Chairman Alex Lieblong’s move Monday follows a report in the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette that indicated he had discussed the procedure with a lawyer for one of the parties vying for the contract.

“While I know that I have not acted inappropriately, nor am I in any way biased toward either of the candidates, and to avoid any appearance of impropriety and remove any doubts as to the integrity of either myself or this process, I am voluntarily withdrawing my scores and recusing from any votes regarding the Pope County casino licensing matter,” he wrote in a letter to the commission.

Cherokee Nation Businesses of Oklahoma and Gulfside Casino Partnership of Mississippi have been competing for a license to run a casino in Pope County.

Last month, the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette reported that Lieblong had been in communication with the Cherokee Nation Businesses’ attorney via text message. The exchange, which the newspaper obtained under the Freedom of Information Act, shows a conversation about what appears to be the casino license process.