Former Senator Jim Mathewson of Sedalia has stepped down as chairman of the State Gaming Commission, but he says his commitment to public service is far from over. Mathewson served in the Missouri legislature from 1974 to 2004. He served as chairman of the Gaming Commission from 2009 until today. So is he finished serving the state? No. He says he’ll never walk away from public service.
Mathewson says you can find him this August riding around in a golf cart at the Missouri State Fair selling water for a dollar a bottle…. “a pretty good buy,” he says. Proceeds benefit the State Fair Foundation, which Mathewson has been active with since its inception. He says it’s a good thing, because there hasn’t been an infrastructure improvement bill for the fairgrounds for some five years.
And his wife continues to battle some unfortunate health issues, he says, and it’s better that he stay closer to home. His duties with the Gaming Commission were not overly taxing, he says, but it did involve travel to the state’s 12 — soon to be 13 — casinos as well as administrative work and monthly meetings.
He has nothing but great things to say about the commission, and serving as chairman, noting that everyone on the commission gives 100 percent and it shows.
AUDIO: Jessica Machetta reports (1:10)