Record Lobbying of NY Gov’t in 2007: Another Reason Why We Need CMCE
An excellent catch by Joe Spector in the D&C political blogs:
Record Spending On State Lobbying
The state Commission on Public Integrity released its annual report today that shows record spending within the lobbying industry.
A record $171 million was spent on lobbying in 2007, up from $151 million in 2006, according to the commission. The money covers 3,271 clients, represented by 5,357 lobbyists and 57 public corporations.
For the 11th straight year, the firm of Wilson, Elser, Moskowitz, Edelman & Dicker reported the highest lobbying compensation at $9.6 million. That is followed by Patricia Lynch and Associates at $6.7 million, then Bolton St. Johns, Inc. at $5.7 million.
The highest expenditure was by Verizon at $3.2 million, followed by the Trustees of Columbia University of the City of New York at $2.2 million and the New York State United Teachers at $2.1 million.
It’s curious, though, that the highly criticized commission handed its annual report today — when most of the media is focused on the state budget and the report, which usually garners headlines, will be overshadowed.
Not all lobbying is bad. But when you’ve got lobbyists for poor defenseless corporations like Verizon shouting in your ear, it would sure be nice to have the support of publicly financed elections so you can vote your conscience and not for whomever fills your re-election coffers the fastest.
if memory serves, patricia lynch was an employee of shelley silver back a few years. so (sorry to be cynical) good luck pushing it through in the assembly. not that the senate is any more willing, but even we dems can have a weakness for money and power. just look at the graphic/chart on the top right of the page.