Lawmakers Ask Governor To Rescind Racing Commission Appointments

(KNSI) – Five Republican state lawmakers have written a letter to Governor Tim Walz protesting recent appointments to the Minnesota Racing Commission.

Walz announced earlier this week that he had selected Melanie Benjamin and Johnny Johnson. Benjamin is the chief executive of the Mille Lacs Band of Ojibwe, and Johnson is on the Prairie Island Tribal Council.

The two are directly involved with Grand Casinos and Treasure Island Casino, which are widely viewed as competitors to the two horse racing tracks they would now oversee. The letter says Benjamin and Johnson have “successfully lobbied the Legislature to pass bills directly against the best interests of horse racing tracks.”

The legislators worry that forcing the tracks to divulge confidential business information to rival gambling organizations would be a conflict of interest. The tribes and tracks have been unable to craft an agreement in recent years to make sports betting legal in Minnesota, further adding to tensions between the groups.

Another concern from the lawmakers is the federal racketeering lawsuit that Running Aces has filed in court against the casinos, alleging that they are illegally offering Class III card games and video poker not included in the tribal-state gaming compacts.

Johnson is specifically named as a defendant in that lawsuit. The lawmakers call it inappropriate to have someone as a regulator who is being sued by a company within that industry.

The letter was signed by Representatives Nolan West (District 32A), Kristen Robbins (37A), Jim Nash (48A), John Koznick (57A), and Senator Michael Kreun (32).

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