politics

Gov. Tim Pawlenty said Monday that he still opposes an expansion of gambling in Minnesota, contradicting comments from a key state senator who told reporters last week that the governor had pledged to sign racino legislation.

"We've said, and I'll repeat, we're not interested in going down that road again, and I've said that many times," the governor said, reacting to comments from Sen. Dick Day, R-Owatonna, a major racino proponent.

"I just don't think that expanding gambling is the way to go for Minnesota. Senator Day's comments, I'm not sure what he's referring to."

When informed of the governor's comments, Day replied: "All I'll tell you is Dick Day is not lying."

Pawlenty's comments were a setback for Day, a longtime Republican who announced last week that he will resign from his state Senate seat and lead a new nonprofit group that will lobby to pass racino legislation. Day had touted racino -- the installation of slot machines at the state's two horse-racing tracks -- as a way to combat the state's fiscal woes and raise $125 million a year for a variety of causes, including a new stadium for the Minnesota Vikings. New details concerning the Vikings' stadium plans are scheduled to be presented Thursday at a Metropolitan Sports Facilities Commission meeting.

Day, meanwhile, also seemed to give more ammunition Monday to those who have accused him of an ethical lapse in highlighting his new job as president of Racino Now while he remains a state senator until early January. In a new video on the Racino Now website, Day is shown on the steps of the State Capitol announcing that he is resigning from his Senate seat and will advocate for racino legislation. The video shows Day wearing just a sport coat -- and at one point a Brett Favre Vikings jersey -- and appears to have been shot well before his announcement at his Dec. 8 news conference.

Day said he could not recall when the video was made, and said, "Who cares?" He added: "It wasn't very long ago, but I cannot tell you the date."

He said footage showing him sitting in his Senate office was removed from the video. "What is the world coming to?" he said. "I should have stood outside, or something, or downtown or something -- or in a Wendy's, I guess."

Chris Johnson, the executive director of Racino Now, said he did not think the video showing Day waving as he walked down the State Capitol steps posed any ethical problems. "The senator's made it clear that he's not a lobbyist, he's not lobbying anyone. He will, you know, when he becomes president of Racino Now, he will follow all of the legal guidelines," said Johnson.

Never said he'd veto it

Johnson also said he did not view Pawlenty's remarks Monday as necessarily closing the door on racino legislation. "There wasn't anything in his comments that said to me that he would veto a racino bill," he said.

At a news conference last week, Day, a former Senate minority leader, described Pawlenty as "one of my best friends" and surprised reporters by saying that the governor had recently told him he would sign racino legislation if the House and Senate passed it. The governor unsuccessfully pushed for casinos at the Canterbury Park horse racing track in 2005, but has generally backed away from such proposals since.

But Day last week left little doubt that he thought Pawlenty would support him. "Will the governor sign it? Yes. He said he would sign it. I've discussed that with him," Day told reporters.

"The governor has always been nervous about gambling," the senator added. "[But] the other day at breakfast is when I said, 'Hey, will you sign it if we get [a bill] to you?' He said, 'Yes, I will.'

"I can assure you that was true," said Day.

Mike Kaszuba • 651-222-1673 Baird Helgeson • 651-222-1288