AUBURN — Ed Barrett talked revenue, jobs and reclaiming Bates Mill no. 5.

Dennis Bailey talked middle-age embezzlers and called a proposed local casino a big “fleece.”

The Lewiston city administrator and the well-known casino opponent squared off Thursday morning over Question 3 during the Androscoggin County Chamber of Commerce breakfast at the Hilton Garden Inn.

The capacity crowd seemed receptive to both.

Barrett projected that a casino built in Lewiston by Great Falls Recreation and Redevelopment and a to-be-named partner could bring 300 to 500 jobs here with a pay range of $28,000 to $32,000. Barrett, Bangor’s former city administrator, said traffic around that city’s Hollywood Slots wasn’t a nuisance and that the racino had “no significant” negative impact on the city budget.

“Gambling is here, it’s in the country. Why shouldn’t we try to keep that money here?” Barrett said. “(Mill no. 5) is a brownfield in city sight, it’s been vacant for a long time. Let’s put it back into productive use.”

Bailey, spokesman for CasinosNO!, said he took issue with city officials who “do not have the courage to raise taxes, but for some reason they have the courage to fleece people.” The house, he said, always wins.

“Atlantic City was a slum, so they brought in casinos. Today it’s a slum with casinos,” he said. “There’s a soup kitchen across from the Taj Mahal — is that the economic development we’re talking about?”

For the full story on Thursday’s debate, check back tomorrow in the Sun Journal and at sunjournal.com