Lobbyist

I cannot begin to trust any Washington politician until every lobbyist is run out of town or prosecuted for felony bribery. WILLIAM H. CHRISTIANSEN Los Angeles

A lobbyist representing a consortium of plastic bag producers was roaming the halls of Los Angeles City Hall this week, trying to torpedo Wednesday's anticipated City Council vote to ban the ubiquitous, flimsy flower that litters the urban landscape and fouls the seashore. Naturally, environmentalists were in a tizzy, fearing the worst outcome while hoping for the best. Under the proposal by Councilman Paul Koretz, paper bags would also be banned, and Los Angeles would become a national leader in the proliferation of reusable bags.

Walt Disney Co.'s Preston Padden, who has been one of the entertainment industry's biggest lobbyists in Washington for more than three decades, is retiring as executive vice president of worldwide government relations at the media giant. Padden, 62, will leave his post in January to later become a senior fellow and adjunct professor at the University of Colorado Law School. He will continue to advise Disney on strategic issues in the interim. Disney didn't name a replacement and said it was hiring a search firm to identify candidates.

SACRAMENTO — As the sun set behind Monterey Bay on a cool night last year, dozens of the state's top lawmakers and lobbyists ambled onto the 17th fairway at Pebble Beach for a round of glow-in-the-dark golf. With luminescent balls soaring into the sky, the annual fundraiser known as the Speaker's Cup was in full swing. Lawmakers, labor-union champions and lobbyists gather each year at the storied course to schmooze, show their skill on the links and rejuvenate at a 22,000-square-foot spa. The affair, which typically raises more than $1 million for California Democrats, has been sponsored for more than a decade by telecommunications giant AT&T.

Anne Wexler, a well-connected political power broker who founded the first major Washington lobbying firm to be led by a woman and who was considered one of the capital's most influential lobbyists, died Friday of cancer at her home in Washington. She was 79. Wexler began her unlikely rise in Democratic Party circles as a Connecticut housewife who joined the PTA and a local zoning board. By 1978, she had carved out an important role in the Carter White House and used her skills at compromise and negotiation to win support on Capitol Hill for the administration's agenda.

Los Angeles County Dist. Atty. Steve Cooley has decided not to file felony criminal charges against former Los Angeles City Councilman Richard Alatorre, even though investigators found that he worked as a lobbyist for years without identifying himself as one. Cooley's Public Integrity Division concluded "without doubt" that Alatorre was an unregistered lobbyist at City Hall from 2003 to 2007 — an activity that qualifies as a misdemeanor violation...

The top development official for the city of Long Beach has been demoted after coming under scrutiny for going on junkets with a lobbyist with business before his office, officials announced Friday afternoon. Director of Development Services Craig Beck has been reassigned as a manager of the Oil and Gas Department's Business Operations Bureau. He will start the new post Monday, earning a salary of $140,000 a year -- a 20% pay cut -- said Debbie Mills, the city's acting human resources director.

I was somewhat amused by the June 28 article "Looking Out for County Is His Job," in which Congressman Elton Gallegly questioned the need for Ventura County to pay $30,000 a year to retain a lobbyist in Washington, D.C. An example of one accomplishment of lobbyist Roger Honberger was to get a Camarillo flood control project to the top of the list for federal funds to be sent to the county as part of President Clinton's economic stimulus package....

Los Angeles City Councilman Dennis Zine says he will recuse himself from voting on a controversial, $271-million airport contract to avoid "any appearance of impropriety" regarding his romantic relationship with a lobbyist who works for one of the companies that sought the contract. Zine said Thursday that he sees no conflict of interest regarding his relationship with Veronica Becerra, who works for Tutor Perini Corp., which tried without success to secure the contract to build the Central Utility Plant at Los Angeles International Airport.

Keith Gaffaney, one of four brothers to serve simultaneously with the Los Angeles Police Department and a former president of the National Rifle Assn., has died. He was 71 and suffered an apparent heart attack last Saturday in Sacramento where he was working as a lobbyist for the California Wildlife Federation. Gaffaney, who retired from the LAPD as a sergeant in 1966, managed the department's academy in Elysian Park and the Los Angeles Police Revolver and Athletic Club.

WASHINGTON - As a candidate in 2008, Barack Obama vowed to squelch the role of special interests in financing the party conventions - so he barred corporations and lobbyists from contributing money to this year's national convention in Charlotte, N.C. But even as Democrats tout the three-day event in September as a populist gathering, organizers have found ways to skirt the rules and give corporations and lobbyists a presence at the nominating convention....

