We're interested in Item 1 under New Business (pp. 7-9):
1. Approval of Federal Lobbyist Contract with the Capital [sic] Hill Consulting Group in the Amount of $36,750
MOTION: Council member Cobb moved, seconded by Council member Moore to approve Federal Lobbyist contract with Capitol Hill Consulting Group in the amount of $36,750
An Agenda Statement submitted by Valdez City Manager John Hozey that indicates that he recommended Capitol Hill Consulting Group because "[i]n February of this year the city was notified by our federal lobbyist that she had accepted a position with a company that would preclude her from continuing to serve as our lobbyist in Washington DC."
A couple of months ago, the ACR Blog observed that Valdez was searching for a new lobbyist. The city's previous lobbyist, Stephanie Szymanski Victory abruptly gave up her lobbying responsibilities for Valdez. Although facts were sparse, the ACR Blog suspected that Ms. Victory could no longer lobby for the city because she had accepted a position at Hesco Bastion USA.
So who is the lobbyist at Capitol Hill Consulting Group who will be filling Ms. Victory's shoes? Well, this isn't the first time the ACR Blog has mentioned Capitol Hill Consulting Group. The firm originally caught our attention because one of Tom DeLay's former aides, Jack Victory, works there. Of all the lobbyists in the country, Valdez chooses to hire Jack Victory?!
Mr. Victory doesn't seem to be all that interested in highlighting his association with Mr. DeLay, though. Here is how the Valdez City Council minutes describe the discussion of Mr. Victory's background:
Mr. Victory stated that the consulting group was started by a former member of congress from Oklahoma and is a mid-sized lobbyist firm with approximately ten lobbyists. Mr. Victory said that Bill Brewster started the Blue Dog Coalition in the House of Representatives which is a group of conservative Democrats, a large and very important voting bloc in the House. Mr. Victory said that he spent twelve years on Capitol Hill working form House Leadership and Resources Committee. Mr. Victory stated that he has experience working with the White House Administration and the Senate.
"House Leadership". That is as close as Mr. Victory gets to mentioning Mr. DeLay. Mr. Victory apparently didn't think the attention he earned from the House Ethics Committee was worth mentioning either.
Mr. Victory does mention his contacts with one scandal-related Alaskan lawmaker, though:
Mr. Victory provided an update regarding the million dollars in federal funds the city is requesting for harbor expansion. Mr. Victory said that in speaking with Congressman Don Young's office, this is Congressman Young's number one request in energy and water development appropriations.
Mr. Victory also reported that both Alaska Senators were in favor of the harbor expansion appropriation. It appears to me that there is a lot of support for the project even before Mr. Victory was hired. It looks like his job will be an easy one.
Mr. Victory was sensitive to at least one concern of a Council member:
Council Member Dunham said his ongoing concern regarding our Federal lobbyist has been the need for scheduled visits to Valdez to establish familiarity with the city and residents and in-person contact with the city council. Mr. Victory responded that if the council approves the contract this evening, he has planned to spend time in Valdez during the month of August to go through the minutia of the Port and discuss in depth any other issues of concern by the city council and city administration.
August, huh? Mr. Victory has impeccable timing. He'll be there for the Valdez Silver Salmon Derby. I hope he has a good time.
To the concerns of another Council member, Mr. Victory wasn't as sensitive:
Council member Prax asked Mr. Victory if he knew the amount of the national debt. Mr. Victory said he did not. Mr. Prax responded that the national debt was 11 trillion dollars and the federal government budget proposed to spend money they do not have by adding 1.5 trillion dollars. Mr. Victory said he was not sure he agreed with this evaluation.
I don't know what Mr. Victory means when he claimed that he wasn't sure if he agreed with the evaluation of Council member Prax. It appears that Mr. Prax made two assertions of fact ... that the national debt is $11.5 trillion and that the deficit this year will add $1.5 trillion to that figure. Is Mr. Victory disputing the assertions by Mr. Prax? If so, Mr. Victory is mistaken; Mr. Prax's figures are accurate. The National Debt Clock indicates that the national debt is between $11.4 trillion and $11.5 trillion. Also, as the chart below shows, the 2010 deficit is projected to be about $1.75 trillion. (Click the picture for a bigger version.)
Mr. Prax continues:
Council member Prax said nothing personal, but he believed the position of lobbyist is a reason why the country is broke. He stated that lobbyists are enabling organizations such as the City of Valdez to ask for more federal funds than is available and that to get reelected our politicians are spending more money than is there, placing debt on our children's and grandchildren's future. Therefore he could not in good conscious mortgage his children's future by voting for the enabler.
Bravo to Council member Prax! He states my own personal position in a much more forceful manner than I could dream of doing. Mr. Prax's characterization of Mr. Victory as an "enabler" is spot on. Recall that the first time we looked at Mr. Victory, he was extolling the virtues of pork barrel spending in President Obama's so-called stimulus package. Mr. Victory is by no means a conservative.
This matter obviously piqued the ACR Blog's interest, so we called our omniscient Alaskan correspondent. According to our source Valdez City Manager John Hozey did not advise the City Council that Mr. Victory worked for Rep. DeLay or that his actions were examined by the House Ethics Committee. Additionally, the City Council has not been advised that Stephanie Szymanski Victory, the city's former lobbyist and wife of Mr. Victory seemingly did not register as the city's lobbyist with Congress. Fortunately, Mr. Victory is more diligent in that regard. Mr. Victory submitted his own lobbying registration for the City of Valdez (.pdf) last week.
Either City Manager John Hozey knew of Mr. Victory's brush with the House Ethics Committee or he didn't. If Mr. Hozey didn't know of Mr. Victory's history with the Ethics Committee, it calls into question how comprehensive the due diligence process was in identifying a federal lobbyist. If Mr. Hozey did know of Mr. Victory's background, he has left himself open to accusations that he concealed relevant information from the City Council. Either way, I wouldn't want to be in Mr. Hozey's shoes if City Council finds out about Mr. Victory's background.
1 comments:
Pombo, Gibbons, and DeLay were three very dirty politicians - Victory worked for all three. It is no surprise that he's trying to hide his background, and that he doesn't seem to want to drop any of these dreaded names when he's dealing with potential new clients. But not even mentioning his GOP party affiliation while trying to position himself as a Blue Dog Dem is par for the course for this deceitful clown. But it makes sense for business purposes, as everyone knows that GOP lobbyists (especially those with ties to DeLay and his cronies) are having a hard time on the hill getting business these days when both the House and Senate and even the Exec branch are controlled by Dems.
His wife had to know she was required to register as a federal lobbyist. Why she didn't do so is anyone's guess, but its hard to plead ignorance of the law when her husband obviously was registering his lobbying activities.
The City of Valdez was sold a package under false pretenses - with the political situation on the hill as it is, I just don't see Victory being able to deliver anything for them.
Post a Comment