EDITORIAL: Mia Moran-Cooper: Remember That Name
Every now and then, a state employee comes along who gives you faith in at least part of our state government again. Such is the
case with Mia Moran-Cooper, who until lately was the Director of the state's gambling addiction help hot line, known as the Problem Gamblers Help Network.
Now she's been fired from a job for which she has received high marks from her superiors, the press, and the public since the hot line was formed following the slot machine legalization under Governor Wise. Why?
A major clue seems to be the timing of her firing. Recently, before a meeting of the Joint Committee on Government and Finance, Moran-Cooper decried an effort to put her Problem Gamblers Help Network directly under the control of the WV Lottery.
She noted that, under Lottery Director John Musgrave, WV Lottery officials have harassed employees of the Problem Gamblers Help Network, illegally posted the WV Lottery logo on billboards that were strictly for advertising the Problem Gamblers Hot line, and have attempted to unlawfully coerce counselors to reveal the names of Lottery Commission employees receiving treatment at the Help Network.
If Moran-Cooper's allegations prove true, several questions demand an answer, including this one: With all the plentiful (and loud) billboards the WV Lottery currently uses to ply its "wholesome" wares, couldn't they at least keep their logo off the handful of road signs aimed to help the problem gambler? Or do they want even proven gambling addicts to keep losing their shirt, inducing them to play the slots some more? Talk about your mixed signals.
In reaction to Moran-Cooper's allegations, WV Lottery Director John Musgrave has asked for an investigation into Moran-Cooper's testimony. Hilariously, it appears that Musgrave -- a holdover from the Underwood and Wise Administrations -- has stepped into it further, as Moran-Cooper has gladly supported her claims by supplying damning emails to the appropriate officials.
Meanwhile, published reports indicate that Moran-Cooper had already planned on resigning at the end of this month. Following her testimony before the legislative Joint Committee, she had headed to Kansas City, Missouri to attend a national conference on problem gambling. Having made the journey there, she discovered that her hotel room and corporate credit card had been canceled. She realized she had been fired and would have to leave the conference several days early.
"I've gone from being a stellar employee to a non-employee with no credit card," stated Moran-Cooper.
This kind of hardball politics has no place in a modern state government, and Governor Joe Manchin should get to the bottom of this immediately. Responsible legislators, particularly freshman Republican Delegate Jonathan Miller of Berkeley County, can be counted upon to keep the heat on until a complete explanation is discovered. Delegate Miller is following this matter thoroughly on his blog at: http://www.campaignsitebuilder.com/sitebuilder/templates/displayfiles/tmpl153.asp?siteid=1139&pageid=24163&trial=false&blogid=2429
If Moran-Cooper is found to be simply one of those rarest of creatures in Charleston--a truth teller--then WV Lottery Director John Musgrave should hang it up and seek an early retirement before he is forceably retired for bullying tactics and a compromised WV Lottery. Ten years is enough for anyone in Charleston.