PORTLAND (AP) – Despite the high stakes in Maine’s November referendum on casino gambling, political parties appear unlikely to take a stand on the issue.

Top Republican and Democratic party officials say they do not expect their parties to come out for or against the question to allow the Passamaquoddy tribe and the Penobscot Nation to develop a $650 million casino and resort in southern Maine.

“Our mission here is to elect candidates; that’s what we try and focus on,” said Dwayne Bickford, executive director of the Maine Republican Party, who doubts that it will take a position on the casino vote.

Dorothy Melanson, chairwoman of the Maine Democratic Party, echoed those sentiments.

“We rarely come out in support or opposition to referendum questions, unless they’re specifically mentioned in our platform,” she said.

There is no language in the platform about casinos, and many Democrats are split on the issue, Melanson says.

Oliver Woshinsky, a retired professor of political science from the University of Southern Maine, said issues that end up on the ballot through the referendum process are usually those the parties don’t want to deal with themselves.

“Generally, the elites in the Legislature want to keep the decision-making on their level, so it’s usually an issue the parties haven’t focused on, haven’t thought about, or haven’t wanted to think about,” Woshinsky said.

Both parties are divided on the question, he noted.

Gov. John Baldacci is opposed to allowing casinos, while former Gov. Ken Curtis is actively campaigning for them.

Woshinsky says some Democrats, especially those close to union interests, would see the jobs a casino would provide as beneficial to working people. But he also noted that others might see the working class as those most likely to lose money at a casino, and oppose the project on the grounds that it would hurt their constituency.

Two strains of thinking can leave Republicans conflicted, according to Woshinsky.

“There is the deep Libertarian strain that says free enterprise should be allowed to operate unrestricted, without much government control, and let people open a casino if they want,” he said.

“Then there is also the deeply moralistic strain in some Republican thinking that says gambling is immoral, and runs contrary to religious doctrine.”

A York County branch of the Maine Green Independent Party voted last month to oppose the casino question.

The county committee members based their vote on environmental concerns such as air pollution from increased traffic and water pollution from runoff from the parking lots, said committee chairman John Flagler.

Ben Meiklejohn, the Greens’ state chairman, says that because of a division among membership, he isn’t certain whether the state party will take a stand on the question.

“Greens have a lot of sympathy for the plight and the sovereignty of the native people. But there are others who are concerned about the effects on the environment,” he said.

AP-ES-08-11-03 0216EDT