Lobbyists Now Have Lobbyists

While lobbyists at Los Angeles City Hall are busy promoting the interests of homebuilders, cable operators and other clients, some worry that no one is watching out for the lobbyists themselves.

With that in mind, and with city officials weighing plans to limit the influence of lobbyists at City Hall, 20 legislative advocates said Wednesday that they had formed the Los Angeles Lobbyist and Public Affairs Assn. to advance their interests with government policymakers.

“I am concerned about the unnecessarily onerous position the Ethics Commission has taken to increase regulation of the lobbyist industry with no record or evidence of a problem,” said Steven Afriat, an officer of the new group.

Last year, at the urging of the Ethics Commission, the City Council required lobbyists to disclose more details of their political fundraising activities. The council is also considering a ban on city commissioners serving as paid lobbyists at City Hall.

Lobbyists say the new and proposed requirements are unreasonable.

Anyone who appears before city panels or contacts city officials individually to advocate for paying clients is considered a lobbyist and is required to register with the city Ethics Commission. Those who register are required to disclose who they represent and how much they are paid.

There are roughly 200 registered lobbyists at City Hall who reported being paid more than $16 million annually by clients to seek favorable decisions, including the approval of building permits and city contracts. About 70 lobbyists are registered with Los Angeles County.

The new association, which plans to recruit members from both groups, has hired the law firm of Sutton & Partners to lobby government officials on the industry’s behalf, said lobbyist Arnie Berghoff, the group’s president.

Advocates for ethics reform worry that the group will attack hard-fought changes to ethics rules.

“Any effort by special interests to repeal protections against improper influence would be extremely damaging to the integrity of the process at City Hall,” said Dan Tokaji, past chairman of California Common Cause.

Berghoff said he did not expect the group to get involved in elections through endorsements or campaign funding but hoped the organization would improve the image of lobbyists, who have been under fire for years, accused of wielding too much power at City Hall.

“Lawyers, doctors, engineers, architects and other professionals all have associations to represent their interests: It is time that registered lobbyists in Los Angeles have such an association as well,” Berghoff said.