Leading Lottery Lawmaker is Lucky Lottery Winner!
Friends,
Last Friday, State Representative Barb Farrah (D-Southgate) won a $2 million lottery prize during halftime of a Detroit Pistons game. Rep. Farrah was one of five finalists for the grand prize out of 875 lucky people who had earlier won a qualifying $1,000 instant scratch-off ticket.
The problem is that Rep. Farrah is the chairperson of the committee in Lansing that oversees the state lottery. And the method used to select the five finalists out of the 875 qualifiers was a non-public drawing conducted by a lottery employee.
News of the coincidence of the lucky key lottery legislator's win broke on the blog RightMichigan and you can read more here.
I served in the state legislature for four years with Rep. Barb Farrah and I believe that she is a very honest person who would never engage in any improper behavior. But with the state lottery, any appearance of impropriety must be avoided. That is why lottery employees are prohibited by law from winning the lottery. That law should be extended to include state lawmakers who directly oversee lottery laws and regulations.
To protect the integrity of the lottery, I have asked Attorney General Mike Cox to review the drawing that selected Rep. Farrah as one of the finalists for the grand prize. I believe that review would find no evidence of any wrongdoing by anyone. But the public deserves that assurance of fairness after a coincidence such as Rep. Farrah's lucky win occurs.
Last Friday, State Representative Barb Farrah (D-Southgate) won a $2 million lottery prize during halftime of a Detroit Pistons game. Rep. Farrah was one of five finalists for the grand prize out of 875 lucky people who had earlier won a qualifying $1,000 instant scratch-off ticket.
The problem is that Rep. Farrah is the chairperson of the committee in Lansing that oversees the state lottery. And the method used to select the five finalists out of the 875 qualifiers was a non-public drawing conducted by a lottery employee.
News of the coincidence of the lucky key lottery legislator's win broke on the blog RightMichigan and you can read more here.
I served in the state legislature for four years with Rep. Barb Farrah and I believe that she is a very honest person who would never engage in any improper behavior. But with the state lottery, any appearance of impropriety must be avoided. That is why lottery employees are prohibited by law from winning the lottery. That law should be extended to include state lawmakers who directly oversee lottery laws and regulations.
To protect the integrity of the lottery, I have asked Attorney General Mike Cox to review the drawing that selected Rep. Farrah as one of the finalists for the grand prize. I believe that review would find no evidence of any wrongdoing by anyone. But the public deserves that assurance of fairness after a coincidence such as Rep. Farrah's lucky win occurs.
posted by Leon Drolet at
2:51 PM
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