Lobbyists on Transition Teams
Tuesday, November 30, 2010
Six out of 34 members (or 18% to be exact) of the transition teams for the new Governor, Attorney General, and General Treasurer are current or former state lobbyists, according to a GoLocalProv review of the available online records of the Secretary of State.
Governor-elect Lincoln Chafee has two members of his team who are still registered as lobbyists. Attorney General-elect Peter Kilmartin has one current lobbyist and General Treasurer-elect Gina Raimondo has three former lobbyists.
Lobbyists a 'tricky' issue
GET THE LATEST BREAKING NEWS HERE -- SIGN UP FOR GOLOCAL FREE DAILY EBLASTHaving lobbyists on transition teams could create complications, according to former Brown University political science professor Darrell West, who drew a comparison with having campaign contributors involved in transitions.
“It is more tricky having lobbyists on your transition team,” said West, who is now a vice president at the Brookings Institution. “These people can come with a predetermined policy agenda. Winning candidates have to be careful that their own agendas don’t get hijacked by lobbyists.”
Lobbyists have been an issue for transition teams elsewhere. For example, last Saturday, the New York Times reported that of the 170 people on New York Governor-elect Andrew Cuomo’s transition team, 84 were registered lobbyists or worked for businesses, unions, and trade associations that lobbied the state government last year. Cuomo has had all transition team members sign an ethics statement that they will not use their position to gain special advantages for themselves or others, according to the Times report. But the rules don’t bar them from continuing to lobby Cuomo and his administration in the future.
Officials say transition teams meet high ethical standards
Spokesmen for Raimondo and Kilmartin told GoLocalProv that they did not see any problems with having lobbyists serve on their transition teams. Both said they had maintained high ethical standards, although neither team has a formal ethics statement its members have to sign.
Joseph Shekarchi, the chairman of Raimondo’s transition team, said members were selected on the basis of their experience and merits. “There wasn’t a concentrated effort to include or not include lobbyists. We just picked talented people,” Shekarchi said. He said everyone on the team met the “highest ethical” standards saying it had been a non-issue for the team.
Likewise, Kilmartin spokesman Brett Broesder said transition team members were chosen for their experience, their knowledge of the Attorney General’s Office, and their familiarity with law enforcement. “Their ethical conduct is inherent in that and non-ethical conduct would not be tolerated,” Broesder added.
A spokesman for Chafee did not respond to a request for comment.
Below are the lobbyists, listed by transition team
LINCOLN CHAFEE
• Robert Walsh, executive director of the NEA Rhode Island. State records show that Walsh has been a legislative lobbyist for the state teacher union since 2005, typically earning $6,100 a year for his lobbying work.
• John Simmons, executive director of the Rhode Island Public Expenditure Council. Like Walsh, Simmons is a lobbyist for his employer, which is a nonprofit, non-partisan policy research institute. He has been registered as a lobbyist with the state since 2008.
PETER KILMARTIN
• Leonard Lopes. He has lobbied for as many as 16 companies and nonprofit groups, between 2007 and 2010, through his law firm Pannone Lopes Devereaux & West, LLC. Also, in 2006, he was registered as a government lobbyist for the Attorney General’s Office. A number of current clients are in the health care industry: the Rhode Island-based Amgen, the global pharmaceutical giant AstraZeneca, Lifespan, the Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America, and Lifespan. Others include the Rhode Island Alliance Boys and Girls Clubs and the Rhode Island Turnpike and Bridge Authority. His pay per client ranged from $200 an hour to a flat fee of $60,000 a year.
Kilmartin spokesman Brett Broesder said Lopes would not be involved in policy work for the team. He said Lopes was selected because of his experience as a former chief of staff for Attorney General Patrick Lynch. And his lobbying work is not related to what he’s doing for the team—which involves helping Kilmartin setting up a streamlined office with better utilizes its resources, according to Broesder. “We didn’t see an issue with what he does in his other role,” Broesder said.
GINA RAIMONDO
• Nellie Gorbea, executive director of HousingWorks RI. State records show that Gorbea worked as a lobbyist on behalf of her employer from 2008 to 2009.
• David Preston. He was a registered lobbyist for more than 20 companies over a four-year span, from 2005 to 2009. Former clients include: Delta Dental of Rhode Island, National Grid, Neighborhood Health Plan of Rhode Island, the Rhode Island Economic Policy Council, the Rhode Island Manufacturer’s Association, the Rhode Island Society of Certified Public Accountants, and Verizon. In 2009, his compensation ranged from $125 an hour to $3,500 a month.
• Paul Tavares. The former General Treasurer is listed as a lobbyist from 2007 to 2008 for DD (Dunkin Donuts) Independent Franchise Owners, for which he earned $2,500 a month.
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