SEARCH NEWS:

 

Fifth Federal Appointee Named

Senate Minority Leader Tom Daschle has announced the appointment of former California Lieutenant Governor Leo T. McCarthy to the National Gambling Impact Policy Commission. McCarthy, 66, recently retired following a lengthy career in California state politics, including six years as speaker of the State Assembly. As chairman of the state's Commission on Economic Development, McCarthy was well-informed on the impact of California's multi-billion dollar racing and agri-business industry.

Widely known as a team player, McCarthy's tenure in the California legislature was relatively quiet and unmarred by scandal, a rarity in the speaker's office. McCarthy is viewed as a representative for the right of states to self-determination on the gambling issue, a view echoed by the White House.

McCarthy joins the following others in being named to the nine person panel:

• James Dobson, a gambling opponent and head of the conservative Focus on the Family in Colorado Springs, Colo.
• Kay Cole James, dean of the Robertson (yes, as in Pat Robertson!) School of Government at Regent University in Virginia Beach, Va. She is also a senior vice president of the conservative Family Research Council and a former member of President Bush's White House Task Force on the Black Family.
• Dr. Paul Moore is a radiologist from Pascagoula, Miss. and appears to be relatively neutral
• Terrence Lanni is chairman and CEO of the MGM-Grand and serves on the Board of the American Gaming Assn.

There are four remaining appointments to be made, one by U. S. Representative Dick Gephardt and three by the President. It is expected that the remaining appointments will be made before Christmas, and the commission will begin its two-year study of gambling in the U. S. by January.

< Gaming News