Kathleen Newman resigned Tuesday from the state liquor and lottery commission. On her way out the door, she blasted Gov. John Baldacci and others for cheap political tricks.

Newman does work for Capital Seven LLC, the Shawn Scott company trying to bring slot machines to Bangor Historic Raceway. Questions had been raised about whether that work created a conflict of interest with her duties to oversee another, competing form of gambling, namely the state’s lottery.

It’s a fair question to ask if someone’s job as an advocate conflicts with a position they have in government. It’s difficult, if not impossible, to serve two masters, especially if they compete. And even the appearance of impropriety, especially on an issue as contentious as gambling, can do immeasurable damage to the faith people have in government.

Newman placed the blame for her resignation squarely on “certain members of the state’s elected leadership.” But the decision to resign, and to do work for Capital Seven in the first place, sits on Newman’s own doorstep.

The Baldacci administration opposes casinos and racinos, and has worked diligently to keep them out of the state. But the governor’s actions to more strictly regulate slot machines – and the questions that had been raised about possible conflicts – are legitimate and in the best interest of Maine’s residents.

Even though she maintains that no legal or ethical conflict existed, Newman should have known that contracting with a gambling company while sitting on the liquor and lottery commission would attract scrutiny.

That scrutiny was warranted, and we believe Newman did the best thing for herself and the state when she resigned. Now she is free to represent Shawn Scott and Capital Seven without worry that her actions will be at odds with the duties of a state commission.


More effort


After working since last year on a compromise that would have allowed home-schooled students to play on private-school teams, the Maine Principals’ Association voted in November to keep its rules as they are.

The MPA oversees school sports and championships. In 1996, the group established a policy that allows home-schooled students to participate in athletics, but only with teams from their local public schools. The policy prohibits the students from joining teams from private schools. The compromise would have allowed for a case-by-case examination of requests to join a private school’s team.

Some parents are angry because they say the vote was unfair and taken without warning. The issue was on the MPA’s agenda, but few people showed up at the meeting.

The intent of the rule is justified. It tries to keep recruiting abuses out of high school athletics. It was overwhelmingly supported by MPA members, who voted 43-2 to let the rule stand.

But with so much time and effort invested in negotiations over the rule, MPA should have done everything in its power to inform both supporters and opponents about the upcoming vote, and interested parties should have paid closer attention to what was happening.

Greater efforts at inclusion could have defused a politically charged issue. Instead, there’s more distrust and anger.
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