May 30, 2006
A Reality Check on Lobbying Reform
By Chris Heagarty
RALEIGH – You had to go and bring Jesus into this.
It should come as no surprise that folks would pay attention when state Representative Drew Saunders said in reference to the debate on lobbying reform and a ban on gifts to legislators that “Even the baby Jesus accepted gifts, and I don't think it corrupted him.”
Saunders is a well-respected representative and not known for making outrageous statements. I suspect the remark was more likely made out of frustration than an attempt to suggest that legislators should be compared to Jesus Christ in their ability to resist temptation.
After all, over the last twenty years we've seen at least a handful of legislators who likely wouldn't have lasted forty days in the wilderness, but I digress.
Like Saunders, many legislators are upset. They are downright offended by what they read every week in the editorial pages when it comes to the issue of lobbying reform. Some may be upset by the damage they believe is being done to public confidence in the institution of the legislature, but I believe others take it as a personal attack on their integrity. And in politics, all you've got is your reputation – especially if proposed lobbying reforms take away your night at the steak house.
In the wake of recent stories of ethical misconduct in Raleigh, activists and newspaper editorialists haven't been shy in their criticism of legislative gifts and alleged corruption. Strong language has been used that in some cases has painted all legislators with one brush, creating a picture where everyone is chowing down at a special interest manger.
And yet, as someone who has worked with legislators since 1991, I can tell you that applying this image of wined, dined and pampered legislators to everyone serving in the General Assembly is wrong. And it is a great disservice to all of those legislators who don't keep an active lobbyist-funded social calendar to imply that they are.
There are legislators who won't go out with lobbyists, who don't accept gifts or meals, and steer clear of any appearance of impropriety. Then there are others who lukewarmly accept all the “gifts”, which are mostly promotional items like notepads, pens, and more paperweights than you can lift, with different company and association logos on them.
One year I was working with a legislator on a bill and the only time we could meet was at 6:00 in the morning, so a few times I would bring coffee and Hardee's biscuits. If anyone thinks a legislator's vote can be bought for anything off the super-value menu, they are sadly mistaken.
These legislators are not the problem. They constitute the majority of those that serve. In fact, many of them are co-sponsors of lobbying reform bills and champions for cleaning up the system. So when we talk about toughening up lobbying laws and restricting gifts to legislators, let's not get carried away and throw them all into a cesspool of corruption.
At the same time, those frustrated representatives, tired of being lumped together as common crooks, need to remember that just because they're not the problem doesn't mean that there's not a problem.
During my time working with legislators, I have had a few of them, none of whom are still there, try to link a vote to a campaign contribution. I've seen some stalk lobbyists and invite themselves to dinner, and I've seen some brag about the gifts, from new clothes to fancy vacations, they've gotten from people trying to influence public policy.
Likewise, while most lobbyists are hardworking, ethical people, there are clearly some who, let's say, have a different sense of what is right and wrong.
It is necessary to have tougher rules that may inconvenience good, responsible people that we can trust, because there are some we can't trust and we must have rules to protect against those who aren't honest or ethical.
We should all be careful not to slander the good names and reputations of people who do give up a lot in order to run for office, who do play by the rules and who conduct themselves honestly and ethically. And in return, we should expect from them the recognition that some people are abusing the system and that we've got to clean it up, rather than a denial that anything is wrong.
We need to afford legislators a little more respect. And they need afford the public and media a little more respect as well.
Chris Heagarty is the executive director of the N.C. Center for Voter Education, a Raleigh-based nonprofit and nonpartisan organization dedicated to improving elections in North Carolina.
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