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It's hard to find the opposition to the effort to end a 30-year-old ban on casino workers holding local public office.

 

The state Assembly didn't oppose it much this week, registering a 66-11 vote for the legislation.

 

Casino workers see it as an opportunity to see their rights restored, voters see it as opening the talent pool to a choice of new names and faces - but there is an opposition out there, and it's worried.

 

You won't hear from Superior Court Judge Steven Perskie on the matter. The former Atlantic County legislator who authored the Casino Control Act said Friday he's been eager to discuss the bill, but his title won't allow it.

 

However, his former campaign manager Anthony Marino is not holding back. His stringent opposition is centered on the negative appearance the bill could bring to the political scene, potentially contributing to the perception of corruption weighing on the city, instead of adding distance to it.

 

"The appearance is just as important as the actual conflicts," he said. "That's the problem we have now. No one can trust the government. But with all the scandals, none of them have directly involved the casinos or casino workers."

 

With that appearance, Marino said, is also the possibility of abuse.

 

"Think of why this firewall was built," he said. "Casinos are a state-created monopoly. In a town of less than 40,000 folks, we could be under the complete domination of this industry."

 

Bob McDevitt, president of the city's largest casino union representing service workers, said Marino's thinking is dated paranoia.

 

"The whole mindset is a throw back," McDevitt said. "Casinos are not a dirty job, we're not run by organized crime," referring to fears from when the resort first welcomed casinos.

 

But some, including Marino, think McDevitt's political power would be heightened if the ban is lifted. Along with heading the union and already crafting well-organized political efforts, McDevitt was recently elected to head the city's Democratic Committee.

 

Marino believes its plausible that McDevitt would recruit a union member to run for each council district to gain complete control of City Council.

 

"The council would be serving the agenda of Local 54 (of UNITE-HERE) in whatever disputes it has with the casino industry," he said.

 

McDevitt calls it the "boogie man theory."

 

"This idea that Local 54 is going to take over the city, this hysteria about me, it's ridiculous," he said. "A lot of people just like the fact that there is a small pool of talent here. We have a confederacy of dunces here, and the constitutional rights of these people are being violated. Why wouldn't you do this?"

 

State Sen. Jim Whelan, D-Atlantic, who sponsored the bill, is expected to pass it through the Senate Wagering, Tourism & Historic Preservation committee he chairs at its Oct. 6 meeting.

 

It's widely believed that the bill, if passed, will likely attract the candidacies of blue-collar casino workers, as opposed to the more high-ranking officials.

 

One executive whose name is commonly thrown around, however, is Karlos LaSane, a Harrah's Entertainment executive with resort roots.

 

LaSane is a former member of the Casino Redevelopment Authority and the South Jersey Transportation Authority. His father of the same name was a city legislator during the commission form of government before his conviction on conspiracy and extortion charges in 1973.

 

There is one big problem with the LaSane scenario - he lives and works in Las Vegas. Still, he would not rule out the possibility Friday.

 

"I never say never," LaSane said Friday. "Obviously I realize that my name has come up. I'm flattered."

 

The idea of LaSane's candidacy, and the fact he would have to move back to Atlantic City, directly points to the concern of attracting a flood of new casino employees moving to the city to run for office.

 

Democratic mayoral nominee Lorenzo Langford said he would like to see more language in the bill addressing the potential for a flood of casino workers looking to move to the city. He suggested adding an amendment requiring a resident to have lived in the resort for two years before running.

 

"If you pay your dues, I've got no problem with you," said Langford, the city's former mayor.

 

Langford was a victim of the law when he first entered resort politics in 1992, forcing him to leave his job as a pit manager at Trump Taj Mahal Casino Resort. The move essentially ended his career in the business he had been in for about a decade.

 

"I could've used that bill," Langford said laughing. "I guess it's safe for (Whelan) to come out of hiding now."

 

Although the bill is being driven by his long-time rival, it doesn't change Langford's support for the effort. He does share some of Marino's concerns, but believes some are surmountable at a municipal level.

 

"Locally we could establish safeguards to ensure that we avoid problems that could affect the public perception," he said, responding to a question about current city leaders seeking casino jobs if the bill is passed.

 

The bill's passage could also help local Republicans, who have been completely locked out of the city's political competition for the past 20 years. Now, county conservatives are optimistic about making in-roads with a new group of potentially attractive candidates.

 

County Republican Chairman Keith Davis said his party worked closely with casino employees during the long road to establishing a casino smoking ban in the resort.

 

"We still have existing networks with a lot of them," Davis said. "Whether we can attract some of those people to our party remains to be seen."

 

Davis said the party's recent effort to reestablish its city committee has "laid the infrastructure" to attract casino workers thinking about running.

 

"This couldn't be happening at a better time," he said.