Columnist Jeff German: Federal gambling panel staffers make another dumb mistake

Some are calling it another case of felony stupidity on the part of the staff of the National Gambling Impact Study Commission.

The staff already has come under fire for its poor performance in putting together the nine-member panel's report to the nation. The deputy director overseeing the writing has been replaced less than two months before the report must be presented to Congress and the president.

Amid the turmoil, the commission as late as last week again was criticized for violating federal open meeting laws by going into two separate closed-door personnel sessions without properly informing the public. It's a problem that has plagued the panel throughout its two-year examination of legalized gambling in America.

Sen. Richard Bryan, D-Nev., a fierce critic of the commission's commitment to discovering the truth about gambling's impact on the nation, has done his best to persuade the panel to conduct its business in the open.

It took a Bryan-inspired audit by the General Accounting Office, the investigative arm of Congress, to show us that the retiring senator has reason to be concerned about the commission's lack of sensitivity to the open meeting laws.

The GAO concluded the panel is obligated to follow disclosure guidelines laid out in the Federal Advisory Commission Act.

Late last week, after a tumultuous meeting in Washington in which Bryan once more accused the panel of violating the open meeting law, the commission's staff issued a press advisory on an upcoming session in the nation's capital later this month.

And once more the question of the staff's brain-smarts entered into the picture.

The last paragraph of the advisory caught my attention: "At the last commission meeting on April 28, 1999, commissioners agreed to schedule an additional meeting which has been tentatively set for June 2-3, 1999, to be held in San Francisco, Calif."

There's nothing wrong with commission scheduling an extra meeting at crunch time.

But what's disturbing is that this decision was made behind closed doors last week under the guise of a personnel session without the public having a chance to hear first-hand why such a meeting was necessary.

It would have been nice to hear the commissioners, bitterly divided as they head toward the report deadline, explain why the staff has let them down at such a critical time. The commissioners at least owe us that much after taking $5 million in taxpayer money to finance this study, which some are starting to take as a joke.

The panel, remember, already has squandered $1.2 million on a gamblers survey that commissioners on both sides of the gambling issue say is flawed.

It's hard to believe that a discussion of whether to hold another meeting falls under the category of a personnel matter.

What's easier to believe is that the panel's chairwoman, Kay James, called the personnel session as a ruse to keep the public in the dark about her inability to control her staff and colleagues.

For the staff to basically acknowledge that a decision of such importance was made in secret without public scrutiny makes James look even worse.

Some are calling it felony stupid.

Oscar Goodman's strong showing in the race for mayor could help another high-profile lawyer decide whether to run for the U.S. Senate.

Personal injury attorney Ed "First Step" Bernstein has hired a polling firm to test his name recognition and popularity with the voters before deciding whether to take the plunge in the Democratic primary.

If Bernstein decides to run for the seat being vacated by Bryan, he'll have to take on Attorney General Frankie Sue Del Papa in the primary. Del Papa, who's unlikely to win organized labor's endorsement, is being backed by the Democratic Party's establishment, including Senate Minority Whip Harry Reid of Nevada. Word is she plans to declare her candidacy May 17 on the heels of President Clinton's fund-raising trip here.

If Bernstein can pick up labor's backing and catch the eye of the voters half as well as Goodman, he could end up becoming a formidable Del Papa opponent.

Another Democratic dark horse could be Mark Fine, who failed to make the cut in the mayor's race but finished with respectability.

Fine, who also appeals to Republicans, already has demonstrated he can raise campaign funds. He collected more than Goodman during the primary.

All Fine needs is a strong campaign team and a better understanding of what it takes to win a race.

archive