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Thursday, March 20, 2008

City Council Member Burgess to Ubiquitous Gadfly: STFU

posted by on March 20 at 16:02 PM

The City Council recently passed legislation requiring paid lobbyists for private interests to file quarterly reports stating who they work for, how much they got paid, what they lobbied about, and how much they spent, including campaign contributions. The legislation applies only to people who lobby the council or mayor at least four times a quarter—a group of about 20 that includes Vulcan lobbyist Dan McGrady, Seattle-King County Association of Realtors lobbyist Randy Bannecker, and zoo/Waste Management lobbyist Lynn Claudon. Citizen activist Chris Leman, who shows up for nearly every council meeting and whose list of gripes against the city is nearly endless, complained that the legislation wouldn’t apply to so-called interdepartmental lobbying within the city itself and to meetings with staff of other government agencies. In other words, if Jan Drago’s assistant talked to Richard Conlin’s assistant about a piece of Drago legislation, Leman would want Drago’s assistant to have to register as a lobbyist. If a staffer for the transportation department showed up at Bruce Harrell’s office to talk about funding options for pothole repairs, he’d want them to register as a lobbyist, too. And so on.

Sounds pretty ridiculous, right? The council thought so, and declined to include essentially all government employees in their lobbying legislation. Leman, predictably, pitched a fit, arguing in an op/ed for the Seattle P-I that the legislation “studiously ignores paid lobbying by employees and consultants of the city and of state and local entities” like Metro, and called the (public) committee meeting on the ordinance (which he attended) “an echo chamber of council members, their staff and agency staff — a cozy relationship that the ordinance would keep largely behind closed doors.”

Um, really? Take it away, Tim:

[O]ver the past few weeks, opponents of the new regulations have flooded Councilmembers’ emails with ludicrous arguments, most triggered by one sole city activist. The arguments being advanced in opposition are so misguided you’d think they were coming from those who are against any regulation of lobbyists at all. […]

The new law is designed to shine light on the lobbying activities of private-sector paid lobbyists, not public employees who work for the Council or in other city departments. My goodness, we hired our city employees, pay their salaries, and give them their assignments. They work for the public! Of course they talk with Council members; we seek them out all the time and value their opinions and perspective. Including Council staff members or other city employees in the new regulations would reduce communication between Council members and city employees and would create bureaucratic havoc.

While it’s true that government employees, including elected officials, are exempt from registration, the exemption does not apply to public employees “specifically employed or retained by a government agency to lobby.” So, if the Port or King County hire individuals as lobbyists, they must register and disclose their activities. […]

The lobbyist registration law the Council will consider Monday is long overdue and establishes very clear public policy that the work of private-sector paid lobbyists, along with government agency lobbyists, should be open to public scrutiny.

Incidentally, in addition to city and other government staffers (excluding government lobbyists), the council specifically exempted from the new requirements unpaid citizen activists—like Leman.

RSS icon Comments

1

The more I learn about Tim Burgess, the more I like him.

Posted by nbc | March 20, 2008 4:08 PM
2

Correction: If a staffer showed up at Bruce Harrell's office, no one would be there.

Posted by Gadfly Inc. | March 20, 2008 4:11 PM
3

Me too.

Cut the bullshit off at the knees, with no mercy and a brief, cogent explanation of why. It's settled, and they can move on to real work. We've all known jerks like this Leman character, and they make meetings -- and life -- impossible.

From Leman's perspective, would all of the separate voices in his head have to register as separate lobbyists? How does a boob like that get to write op-eds in a real paper? If anyone was custom-made for irrelevant blogging, he's it. Maybe he can go form a political consultancy with Stan Lippman and Richard Lee.

Posted by Fnarf | March 20, 2008 4:16 PM
4

I didn't vote for Burgess, but I have to give him credit for standing up to the "activist" nut jobs.

Posted by J.R. | March 20, 2008 4:18 PM
5

Yes, bringing private paid lobbyists into the public light would be a very good thing. But requiring council staffers to register as lobbyists for doing their job is fucking ridiculous.

Posted by Reverse Polarity | March 20, 2008 5:14 PM
6

Don't be fooled: Burgess is a Republican nut job! He goes to church, remember.

Posted by six shooter | March 20, 2008 6:41 PM
7

Chris Leman needs medication. He is insane and I am sick of the City Council enabling him. Mr. Burgess just won me over. We must stop allowing a few insane people to control our city government.

