Mark S. McNaughton

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Mark S. McNaughton is a former Pennsylvania State Representative in the 104th District, which covers part of Dauphin County. McNaughton began serving as a state representative in 1996 and did not seek reelection in 2006.

The son of a prominent regional land developer, McNaughton is a native of Harrisburg, Pennsylvania and a graduate of Central Dauphin East High School. McNaughton graduated from Elizabethtown College in 1985 and is the college's second alumnus, after Bruce Smith, to be elected to the Pennsylvania State House.

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[edit] Controversies

[edit] Child support

McNaughton's decision not to seek reelection in 2006 was due in part to allegations of his refusal to pay back child support to his ex-wife. The report of the scandal first surfaced in the Harrisburg Patriot-News. McNaughton appealed the decision and, in November 2006, was vindicated of the allegations. Judge Jeannine Turgeon of the Dauphin County Court of Common Please ruled that not only did McNaughton pay child support, but he actually overpaid his child support obligation and was due a credit for overpayment in excess of $20,000.00.[1] It was never publicly revealed that Judge Turgeon served on a State Sentencing Board with Rep. Mark McNaughton for approximately four years.Part of this time while she was hearing the divorce case.Ethics should have dictated she recuse herself because of this personal and professional relationship.

[edit] Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board appointment

McNaughton was appointed to a spot on the new Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board following the end of his career in the House. The appointment caused controversy because McNaughton had been a staunch opponent of the legalization of slot machines in Pennsylvania. Moreover, McNaughton had failed to list over $15,000 in gambling winnings on his ethics statements while in the House. In response, McNaughton revised those ethics statements and claimed that he had been unaware that gambling winnings must be reported.[2] A Patriot-News editorial accused McNaughton of "cronyism" and called McNaughton, then facing a $145,000 salary for service on the board, a "salary hog."[3]

In January 2007, further controversy erupted surrounding McNaughton's appointment to the gaming board. Al Masland, chief counsel for the Pennsylvania Department of State, wrote in an opinion that the timing of McNaughton's appointment was improper and that McNaughton should not be sworn in as a member of the gaming board. McNaughton had been appointed to the post both before leaving the house--in violation of a section of the state constitution barring lawmakers from being appointed to paid state offices--and he had been appointed before a vacancy on the gaming board had become official.[4] By the middle of January 2007, McNaughton had been removed from the running for a seat on the gaming board.[5]

[edit] References

  1. ^ "State House Outlook." February 2006. The Insider.
  2. ^ Cattabiani, Mario. "Gaming appointee fixes ethics statements." Philadelphia Inquirer, December 20, 2006.
  3. ^ Eshelman, Nancy. "You can bet lawmaker will be OK." Harrisburg Patriot-News, December 12, 2006.
  4. ^ Thompson, Charles. "McNaughton may not get gaming board post." Harrisburg Patriot-News, January 9, 2007.
  5. ^ Thompson, Charles, and Murphy, Jan. "Fortune frowns on slots post appointee." Harrisburg Patriot-News, January 13, 2007.