[Gonzopozo]

DENVER (AP) -- The former vice-chair of the Colorado Gaming Commission said Saturday that he and former Chairwoman Natalie Meyer were fired by the governor for upholding the state constitution.

"I think we got fired for doing the right thing," Robert Millman told The Associated Press.

Gov. Bill Owens had said Friday that the two were not providing leadership.

Millman and Meyer had been vocal in their disapproval of how the Department of Revenue was handling the state's gaming budget. The pair were engaged in a dispute with the department about which entity has authority over different aspects of the gambling industry in the state.

"This is about the law. It's not about politics," Millman said.

Dan Hopkins, spokesman for Owens, said the governor agrees there are some ambiguous areas in the statute that need to be sorted out. Owens had asked the state attorney general for a legal opinion, but Meyer and Millman weren't interested in working through the process, he said.

"The statute is clear, though, in that it requires the Revenue Department and the commission to operate in a cooperative manner," Hopkins said.

"They were both a very disruptive force to the point that neither the commission nor the Revenue Department were able to fulfill their core mission, which is the oversight of the state's gaming industry," Hopkins said.

Hopkins said Friday that the governor had lost confidence in Millman and Meyer's ability to direct the commission's activities.

Last month, Meyer called an emergency meeting, saying the commission had been unable to fulfill its constitutional duties and that it had been months since financial audits of the industry were conducted, leaving the state unable to tell if casinos were following state law or paying enough in taxes.

She also criticized the executive director of the Revenue Department, Michael Cooke, who has since been directed by Owens to review the gaming division's management structure.

The Gaming Commission asked the governor in December to address commissioners' concerns immediately.

"It was not about attention. It was about constitutional duties, so I have no regrets, Millman said.

(Copyright 2006 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)