Lawmakers are asking the governor to rescind race commission appointments

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

Earlier this week, Walz announced that he had chosen Melanie Benjamin and Johnny Johnson. Benjamin is the executive director of the Mille Lacs Band of Ojibwe, and Johnson is a member of the Prairie Island Tribal Council.

The two have direct ties to Grand Casinos and Treasure Island Casino, which are widely seen as competitors to the two horse racing tracks they will now oversee. The letter said Benjamin and Johnson “successfully lobbied the Legislature to pass bills that directly conflict with the interests of racetracks.”

Lawmakers fear that forcing tracks to reveal confidential business information to rival gaming organizations would be a conflict of interest. Tribes and tracks have been unable to reach an agreement in recent years to make sports betting legal in Minnesota, further increasing tensions between the groups.

Another concern from lawmakers is a federal racketeering lawsuit that Running Aces has filed in court against the casinos, alleging that they illegally offer Class III card games and video poker that are not covered by gaming compacts entered into by tribal states.

Johnson was specifically named as a defendant in this lawsuit. Lawmakers believe it is inappropriate to hire someone as a regulator who is being sued by a company in that industry.

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

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