Harry C. McPherson Jr., who served as special counsel and chief speechwriter for President Lyndon Johnson from 1966 to '69 and was a valued advisor to the president on civil rights, the Vietnam War and other policy issues, has died. He was 82. McPherson, who later became a prominent Washington lawyer and lobbyist, died Feb. 16 of complications of cancer at Suburban Hospital in Bethesda, Md., said Hedrick Smith, a family friend. "Harry McPherson was a 'can do' man with sound judgment and treasured loyalty who could be counted on by generations of Johnsons," Luci Baines Johnson, the president's youngest daughter, said in a statement.

Without picking a side in the entertaining Republican presidential contest, let us stipulate that Mitt Romney was smack on target when he called Newt Gingrich an influence peddler. A lobbyist? No, not in a legal sense. But did he lobby? Yes, in the common usage of the word. An influence peddler? That pretty much covers it. Many Sacramento lobbyists and their cousin "consultants" got a chuckle out of the fiery Romney-Gingrich exchange in the Jan. 23 Florida debate. There was Romney, pulling out the old pejorative "lobbyist," and the former House speaker resisting it as if he were being called a con man or a pimp.

Reporting from Sacramento -- California building contractors were thrilled when waterless urinals came on the market, thinking the devices would save them a fortune in plumbing costs. The state building code would need to be changed, but that seemed an easy sell. The fixtures would prevent billions of gallons of water from being wasted, and California's environmental lobby could be counted on as a powerful ally. There was one hitch. His name was Scott Wetch. Wetch is a Sacramento lobbyist for labor unions, and urinals without water pipes would not be good for his clients in the building trades.

State lawmakers and city council members can accept expensive gifts from lobbyists without disclosure if they are dating, and can receive meals and lodging in lobbyists' homes without telling the public, under rules approved Thursday by the state ethics agency. In addition, officials can accept tickets to Major League Baseball games and other sports and entertainment events if they are performing a "ceremonial duty," such as throwing out the first pitch. They no longer have to report such gifts, although their government agency must do so, and now they can bring a guest.

The top two firms competing to secure a $100,000 public relations contract from the Los Angeles City Council Redistricting Commission abruptly dropped out of the running Tuesday, throwing the panel's work into turmoil. Dakota Communications and Cerrell Associates withdrew their proposals shortly before the 21-member commission was scheduled to vote. They did so the same day The Times reported that they have an array of lobbying clients at City Hall, including airport concessions and shopping malls — a fact that irritated some neighborhood activists and advocacy groups.

When the Los Angeles City Council took up a lucrative airport contract earlier this week, Councilman Dennis Zine quietly stepped out of the room, saying he was doing so out of an "abundance of caution. " The reason for his recusal? A girlfriend of Zine's was a lobbyist for a company challenging the winning bid. Socializing between elected officials and lobbyists is nothing new at City Hall; Councilwoman Janice Hahn takes vacations with one. But while Zine took pains to publicly distance himself on the airport contract, he had not been nearly as circumspect when dealing with other votes on clients of Veronica Becerra, a lobbyist and land-use consultant.

The City of Irwindale, fighting efforts in the Legislature to block the Los Angeles Raiders from moving out of the Coliseum and building a stadium in the San Gabriel Valley suburb, has hired one of Sacramento's most influential lobbyists, a city spokesman said. Spokesman Xavier Hermosillo said Clay Jackson, who usually represents insurance companies, will represent the city in the state Capitol. He did not disclose Jackson's fee for the part-time work.

Lobbying firms with an array of clients needing help from Los Angeles City Hall are vying for a consulting contract on a matter near to City Council members' hearts: redrawing the political boundaries that can affect their power — and their reelection chances. The council's 21-member Redistricting Commission is slated to vote Tuesday to pay a public relations consultant up to $100,000 to inform residents of the plan to draw new borders for the council's 15 districts. The top three finalists are registered as lobbyists at City Hall, representing such interests as shopping malls, renewable energy developers and at least one billboard company.

At a time when many nonprofits are struggling to remain afloat, watching contributions sputter amid an ailing economy, two small Bay Area charter schools are having a banner year, with hundreds of thousands of dollars gushing into their coffers. Big energy companies, telecommunication interests and Indian tribes are lining up to write checks. So are unions, Sacramento lobbyists and Hollywood celebrities. Many of these donors have something to gain in addition to the warm feelings and tax deductions that come with helping a worthy cause: a chance to get in the good graces of Gov. Jerry Brown.