Louisiana gambling board leader resigns before Senate vote
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BATON ROUGE, La. (AP) — Louisiana's gambling regulatory chief Mike Noel told the governor Wednesday that he's resigning, preempting a Senate confirmation hearing where Noel could have been questioned about his State Police work during the fatal arrest of a Black man whose death remains under investigation.
Gov. John Bel Edwards' office said Noel's departure as chairman of the Gaming Control Board will take effect Thursday.
The Democratic governor's spokesperson Christina Stephens didn't respond to questions about why Noel was leaving the post, if it had to do with his State Police tenure and Ronald Greene's death or whether Edwards thought Noel might have trouble winning confirmation from the Senate.
“The governor is appreciative of his service at the Gaming Control Board and will work to find a suitable replacement for Mr. Noel,” Stephens said in a text.
A longtime State Police veteran, Noel served as the agency chief of staff — running its day to day operations — at the time of Greene’s death in May 2019. Noel retired in June 2020 when Edwards named him as the leader of Louisiana's gambling regulatory board.
Noel didn't return messages from The Associated Press.
No senators have publicly raised concerns about confirming Noel to continue working as chairman of the gambling board, but he didn't appear for either of his scheduled confirmation hearings. And the head of the Louisiana Legislative Black Caucus, Rep. Ted James, wasn't supportive of Noel's leadership job at the gambling agency.
