Monday, the Santa Rosa County Board of County Commissioners (BOCC) set in motion the gears for hiring a lobbying firm to represent the interests of Santa Rosa County in Tallahassee. Currently, Santa Rosa County employs Edmund Graber & Associates to lobby in Washington, D.C. for federal dollars. Commissioner Lane Lynchard said, “Ed Graber does great work in DC. Someone could do the same in Florida. We all have very good relationships with local delegations, but not with staffers and members of the House and Senate of Florida.”
The interest comes from a letter County Administrator Hunter Walker, sent to the BOCC, saying he was contacted by John Johnson, Johnson and Associates, who represented SRC with the Florida Legislature from 2006 to 2009 at an annual rate of $60,000. Walker wrote in the letter, “Santa Rosa County will have several important issues in the upcoming Florida Legislative session include beach/dune restoration and implementation of the RESTORE Act at the state level which may well benefit from professional advocacy with State Legislature, Governor, etc.”
Not everyone at the meeting was in support of turning to lobbyists for help. Sandra Cantu asked of the commission regarding a lobbying firm representing SRC, “Isn’t that what we pay you for?” Commissioner Jim Melvin answered Cantu by saying the commission is responsible for local county matters but they can’t always know what’s going on in the various committees in the state legislature.
Wallis Mahute said to the commission, “I think lobbyists are part of the problem in government. I know why you would consider this and why you’d pay $60,000 to have this done. Part of the problem is lobbyists have more power than local representatives.” Lynchard reiterated Walker’s point from his letter saying his support was more for advocacy for SRC concerns. He said SRC is going to the state for millions of dollars for beach restoration and support for RESTORE projects, the fund created by the BP oil spill, so the county will need someone in Tallahassee daily to work on the project.
Kyle Holley, United Way of Santa Rosa County director of development, said over the last four years “I absolutely want to support hiring lobbyists. Those of us who work as volunteers understand these lobbyists take the ball into the end zone at the last minute. I could not tell you how strongly I feel the need for this.”
Speaking after the meeting, SRC Commissioner District 2 Bob Cole said he was reminded how the state legislature tried to pass a bill to require septic tank inspections every other year. He said Sharon Glass and the Tea Party Patriots lobbied against what would have been a costly measure to local residents. “Tallahassee is a printing press of bills. For a commissioner, even a legislator, it’s too much. I think of lobbyists as more or less a watchdog.” However, Cole said he would require a lobbying firm to justify the county’s investment. “I better see it doubled,” he said.
This article originally appeared on Santa Rosa Press Gazette: BOCC considers hiring lobbyist