Editor’s Note: Originally written for the Nov. 3, 2014, issue of Banker & Tradesman, this editorial was supplanted by the death of former Boston Mayor Thomas Menino.

As is so often the case in politics, it’s taken the commonwealth a long time to get here – but tomorrow, the citizens will go to the ballot boxes for the mid-term elections.

Three years ago, Gov. Deval Patrick signed into law "An Act Establishing Expanded Gaming in the Commonwealth," an appropriately lengthy title for the lengthy battle to come. Forged in the depths of the recession, the act expanded the legalities of gambling in Massachusetts, making available licenses for three casinos and one slot parlor.

It was expected that the law would throw open wide the doors of economic development and job creation – and then continue the good times by bringing in an estimated $300 to $350 million per year in revenue.

Instead, it has provided an endless stream of meetings, modifications and headaches for all involved. Activists decried legalized gambling as a tax on the poor; an instigator of crime; an environmental nightmare. When locations were proposed, residents rose up in protest, waving metaphorical pitchforks and literal placards. Developers, likely used to the routine by now, endlessly refined their proposals.

And now here we are, we the people, with a chance to vote our choice. Question 3 asks whether the law should be repealed and casinos banished from the landscape. A yes vote will halt approved plans for Everett and Springfield, and construction on the Plainville slot parlor will stop. The repeatedly delayed approval process for the southeastern part of the state will be permanently delayed.

Like a helicopter parent who yanks a toddler from the playground after five minutes because their child can’t get along with others, the proponents of the question would yank the very real possibility of a steady and needed revenue stream from the residents of this state.

It’s not working, they say – it’s taking too long! No one wants a casino in their town! (Except for the people of Everett, Springfield and Plainville, who voted to allow those projects.)

As the Massachusetts Gaming Commission navigated the permitting process for the first time, there were bound to be glitches and hiccups. As anyone who has ever been exposed to commercial development in this state knows, it’s a long, slow, agonizing process. Slow and deliberate progress is still progress, even though it’s frustrating.

Resort casinos, while no longer the boost we needed to climb out of the recession, will nonetheless play a vital role in our recovery. The jobs they will create in construction and hospitality cannot be discounted as Massachusetts’ unemployment rate continues to hover around 6 percent. Once up and running, tourism and gambling dollars from the casinos will swell the state’s coffers.

Residents of Massachusetts flock by the thousands to Connecticut every year. Let’s keep those gambling dollars here – and entice residents of neighboring states while we’re at it.

For all of these reasons, and many more, we urge you to vote no on Question 3, and contribute to the future prosperity of the state and its residents.