Virginia mental health director hired for gambling commission

Saturday, Sept. 6, 1997 | 9:18 a.m.

Timothy Kelly was hired by Kay James, the chairwoman of the National Gambling Impact Study Commission.

James is the former Virginia secretary of health and human resources who picked Kelly to direct the mental health system. She also is a former officer of the Family Research Council, which has as its president conservative activist Gary Bauer.

Kelly will leave his current post, which pays $99,000 per year, on Sept. 17. His salary on the commission was unavailable.

The gambling commission's next meeting has been tentatively scheduled for Sept. 30 in Washington.

Kelly, 46, directed a mental health system that drew criticism from the Justice Department this summer following the deaths of four patients at three state hospitals in 1994 and 1995. He has argued many of the system's problems were inherited and that he expanded the treatment offered to patients.

His ties to the Family Research Council, where he served as a research and policy consultant, raised red flags within the gaming industry.

MGM Grand Inc. Chairman and Chief Executive Officer J. Terrence Lanni, one of the nine members of the commission, said he was surprised by Kelly's appointment.

"It seems the chairwoman has the authority to name all staff members that do not require commission approval, but I must tell you I think she has a responsibility to hire people who do not have strong opinions for or against gambling," Lanni said.

Sen. Richard Bryan, D-Nev., who has been an outspoken critic of James, said Kelly's appointment is another sign that the chairwoman is pushing an anti-gaming agenda.

"Here we go again," Bryan said. "This seems to be part of an ongoing effort to stack the deck with staff who have ties to anti-gaming organizations."