Ken Wingate, who heads No Lottery 2000, speaks at a rally in Aiken. Local Republicans, hoping to sway a November vote, promoted the Tuesday event. MICHAEL HOLAHAN/STAFF

Aiken County rallies against lottery

Opponents campaign to encourage South Carolina residents to vote against November ballot measure

Web posted August 23, 2000

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 Loss of lottery sales won't affect Georgia

By Margaret N. O'Shea
South Carolina Bureau

AIKEN - Aiken County is expected to play a crucial role in defeating a bid to make South Carolina the 39th state with a government-run lottery, key opponents told a small but earnest crowd Tuesday at a No Lottery 2000 rally promoted by local Republicans.

Aiken County voters have the ``moral courage and conviction to do what is right,'' said Ed McMullen, president of the South Carolina Policy Council Education Foundation. ``Without fail, people in Aiken come out in large numbers and have huge margins.''

The county was one of just 12 to vote against video poker before the state Supreme Court ruled out local option on the issue. Later, Aiken residents galvanized to pulverize poker at the polls this fall, but the court ruled it dead without a referendum.

Now, lottery opponents are gearing up to defeat it in November. The question on the ballot is whether to change the state constitution, which prohibits lotteries.

``This is the only state in the nation that has been asked to change its constitution and trust government to do what is right,'' Mr. McMullen said. It's what plain folk used to call ``buying a pig in a poke,'' he said.

The Policy Council studied the economic and social impact of a South Carolina lottery and concluded the state would be ``going for broke.''

Mr. McMullen said the council shot down every argument for having a lottery, including one that South Carolinians are paying for Georgia students to go to college. ``Georgia, because of its size, will always have a bigger jackpot, and the money will always go across the state line.''

That was a crucial point for Democratic Gov. Jim Hodges' campaign, which hinged on a lottery.

Mr. McMullen said Mr. Hodges ``might have Georgia, Georgia, Georgia on his mind,'' but South Carolina money hasn't helped Georgia either.

The Policy Council's study found that Georgia education did not improve measurably, and HOPE scholarships paid tuition for large numbers of students too poorly prepared for college to make the grade.

Ken Wingate, who heads the No Lottery 2000 campaign, told the group here Tuesday, ``The juice is not worth the squeeze when it comes to an education lottery.''

He said polls show that support for a lottery is waning. Seventy-one percent favored a lottery soon after Mr. Hodges was elected, and 61 percent favored a lottery six months later. Last week, a new poll showed support at 55 percent.

``It's beginning to shift because people in South Carolina stand firm to do what's right,'' he said.

The No Lottery 2000 campaign hit several parts of the state Tuesday, with the help of Alabama Lt. Gov. Steve Windom - who helped lead that state's defeat of a lottery referendum. Mr. Windom is a native of Florence, S.C.

Democratic Party Chairman Dick Harpootlian criticized the Alabama lieutenant governor's inclusion. ``We should strive to be like Alabama in college football, not in public education,'' he said.

Reach Margaret N. O'Shea at (803) 279-6895.