43
Kasich taps Valley GOP leader for racing panel
YOUNGSTOWN
As the newest member of the Ohio State Racing Commission, Mark Munroe of Boardman said he’ll do what he can to assist the proposed relocation of a harness horse-racing track from Toledo to Austintown.
Gov. John Kasich, a Republican, appointed Munroe, the Mahoning County Republican Party chairman, to the five-member commission for a term that started Friday and ends March 31, 2013.
“I certainly look forward to representing the Mahoning Valley” on the commission, he said. “Economic development is my first interest. The horse industry is an important industry to the state.”
Munroe said he absolutely supports the proposed relocation of Penn National Gaming Inc.’s Raceway Park in Toledo to the 186-acre Centerpointe business park in Austintown.
Penn National will invest $200 million at the new location as long as video slot machines are part of the package, its leaders have said.
In October, Kasich signed an executive order allowing the state’s seven horse tracks to begin applying for licenses for video slots as part of an agreement he made with the developers of four Las Vegas-style gambling casinos in Ohio.
The Legislature has passed laws related to the tracks, including making it easier to relocate. The relocation language is designed to help Penn National, which is building casinos in Columbus and Toledo, transfer its licenses and relocate two tracks.
Those tracks are Raceway Park in Toledo to Austintown and Beulah Park in Grove City, near Columbus, to the Dayton area. State officials anticipate slots at the tracks sometime early next year.
But there could be a delay because of a lawsuit filed by the American Policy Roundtable, a conservative organization, contending the governor and the state exceeded their constitutional authority.
The racing commission will be responsible for setting fees for relocating the tracks and installing video-slot machines.
Munroe said his appointment “certainly reflects the governor’s interest in retaining strong ties to the Valley. He felt strongly that the Valley needed a presence on the commission.”
Besides being Mahoning County GOP chairman, Munroe is vice chairman of the county’s board of elections and is the executive vice president of 1080 Media, a marketing and advertising firm in Columbiana.
“Mark’s a small businessman, and he understands the needs of the Mahoning Valley,” said Rob Nichols, Kasich’s spokesman.
Munroe will be paid between $3,400 to $3,700 annually plus travel expenses, Nichols said.
The commission meets monthly in Columbus.
Munroe said he didn’t seek the appointment, and the governor’s office contacted him a few weeks ago asking if he was interested in joining the racing commission.