WASHINGTON — Growing up in the Inland Empire, Rep. Jerry Lewis (R-Redlands) was such a star at San Bernardino High School that he captained the swimming team and his basketball jersey was later retired. He went on to build an insurance business, raise seven children, serve on a school board and enter the state Legislature before going on to Congress.
And as a member -- now chairman -- of the House Appropriations Committee, he has sent so much federal money home and been so attentive to local officials that his name is on facilities everywhere. On a community center in Highland, a San Bernardino swimming pool, a University of Redlands research center and more.
"If I want to speak to him or his office, I can contact them at any time," says Redlands Mayor Jon Harrison.
Yet even though the mayor can talk to Lewis and his staff whenever he needs to, the Redlands city government pays $30,000 a year to a Washington lobbying firm for help getting federal funds for local projects.
Redlands is not alone. Over the last few years, at least 19 Inland Empire cities, schools, hospitals and government institutions have paid fees totaling several million dollars to a single lobbying firm -- in large part to help them get federal money from a congressman whose door was already open to them.
Why local officials are hiring a single firm to help them deal with such an approachable congressman is not entirely clear.
"Why do they feel a need to hire a middleman?" asked Michael Franc, a former Republican congressional staffer now at the Heritage Foundation, a conservative think tank. "It certainly raises eyebrows."
Whatever the reasons -- and different officials offer different explanations -- one thing does seem clear: Money is showering down on everyone involved.
The firm has collected hefty fees. Lewis has received several hundred thousand dollars in vital campaign contributions from the lobby shop. And local officials have apparently concluded that hiring the firm is the way to get more federal largesse.
The firm is Copeland Lowery Jacquez Denton & White, and it has close ties to the congressman. Members of the firm include former Rep. Bill Lowery, a Lewis friend, and Letitia White, a former senior aide in Lewis' office. Jeff Shockey had been a Lewis aide, then left to work for the lobbying firm and has now rejoined the congressman's staff. Shockey's wife works as a subcontractor for Copeland Lowery.
Both the firm and Lewis have drawn the attention of a federal investigation into the relationships between lobbyists and lawmakers who put funding for parochial and special-interest projects into spending bills.
The U.S. attorney in Los Angeles is exploring whether Lewis might have benefited financially, or otherwise misused his office, in earmarking funds for Copeland Lowery clients. Earmarking is the process by which committee chairmen and other congressional insiders insert spending provisions into legislation without going through the normal budget system.
A number of public agencies in Lewis' district have received subpoenas seeking documents related to the hiring of Copeland Lowery.
The firm has also represented ADCS Inc., a defense contractor headed by Brent R. Wilkes, who has been identified as a co-conspirator in the bribery case of convicted former Rep. Randy "Duke" Cunningham (R-Rancho Santa Fe).
Copeland Lowery's fundraising effort for Lewis has been substantial: Of the $1.3 million he has raised for his political action committee in the last six years, more than a third has come from sources associated with the firm.
The congressman in turn distributed funds to other GOP lawmakers as part of his successful effort to win their backing for the chairmanship of the Appropriations Committee in 2005.
Lewis has denied any wrongdoing and said investigators have not contacted him. He said all his actions were designed to serve his district.
Lewis spokesman Jim Specht said the congressman has never recommended to anybody that they need a lobbyist to speak with him.
"Many members of city councils, mayors and even city staff call our office all the time," Specht said.
Some local officials say they hired the firm even though Lewis was accessible, because it provides technical help in dealing with the federal bureaucracy. The manager of the Lake Arrowhead Community Services District, which pays Copeland Lowery $60,000 a year, said in a recent memo that the firm had helped secure three federal grants totaling $680,0000.
Another official attributed at least one decision to hire the firm to personal contact with Shockey, who is from Redlands. According to lobbying disclosure forms, Shockey registered the 19 Inland Empire city and institutional clients.
Others say using the firm indicates a tacit understanding by local officials that doing so is how the game is played.
