Reputation good on the Hill
It wasn’t an act of random kindness when the United States Congress awarded a $6 million public works project to help stabilize the Pacific Palisades Bluff along the Pacific Coast Highway two years ago.
And the majority of U.S. Senators didn’t simply have a soft spot in their hearts for Santa Monica when they recently voted to override a decision by the Bush administration to cut half the city’s federal grant money from the nation’s budget.
Behind the scenes, Santa Monica had a paid lobbying firm to ensure federal assistance.
Since 1994, Santa Monica has paid The Ferguson Group about a half million dollars to represent its views to Congressional representatives who are mostly outside of the Los Angeles region.
“It’s to all the other members of Congress where we don’t have a direct relationship where they help us the most,” said Kate Vernez, who manages the city’s affairs with other governments. “It’s been a very successful partnership. It’s a very important relationship.”
“It’s been a very successful partnership. It’s a very important relationship.” — — KATE VERNEZ Government relations, assistant to the city manager
That relationship was renewed by the city council last week, when council members voted unanimously to approve an annual contract with Ferguson for $63,600.
Vernez said the lobbying firm will play an important role as city officials work to extend the proposed Exposition light rail line from downtown Los Angeles into Santa Monica.
The firm also will be crucial in ensuring oil companies are held accountable in cleaning up the city’s water wells contaminated with a car-cinogenous gasoline additive called MTBE, she said.
And the lobbying firm is essential in representing the city council’s positions on federal legislation ranging from ATM fees and affordable housing issues to environmental causes and tourism-related matters, Vernez said.
“They (Ferguson) are very well-regarded in Washington and they represent a number of California cities there,” Vernez said.
The Ferguson Group is the largest lobbying firm in Washington, D.C. specializing in local governments. The bi-partisan firm represents municipalities in more than 16 states, including many in California.
While not every city across the state has a paid lobbyist in Washington, the practice is becoming increasingly popular, said Dwight Stenbakken, a legislative director with the League of California Cities.
“I have a feeling there are a good number of cities with representation back there,” Stenbakken said. “There’s probably in the neighborhood of 50 to 100 cities with representatives on a regular basis. That wouldn’t surprise me.”
Many cities, like Beverly Hills and West Hollywood, largely rely on the league and the California Conference of Mayors to represent their views to Congress, although at times they contract with lobbyists for special causes, Stenbakken said.
“It kind of depends on the issue,” Stenbakken said. “You can be a medium to small city but maybe you have a large federal issue in your community, whether it’s water quality or transportation, then size doesn’t make a difference.”
But he added, “You have to be able to afford to put the resources in to have a lobbyist and I suppose that’s easier for a medium to large city.”
Charmayne Macon, who primarily handles Santa Monica’s lobbying at Ferguson, said the city keeps her busy. Macon said she is always looking for information on federal issues she knows Santa Monica is concerned about.
But unlike many other cities, Santa Monica doesn’t simply go to Washington with its hat in hand, she said. Santa Monica elected officials frequently take positions on broad-ranging policies that are heard on Capitol Hill.
“They are very active, more so than most,” Macon said. “They have their projects where they come to Congress to get their dollars, but they are also very active when it comes to policies they support and those” they want to be heard on.
“But because they don’t just come when they need money,” she said, “Santa Monica also has a very good reputation.”
Originally published in the Santa Monica Daily Press print edition on September 18, 2002. Read the original PDF.