Bet You Didn't Know This - Your Tax Dollars Pay For Lobbyists

You hate them. Yes, we all hate them, special interests groups, lobbyists and their back room good ole boy dealings. Yep hate em, Political Action Committees, power brokers and their ilk.  

But did you know Mecklenburg County just flushed nearly 400k down the drain to hire two professional lobbyists to represent the county's interests in Washington and Raleigh?

Your tax dollars just hired two carpet baggers to do the job we elect our state representatives and members of our U.S. congress to do.

Straight from your county manager:

County Selects State and Federal Lobbying Firms

We have completed the selection process for our state and federal lobbying firms. This was done through a competitive RFP process which included face to face interviews with all finalists. After evaluating the submissions and the in-person presentations, the contract for state lobbying services was awarded to Ken Melton and Associates. The federal lobbying contract was awarded Smith, Dawson and Andrews, Inc.

Ken Melton and Associates is a North Carolina-based lobbying and governmental affairs consulting firm. Ken Melton, principal and chief lobbyist, has been ranked numerous times by the NC Center for Public Policy Research as one of the state’s top 50 lobbyists from a list of nearly 800 registered lobbyists. Ken brings a proven track record of being able to work equally effective with members of both political parties.

Smith, Dawson and Andrews is based in Washington D.C. and has provided governmental relations services since 1981. The firm not only offers traditional services related to legislative lobbying, they also have demonstrated significant success in identifying and securing federal grant funding for local projects. This additional capacity is intended to enhance our ability to access new revenue streams for the Board’s priorities.

Once the contracting process is completed, I will be scheduling a time for each of these firms to meet with the Board and to discuss our strategies for the upcoming legislative session.