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Lobbyist Miscellany
Thursday, October 22nd, 2015
Robert Wechsler
Campaign Vendors Lobbying Their Candidates
According to an article in the Capital (of DE) Gazette, an assistant state's attorney for Anne Arundel County, whose political firm was paid $200,000 by the successful candidate for county executive, is also a lobbyist for a company involved in a stormwater pilot program for the county. Since the state's attorney office is a state office, even though the county office is paid for by the county government, there is no issue of a county employee lobbying the county.
Also, few jurisdictions consider it a conflict of interest for a campaign vendor to lobby the candidate he worked for. However, the county council chair is quoted as saying that a change may be needed in the county ethics code. These sorts of technical loopholes in laws cause citizens to think the laws aren't worth that much, but are written to help officials and contractors. Below is language in the City Ethics Model Lobbying Code which deals with the issue of lobbying an official one consulted to as a candidate:
Lobbying Registries: Visits Aren't Enough
According to a post on the Saint Peters Blog, the Hillsborough County (FL) council voted unanimously to have the county attorney draft a law creating a lobbying registry for the disclosure of all visits to county officials and their staff. As a commenter to the post says, such a law would not disclose text messages, nor would it disclose phone calls, letters, or e-mails, or meetings outside county offices. Disclosing office visits is insufficient and will favor those with special access through phone numbers, e-mail addresses, and social engagements, whose contacts will not be recorded.
Lobbyists as Experts on Boards
According to an article in The Independent (U.K.) this week, representatives of Volkswagen sit on 14 European Commission Expert Groups on topics relevant to their products. While doing this, the company has made misrepresentations relating to the majority of its cars in Europe, causing huge amounts of air pollution and fraudulently inducing people to buy cars that get worse gas mileage than they thought. Should companies with such strong interests, fraudulent or not, sit on government bodies that make policy recommendations?
Robert Wechsler
Director of Research-Retired, City Ethics
According to an article in the Capital (of DE) Gazette, an assistant state's attorney for Anne Arundel County, whose political firm was paid $200,000 by the successful candidate for county executive, is also a lobbyist for a company involved in a stormwater pilot program for the county. Since the state's attorney office is a state office, even though the county office is paid for by the county government, there is no issue of a county employee lobbying the county.
Also, few jurisdictions consider it a conflict of interest for a campaign vendor to lobby the candidate he worked for. However, the county council chair is quoted as saying that a change may be needed in the county ethics code. These sorts of technical loopholes in laws cause citizens to think the laws aren't worth that much, but are written to help officials and contractors. Below is language in the City Ethics Model Lobbying Code which deals with the issue of lobbying an official one consulted to as a candidate:
Political Activity. ... No campaign consultant or employee of a campaign consultant may lobby any official or employee who is a current or former client of the campaign consultant or whose superior is a current or former client of the campaign consultant. “Former” in this provision means within the past two election cycles.
Lobbying Registries: Visits Aren't Enough
According to a post on the Saint Peters Blog, the Hillsborough County (FL) council voted unanimously to have the county attorney draft a law creating a lobbying registry for the disclosure of all visits to county officials and their staff. As a commenter to the post says, such a law would not disclose text messages, nor would it disclose phone calls, letters, or e-mails, or meetings outside county offices. Disclosing office visits is insufficient and will favor those with special access through phone numbers, e-mail addresses, and social engagements, whose contacts will not be recorded.
Lobbyists as Experts on Boards
According to an article in The Independent (U.K.) this week, representatives of Volkswagen sit on 14 European Commission Expert Groups on topics relevant to their products. While doing this, the company has made misrepresentations relating to the majority of its cars in Europe, causing huge amounts of air pollution and fraudulently inducing people to buy cars that get worse gas mileage than they thought. Should companies with such strong interests, fraudulent or not, sit on government bodies that make policy recommendations?
Robert Wechsler
Director of Research-Retired, City Ethics
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