What Happened?
A New Mexico county and the city of Carlsbad have agreed to share a lobbyist in Washington, DC, at a cost of $15,000 per month. The deal, with lobbying firm C2 Group, enables the two local governments to split the cost of having a more influential presence in DC.
Why?
According to the original RFP put out to bid, the Eddy County and Carlsbad were seeking a firm to keep them apprised of pending legislation or regulation by the federal government. The city and county’s Nuclear and Industrial Advocacy Committee was ostensibly making the hire, and would want the lobbying firm to educate congressmen and their staffs regarding the county’s interests in nuclear and other energy programs.
The Process?
The city put the project to bid and received nine responses. The firms were ranked based on their experience in the nuclear field, their experience with issues in New Mexico, the effectiveness of their plan, the expense, and the quality of their references. C2 was selected based on the rating it received. The firm had also done some pro bono work in the region for a nearby Department of Energy nuclear waste repository, and was a known entity.
The Justification
The city and county felt that better strategic planning and coordination was needed when reaching out to federal officials. In the past, municipal officials had traveled to Washington DC, but hadn’t been effective regarding key issues. Part of C2’s mission will be to coordinate trips to Washington, prepare briefings, and arrange meetings with Carlsbad’s congressional delegation. They’ll also host any meetings that occur in DC. The Mayor of Carlsbad felt more doors in DC needed to be opened and that a lobbying firm was the solution.
More Data
Additional coverage of the New Mexico lobbying story is available from a local paper. In addition, Gov1 hosted a webcast on lobbying and grants this past April.
A downloadable spreadsheet, made available by the Center for Responsive Politics, includes per capita expenditures of local governments spending at least $100,000 on federal lobbying efforts (2010 data). The Center has covered municipal lobbying in DC in the past.