defeat brings to a close nearly 11 months of work, which included an unsuccessful attempt to legalize pari-mutuel wagering by legislation, then a statewide petition drive to collect enough valid signatures to put the issue on the general election ballot.
Backers said Gov. Norm Bangerter's decision to veto the second year of funding for the Utah Horse Commission prompted them to seek another avenue of relief.
Proponents collected more than 100,000 signatures in 100 days. On July 23, Lt. Gov. Val Oveson announced that supporters collected enough signatures to put the issue to a vote.
Early on, public opinion polls indicated a plurality of Utahns backed the measure. As the election neared, support slipped - a phenomenon backers attributed to UCAP's well-heeled campaign. Financial disclosure forms filed Oct. 27, indicate UCAP has outspent Citizens to Put Utah First nearly 41/2 to 1.
UCAP officials say the swing in the polls was indicative of the organization's voter education efforts through paid advertisements, public debates and press conferences.
Even though the pari-mutuel initiative is dead, the Legislature must decide if it will fund the Utah Horse Commission. The commission was established in the 1992 session as a compromise to proposed pari-mutuel wagering legislation.
Pari-mutuel backers indicated they would ask the Legislature to fund the commission in the 1993 session.
Matheson said UCAP would not fight the movement. "We wish them well. We don't want to interfere with the legitimate interests of horse racing enthusiasts. It's just the gambling we don't like."
Freston remarked, "Wouldn't it be ironic if people voted against this because they believed it would cost them their tax dollars and then the Legislature turns around and appropriates money for the horse commission?"
LDS Church spokesman Bruce L. Olsen commended Utah Citizens Against Pari-mutuel Gambling for its efforts to defeat the legalization of gambling in Utah.
Olsen also expressed hope that all Utahns will now seek "to moderate feelings that may disrupt the spirit of friendship and community."
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(Additional story)
Initiative route is tough
Historically, citizen initiatives have been losers.
Initiatives face an uphill battle because it is difficult to get the issue on the ballot.
Of 25 petition initiatives attempted by various groups in Utah in the past year, only the pari-mutuel question qualified for the ballot.
And of the few petitions that qualify for the ballot, history is not on the side of their passage.
Past losers include:
- 1990 - An initiative to remove the sales tax from food goes down to defeat in every Utah county except Kane County.
- 1988 - Three tax initiatives are shot down by Utah voters, most by a 2-1 margin. The initiatives were intended to limit property tax rates and government growth; roll back 1987 tax hikes and lower income tax rates; and give tax breaks to parents of children who attend private schools.
- 1984 - The Cable Television Decency Act, an initiative intended to control the content of cable television programming, loses 60 percent to 40 percent.
- 1980 - Initiatives to remove the sales tax from food and cap property taxes fail.
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(Chart)
Intiative A
For Against
Beaver 967 1,167
Box Elder 5,073 10,728
Cache 7,278 24,000
Carbon 5,395 3,218
Daggett 228 178
Davis 28,902 53,081
Duchesne 1,685 2,880
Emery 1,858 2,463
Garfield 707 1,111
Grand 1,997 1,266
Iron 3,123 6,176
Juab 1,061 1,649
Kane 826 1,257
Millard 1,530 3,318
Morgan 1,010 1,907
Piute 304 397
Rich 266 569
Salt Lake 150,751 170,122
San Juan 1,273 2,102
Sanpete 1,935 4,526
Sevier 2,435 3,924
Summit 5,579 3,534
Tooele 5,431 4,945
Uintah 3,384 4,472
Utah 20,398 86,676
Wasatch 6,129 15,053
Wayne 431 713
Weber 34,986 34,689