With a sea of “Vote Yes On 1” signs engulfing the highways, I say vote “no.”

Against the sole recipient of a gaming license so one person can make a lot of money, perhaps as much as $150 million, for his sole benefit, I say vote “no.”

Against the referendum circulators getting paid $7 to $10 per signature under the false pretense of “democracy,” I say vote “no.”

Against misleading advertising, promising the moon and the stars, I say vote “no.”

Against the inability of the Maine Legislature to grapple effectively with this latest pox upon the land, I say vote “no.”

After the vote, legislators should enact legislation making it much harder for private interests to get that type of self-serving referendum question on the ballot in the future. Perhaps ballot initiatives that are so bad that they require the use of paid signature-gatherers should be required to gather twice as many signatures than ballot initiatives sought by truly grass roots volunteers who are unpaid.

Richard Whiting, Auburn