Fitzsimon File

Several years ago an advocate was considering starting a non-profit to work on state issues that affect the poor and underrepresented people in the state and was trying to figure out how to raise enough money to make it sustainable. 

One political insider told him the key was to meet the "50 families who run North Carolina," and it is hard not to think of that every two years when the rankings of lobbyists are released by the N.C. Center for Public Policy Research. 

The lobbyists don't represent the 50 families exactly, but they often have ties to them and much in common with each other. All but one lobbyist ranked in the top ten this year is a hired gun, representing as many as 33 clients, most of them corporations.

No public interest  lobbyists cracked the top ten, though Bob Hall from Democracy North Carolina's Bob Hall ranked 19^th for his dogged lobbying on ethics reform and campaign finance legislation. 

But even at 19^th, Hall is an anomaly.  No other public interest lobbyist made the top 55 included in the Center's rankings. Some of the hired guns may represent a progressive advocacy group or two in addition to their corporate clients, but overall the list looks like the membership roll at one of Raleigh's exclusive dinner clubs that most people could never afford to join.

The top lobbyists have plenty more in common too.  They are all white, all male, and most of them were members of the House and Senate at one time or worked for a governor or legislative leader. 

Lobbying is a lucrative business for those in the well-connected loop.  One of the top-ranked lobbyists earned more than $300,000 in fees for the 2007 long session according to reports filed with the Secretary of State's office. His clients included the pharmaceutical industry, insurance companies, and a major grocery store chain.

The Center's news release notes that many of the lobbyists involved in the debate over the real estate transfer tax ranked high in this year's ranking and that's true. Three of the top 12 lobbyists worked for the realtors, including John McMillan, a hired gun who ranked second. 

The top lobbyists not only make a lot of money, they are connected to the big money that plays a major role in campaigns. The 2007 ethics law prohibits lobbyists from donating to campaigns, but most of the corporate interests represented on the list have political action committees that contribute to candidates and some have issue related committees that spend hundreds of thousands of dollars influencing public opinion.

Lobbyist B. Davis Horne ranked seventh this year and has consistently been in the top ten after heading fundraising efforts for Governor Mike Easley's gubernatorial campaign in 2000.  Makes sense that corporations would hire someone with a direct line to the governor. 

Most of the list makes sense if you think about it. The interests with the most money hire the most well-connected lobbyists to talk to lawmakers about issues important to them. The lobbyists know their clients have PACs and often host fundraisers and give money to allegedly independent committees who run commercials to influence elections and public opinion.

The lawmakers know it too of course and need the money to run their campaigns and sometimes need independent ads to attack their opponent. That makes it hard for folks representing people who need affordable housing or can't afford to see a doctor to have much input. 

But that's life at the dinner clubs at the top of Raleigh's tallest buildings, the world of those 50 families and top ten lobbyists. The problem is decisions are made every day in that world that affect the lives of every person in North Carolina, the ones that give money and hire lobbyists and the ones that don't.

The next thing you know the General Assembly will come back to town in a special session to help the recreational boat industry. Oh wait.

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This entry was posted on Monday, August 25th, 2008 at 11:21 am and is filed under Fitzsimon File. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed.