Lorraine Sanders’ story this week about the city’s spending nearly $300,000 for a lobbyist who is missing in action on key issues demands a Board of Supervisors response. The quickest and most effective strategy is to eliminate funding for the lobbyist position effective July 1.
Two factors require such action. First, the city has many places where the $300,000 could be spent more effectively. City lobbyists are typically those with political connections to a mayor and there efficacy in Sacramento is highly questionable.
With San Francisco’s John Burton the leader of the Legislature, and with Marc Leno having proved remarkably effective, the city does not need to pay a lobbyist six figures a year. Burton is leaving in December, but the combination of Carole Migden and Leno can be counted upon to aggressively serve the city’s interest.
Mayor Newsom also has contacts in Sacramento, and does not need to exert his influence through a well-paid lobbyist.
Second, assuming that the Supervisors are convinced a lobbyist is needed, they should not approve a dime before signing off on a work program. And part of this work program must be lobbying on behalf of the 70% of city residents who are tenants.
Berkeley, Santa Monica, and West Hollywood all contribute financially to a Sacramento lobbyist to push bills for tenants and oppose the endless stream of anti-rent control legislation generated by landlord groups. San Francisco does not pay anything, even though, as the recent debate on the condo-conversion preemption bill showed, it is San Francisco landlords often pushing to undermine local tenant protection laws.
Past experience has shown that unless the Board gets specific guarantees, the city’s lobbyist will ignore tenant issues. The city should preferably follow the lead of other rent control cities and allocate a portion of lobbyist funds directly to the Western Center on Law & Poverty.
The Board has many tough budget decisions to make, but eliminating and/or redirecting funding for a city lobbyist is among the easiest.
