Role of politics in agency is a roll of the dice
By RICK ALM
Columnist
The gravitational pull of politics is tugging at the Missouri Gaming Commission.
At issue is whether Missouri’s widely respected and historically independent casino regulatory agency will remain in stable and nonpartisan orbit or be pulled off course.
A St. Louis politician who says he has no experience with, and precious little knowledge of, the casino industry has been put in charge of it in Missouri. Former St. Louis County executive Gene McNary started work a week ago as the commission’s new executive director.
Four commissioners voted to give him the job. The commission’s fifth member abruptly resigned 48 hours before the vote and won’t talk about it.
Commissioners Noel Shull, a suburban Kansas City businessman, and St. Louis lawyer and former judge Sam Hais cast key votes for McNary. Both are Republicans, and both are generous campaign contributors to Gov. Matt Blunt, the Republican who appointed them.
Last week, however, questions were raised on whether Shull’s appointment was legally correct. Attorney General Jay Nixon has opened an inquiry based on a state law that flatly declares: “No member of the (gaming) commission shall be an elected official.”
Shull for several years has been a publicly elected member of the Clay County Republican Central Committee, and he is running for re-election this year. His name also appears on the ballot next month as a Republican candidate for Clay County presiding commissioner.
There may be legal fuzziness whether Shull’s GOP post disqualifies him for service on the Gaming Commission. But the job of Clay County presiding commissioner is a slam dunk.
Should Shull be elected to that position, he could not continue on the Gaming Commission, where his term runs through April 2008. He did not return calls seeking comment.
Shull’s political activism appears to be a first for the commission.
For 13 years, governors and other Missouri politicians have been kept at arms length from the Gaming Commission thanks largely to political firewalls built to insulate it — such as the law quoted above.
Last year in testimony before the Missouri State Government Review Commission, Mark James, director of the Missouri Department of Public Safety and a Blunt appointee, complained that he had no control over the Gaming Commission and suggested that it ought to start answering to his office.
However, another firewall in state law established the commission as an independent division of Public Safety whose director shall have “no supervision, authority or control over the actions or decisions of the commission.”
James’ comments frosted relations with the previous Gaming Commission regime, which promptly issued a public warning about the need to protect the independence and integrity of casino regulation in Missouri.
James told me the other day his words got “turned and twisted.”
“I don’t know why commissioners chose to be so vocal,” he said. “I was not trying to seize control of the Gaming Commission. It’s regrettable that situation got portrayed as it did.”
James said the relationship was thawing.
“As the makeup of the commission has changed over the last few months, as the governor’s appointees have come on board, they have taken the initiative to reach out and establish a dialogue with me to ensure we’ve got cooperative relations,” he said.
“Mr. Shull provides that leadership and has been very good in reaching out and seeing what can be done to maximize our service to the public.” |
