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HomeMy WebLinkAbout04 - Introduction of Ordinance Establishing Lobbyist Registration, Reporting and Disclosure Requirements - CorrespondenceReceived After Agenda Printed January 28, 2020 Agenda Item No. 4 From: jenmcdlO@aol.com Sent: Friday, January 24, 2020 8:17 AM To: Dept - City Council; Brown, Leilani; Harp, Aaron; thseymour@gmail.com Cc: ddlanghorne@gmail.com; hillary.davis@latimes.com Subject: Lobbyist ordinance Dear members of the Newport Beach City Council, Below are comments on the pending lobbyist registration ordinance that Tully Seymour and I submitted to the Ad Hoc Committee on Election Reform on January 17, to meet the suggested deadline for having feedback taken into account. A number of community members subsequently indicated that they supported our requests and asked to add their names. We are therefore resubmitting the same comments with additional signatures in the hope that our requests will be considered. Thank you, Jennifer McDonald Dear members of the Ad Hoc Committee on Election Reform, Thank you for holding a second public meeting on lobbyist registration in Newport Beach and giving the community the chance to provide input both on the original draft and the revised version. We believe that keeping the responsibility for registration and administration with our own city clerk is a wise decision and that the other changes you've proposed are steps in the right direction. We see two further improvements that can be made to ensure that the ordinance accomplishes its stated goals. 1 - Quarterly reports: As was stressed by the non -lobbyist residents who attended the meeting, quarterly activity reports should be required. This would help the ordinance meet its goal of ensuring that the citizens of Newport Beach have timely access to information about the activities of those trying to influence the decisions of our government. And it would go a long way toward maintaining citizen confidence in the integrity of city government. The neighboring cities that have lobbyist registration systems all require quarterly reports and post annual summaries on their websites, and Newport Beach should too. There is likely to be unprecedented lobbying and development pressure in the city over the next few years. Providing information to citizens just four times a year about how lobbyists are working to influence decision -makers, and whose campaigns they're contributing to, is not too much to ask. It's an easy way to increase transparency and public trust. 2 - Enforcement: The fines are still too low to be a deterrent, and repeated violations should be made a misdemeanor with criminal penalties. Thank you for your consideration, Tully Seymour Jennifer McDonald Robert W. Hanley Mr. Michael and Mrs. Peggy Palmer Katherine Kost Meleski Lynn R. Lorenz Jane M. Drew Dennis Baker John E. and Donna C. Kidde Don Donaldson Vicki Ronaldson Peggie Fariss Susan Menning Nancy Scarborough Portia Weiss Phoebe Loos Charles Klobe Drs. Gail and Sorel Reisman Ed Siebel Emily Ziebell Melinda Seely Linda Oeth Gail Hirsch Nicole Reynolds James Reynolds Georgia Foell William L. White Michael C. Smith Dianna Sahhar Dorothy Kraus Stephen D Sholkoff, MD Michelle G Sholkoff Dennis Bress Jr. Cheryl Fulton Fischer Susan Skinner Patty Lee White Karen Tringali Carol I. Hartman and Terry J. Hartman Carolyn Slayback Jennifer Irani Tim Stoaks Dianne Stegmann Lu Baker Tom Baker Sue and Jeff Dvorak Bill Cool Justin Ly Christine M. Sims Franklin C. Sims Gialisa Gaffney Ron Yeo ra Victoria S. Cubeiro Nancy Alston Allan Beek Katherine Ogden Jennifer Drews Suzanne Forster Sharon Boles Ann O'Flynn Nancy Skinner Mary Ann Hemphill Leslie O'Rourke Esther Fine Jo Carol Hunter Sharon Ray Karen Carlson Lorian K. Petry Jean Watt Polly Smith Carol Ann Dru Luke W. Dru