Gov. John Hickenlooper announces five appointments to the Colorado Limited Gaming Control Commission.
Each of the appointees will be new to the Commission. One current member reached the end of a second four-year term and was not eligible for reappointment; one member reached the end of a four-year term and did not reapply for a second term; and three members were asked by the governor to step down.
“We want to thank the current commissioners, particularly Chair Meyer Saltzman, for their public service,” Hickenlooper said. “They often worked long hours and acted in good faith to provide regulatory oversight for Colorado casinos. We appreciate their efforts and wish them each continued success in the future.”
The new members appointed by the Governor are:
Charles J. Murphy of Colorado Springs, to serve as a member from the 5th Congressional District and to represent registered electors, for a term expiring on July 1, 2012.
Sheriff Douglas N. Darr of Thornton, to serve as a member from the 2nd Congressional District and as a representative of law enforcement, for a term expiring on July 1, 2013.
Jannine Mohr of Loveland, to serve as a member from the 4th Congressional District and as an attorney, for a term expiring on July 1, 2014.
Robert W. Webb of Golden, to serve as a member from 7th Congressional District and to represent Certified Public Accountants and corporate finance, for a term expiring on July 1, 2014.
Lowell R. Hutson of Denver, to serve as a member from the 1st Congressional District and as someone who has been engaged in business and a management-level capacity for at least five years, for a term expiring on July 1, 2014.
The prior members were:
• Chairman Meyer Saltzman, a certified public accountant member and a partner at Saltzman Hamma Nelson Massaro LLP, who was not eligible for reappointment.
• Commerce City Police Chief Philip Baca, vice chairman, whose term was to expire July 5, 2013.
• Florence Hunt, a victim specialist in the Pueblo County district attorney's office. Her second term on the commission was to expire July 5, 2012.
• Larry Gaddis, a lawyer, who did not seek reappointment as his first term expired July 5.
• Debbie Jessup, executive director of the Starlight Children's Foundation Colorado, who was to serve until July 5, 2014.
The Colorado Limited Gaming Control Commission adopts and enforces rules and regulations for the establishment and operation of gambling in the Colorado towns of Black Hawk, Central City and Cripple Creek. The new Commission members must be confirmed by the Colorado Senate.
The new appointments come nearly seven weeks after the Commission decided to lower taxes paid by casinos amid an economic downtown that is affecting nearly all industries in Colorado. The governor disagreed with the decision and sought to create a broader perspective on the Commission.
“We don’t believe the Colorado gaming industry should be judged reasonably unprofitable or unhealthy at a time when some casinos are making major multi-million dollar investments in one of the worst economic periods in our nation’s history,” Hickenlooper said. “Gaming should be subject to the same risks and rewards of operating and expanding as other industries that don’t have the same ability to change their tax rate based on market conditions. Colorado casinos pay among the lowest tax rates in America, and to lower them even further in these times of unmet needs in local communities makes it appear they are diverting their fair and rightful obligation onto their neighbors in the rest of the state.”
