10/06/2011 - Indiana Democrats call on Lottery Director to step down after wasting thousands in taxpayer dollars

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
October 6, 2011

Indiana Democrats call on Lottery Director to step down after wasting thousands in taxpayer dollars on luxurious new offices
Parker: “When will someone in the Daniels administration be held accountable for their actions?”

INDIANAPOLIS – Indiana Democratic Party Chair Dan Parker today called for Hoosier Lottery Director Kathryn Densborn to step down from her post after media reports confirmed that she wasted tens of thousands of taxpayer dollars on luxurious new office space for the state agency.

WTHR reported last night:

Last week 13 Investigates took Hoosiers inside the lottery offices for the very first time. We showed you the lottery's many conference rooms filled with brand new furniture, a massive break room with $800 bar stools and flat screen TVs and even a workout room worth brand new state-of-art equipment costing more than $25,000.
The lottery commission and the lottery director met with reporters to say they made an error in judgment by not closely watching their expenses. Lottery officials say they did not follow rules set by the Department of Administration and as a result, the entire workout room is being closed down.

In the story, Hoosier Lottery Commission chair William Zielke said “the decision to make those purchases were made by Kathryn Densborn, lottery director and or her staff.”

“Our economy is in shambles, and Ms. Densborn thought it was the right time to upgrade to office space fit for a Wall Street corporation?” Parker asked. “Not only should they figure out a way to mitigate these egregious expenses, but Ms. Densborn needs to do more than apologize for her mistake: She needs to step down.”

Parker noted that Gov. Mitch Daniels rarely calls for accountability among his senior staff in the wake of offensive behavior. He specifically cited former Family and Social Services Administration Secretary Mitch Roob, who was promoted to Commerce Secretary despite his involvement in a botched $1 billion privatization deal that harmed thousands of Indiana’s most vulnerable citizens and remains the subject of a costly lawsuit.

“Time and again, we’ve heard the Governor talk about accountability for others but fail to deliver it within his own house,” Parker said. “When will someone in the Daniels administration be held accountable for their actions?”

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