Gaming panel chief sees no setback

The chairwoman of the National Gambling Impact Study Commission said late Wednesday the recent resignations of key staffers won't deter the panel from completing its mission next year.

"Staff turnover will not result in a setback of commission activity," Kay James said in a letter to Sen. Richard Bryan, D-Nev. "Further, recent changes will not have a negative impact on the final product produced by the commission."

Kay James also pledged to continue the congressionally mandated study of the industry in a fair and objective manner, and she lashed out at her critics who have accused her of using the nine-member panel to further an anti-gaming agenda.

James, a Virginia university administrator with strong ties to the religious right, told Bryan she has consistently tried "strike a balance" during the ongoing gambling debate.

"As chair of the commission," she wrote. "I will continue to pursue that course regardless of the lobbying efforts and baseless attacks brought to bear on the commission by various industry or advocacy organizations, members of the press or their surrogates."

James has come under fire because of the abrupt resignations of three key staffers, including the nine-member panel's executive director, Nancy Kennedy, a respected veteran Washington bureaucrat.

Commission members, casino industry lobbyists and Nevada congressional leaders all have expressed concerns that the staff desertions were the result of pressure from the anti-gaming factions on the commission.

James, however, denied that was the case.

" ... I am obviously concerned about recent staff changes," she wrote. "However, I am not surprised by the fact that individuals employed by a time-limited government study commission, either at the federal or state level, will inevitably secure better opportunities which will result in staff turnover."

James said she does not want to engage public speculation about the resignations.

Both Bryan and Rep. Jim Gibbons, R-Nev., have urged James to discuss the resignations at the commission's hearing next week in San Diego and Tempe, Arizona.

The commission must submit its report to Congress next June.

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