Posted by Q Public | March 20, 2008 6:42 PM
8

I got Leman's email regarding the proposed lobbying ordinance, and while I'm not as worked up over this as he is (and as long as you're going to beat someone up, you might add the Seattle Ethics and Elections Commission - who also wanted these changes to the legislation), he does raise issues worth considering. Here are some excerpts -

"...Private lobbyists don’t find reporting a burden, and neither do governments—including City employees and consultants—whose lobbying of the legislature and governor, is, by state law, already reported to the state Public Disclosure Commission (and posted at www.pdc.wa.gov).
#
Experience with the state lobby disclosure law also refutes the claim that full disclosure of lobbying will prevent elected officials from getting the information they need. The governor and legislature are better informed than the City Council and Mayor because special pleading by the agencies is on the record for the public to watchdog.
#
Most government lobbyists are not “specifically employed or retained” to lobby, a giant loophole in the ordinance.

# Both houses of the legislature prohibit all their staff from lobbying. Until Seattle adopts a similar prohibition, lobbying by the Council’s own staff should be disclosed to the public...."

I'm not necessarily in agreement with Leman regarding whether internal staff lobbying should be disclosed (I actually don't have a strong opinion either way), but considering that the State does require it - and that the Seattle Ethics and Elections Commission had the same position on this legislation - you do him a real disservice by suggesting that the points he raises are somehow just nutty, because they're not.

Posted by Mr. X | March 20, 2008 6:52 PM
9

Leman is a world class loon. I didn't vote for Burgess last time, but I'll definitely consider it next time.


Posted by Kevin in Wallingford | March 20, 2008 11:14 PM
10

I say make Leman and other citizen activists register too. He wants everyone to play by these strict rules but never holds himself to the same standards. Let's shine a light on the practices of the City Neighborhood Council. I am sure it would be enlightening.

Posted by Naysayer | March 21, 2008 7:34 AM
11

I say make Leman and other citizen activists register too. He wants everyone to play by these strict rules but never holds himself to the same standards. Let's shine a light on the practices of the City Neighborhood Council. I am sure it would be enlightening.

Posted by Naysayer | March 21, 2008 7:35 AM
12

I say make Leman and other citizen activists register too. He wants everyone to play by these strict rules but never holds himself to the same standards. Let's shine a light on the practices of the City Neighborhood Council. I am sure it would be enlightening.

Posted by Naysayer | March 21, 2008 7:35 AM
13

My goodness!

Posted by kid icarus | March 21, 2008 8:36 AM
14

shut the frick up!

Posted by infrequent | March 21, 2008 10:38 AM
15

As a newcomer here it blows me away how much power a few individuals like Mr. Leman have over the city government (and I agree he is less than a stable person... ranting and raving like a lunatic about his never ending list of paranoid complaints).

I agree, make him register too.

Posted by less than zero | March 21, 2008 10:45 AM
16

Make it illegal for city staffers and reporters for weeklies to lobby for political causes while they're on the clock, since they don't have to register as lobbyists.

Staffer: good morning I've come to talk about funding the filling of potholes.

Council Person: Oh, come lie down on the blue couch.

Staffer: oh, by the way, my buddy Paul Allen, who got me this job, needs a favor....

Posted by wingnut | March 21, 2008 10:51 AM
17

As far as I am concerned, what little credibility the CNC had to represent 'neighborhood interests' were lost when they made Chris Leman the President. He does not represent the neighborhoods. Perhaps a small and vocal minority only. Personally, I cannot take the guy and I think most people I know in neighborhood groups feel the same.

I applaud Councilmember Burgess for bringing some sanity to this debate and I hope this is the beginning of not letting a few folks speak for all 'neighborhood interests'.

Posted by Not all neighborhoods are crazy | March 21, 2008 10:51 AM
18

Make it illegal for city staffers and reporters to lobby for political causes while they're on the clock, since they don't have to register as lobbyists.

Staffer: good morning I've come to talk about funding the filling of potholes.

Council Person: Oh, come lie down on the blue couch.

Staffer: oh, by the way, my buddy Paul Allen, who got me this job, needs a favor....

Posted by wingnut | March 21, 2008 10:52 AM
19

Is that the guys who testifies at every other City Council meeting asking to have the Seattle Channel at every conference room in the City? What's next, the Seattle Channel live streaming and broadcasting from every City staffers desk?

Posted by woah dude | March 21, 2008 10:58 AM

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