John Radcliffe — Prophet or Pariah?
02/14/2012
Chad Blair/Civil Beat
The House Tourism committee won't convene for another hour and 15 minutes, but at 8 a.m. Monday John Radcliffe is already at work outside Conference Room 312.
He's stacking blue T-shirts that read "Casino Now!" and positioning signs with slogans like "Local People Need Jobs." As people gradually show up, he greets them enthusiastically by name and hands them a T-shirt and a sign.
"You got your testimony in — right?" he asks one man. "You sent it in electronically?"
Radcliffe is so comfortable working in the state Capitol that at one point he leaves his BlackBerry on a chair as he works the crowd. As the meeting time nears, he gently directs his supporters into the conference room, which quickly fills up — mostly with supporters of House Bill 2788, which would allow for a casino in Waikiki and impose a 15 percent wagering tax on gross receipts.
Radcliffe is a longtime and well-known lobbyist who formerly headed the Hawaii State Teachers Association. His clients include dozens of local and mainland interests.
But it's Radcliffe's client Marketing Resource Group of Lansing, Mich., that has him hard at work Monday on a goal that has eluded him for 12 years — to legalize gambling in Hawaii.
MRG is the public relations firm for Ilitch Holdings, a company controlled by Michael and Marian Ilitch, who own nearly a dozen Michigan companies such as Little Caesars Pizza and the Detroit Tigers.
The Ilitches also own MotorCity Casino Hotel, a 67,000-square-foot meeting and conference facility that offers slots, video poker, craps, roulette, blackjack and Texas Hold'Em.
MRG and the Ilitches want to do for Honolulu what it has done for Detroit — build a casino here — and Radcliffe is their man.
After nearly two hours of testimony, HB 2788 is deferred. But Radcliffe isn't giving up; after the hearing he's making his case to television reporters on the third-floor lanai.
Radcliffe is asked by Civil Beat, What's next?
"It's been deferred for now, but it hasn't been deferred forever," he replies, dejected but not resigned.
You're not giving up?
"Have I ever?" he says.
