What’s so bad about lobbyists?

Although he’s now referred to as a “public relations consultant,” House District 37 candidate Paul Welday has a long history as a lobbyist. Why is that a problem? Well, maybe it’s not.  These folks have jobs because they do serve a purpose. They create personal relationships with legislators on behalf of their clients and feed them in-depth (although usually skewed) information about their particular field of interest.

But something happened in Oakland County a couple of years ago that sort of soured me on lobbyists, and it hasn’t gotten much play in this election.

In 2003, Welday’s firm, Strategic Public Affairs, scored a $48,000 contract that was paid for with Oakland County tax dollars, and a year later, Commissioners voted to give the firm a two-year extension and a raise – making the contract worth a hefty $100,000. The problem: Welday was Oakland County Republican Party chair at the time, and Republicans held a solid majority on the Commission.

The conflict of interest made The Oakland Press nearly apoplectic. Their editors opined:

“Saturday, November 13, 2004 3:00 AM EST
Hang on to your wallets – the Oakland Board of Commissioners is at it again.
Commissioners are expected soon to approve a two-year contract extension with their lobbyist, Strategic Public Affairs. SPA is paid $48,000 a year. As of Jan. 1, that would jump to $49,440. It would go to $50,923 the following year.
There’s a sense of urgency for some Republican commissioners. They want the approval before January, when four new Democratic commissioners are sworn in. That will drop the GOP majority on the commission from 19-6 to 15-10.
And for whatever it’s worth: Strategic Public Affairs is owned by Paul Welday, the county’s Republican chairman…

We have regularly asked for a specific list of benefits Oakland County has received as a result of our well-paid lobbyists, benefits we could not have gotten without them. We have yet to see such a list.”

In 2007, Democrats on the County Board, who narrowed the Republican majority, attempted to derail the contract, which expired in August of this year. I’ve been through posted minutes for every meeting since, and all I can find is a notation in May of this year about appointing a study group to look at hiring a new lobbyist – sorry, “government relations consulting firm.”

Of course, the County Board really shouldn’t need to hire a lobbyist. Welday’s no longer listed on the Strategic Public Affairs Web site, but one interesting name is there: current Oakland County Board of Commissioners chair person Bill Bullard, Jr. He had to hand over his gavel and abstain from voting on appointing the study group. According to a September profile in the Detroit Legal News, Bullard became a registered lobbyist two years ago.

Small world, eh?

–Joni Hubred-Golden
Enterprise Publisher

Advertisement