Don Young’s ‘A Team’ Of Lobbyists: ‘These People Can Talk To Whomever They Want’
Don Young’s ‘A Team’ Of Lobbyists: ‘These People Can Talk To Whomever They Want’
Taxpayers for Common Sense has obtained a 2007 “survival guide” for interns in Rep. Don Young’s (R-AK) office. Interns are warned that Young’s wife does “not like Cologne” and the congressman “[e]xpects you to open doors for him.”
But one of the most troubling parts of the memo concerns the office’s close relationship with lobbyists. According to the memo, Young has an “A Team” of lobbyists who “can talk to whomever they want” — most often, chief of staff Mike Anderson or former executive assistant Sara Parsons. From the memo:
A look at some of these lobbyists:
Rick Alcade: In April, the House voted overwhelmingly to request a federal criminal investigation into a controversial 2005 earmark by Young, which “shifted $10 million from a road widening project in southwest Florida to a study of an interchange that promised to benefit one of Young’s campaign donors,” Daniel Aronoff. Around this time, Young collected $40,000 in contributions from a variety of interests tied to Aronoff, including Alcade, who “worked on behalf of Aronoff’s real estate firm, the Landon Companies.” In 2005, Alcade received $80,000 to specifically lobby Young on the highway bill.
CJ Zane and Duncan Smith: In 2006, Young inserted into a bill a provision giving three fishing companies exclusive rights in the Bering Sea. One of the companies, Yardam Knot, is headed by Al Chaffee, a contributor to Young. Yardarm Knot not only contributed to Young, but also “paid a total of $100,000 to two law firms for lobbying,” one of which is “Blank Rome, which counts former Young chief of staff C.J. Zane and former Young aide Duncan Smith as principals.”
Jack Ferguson: Ferguson was once treasurer of Young’s leadership fund, the Midnight Sun Political Action Committee, which took in $400,000 in the 2004 election cycle. Ferguson was allegedly removed because it was “frowned upon to have lobbyists so openly rounding up the checks for the people they lobby,” but his replacement listed her address as the address of “Jack Ferguson Associates.”
Randy DeLay is also the brother of disgraced former congressman Tom DeLay, and donated $3,000 to Young’s PAC in 2007.
Young’s staff has tried to dismiss this memo, saying it was “pieced together by several former interns and not by staff,” and “in no way reflects the official policies of Rep. Young’s office.” TPMmuckraker reports, however, that the guide was “distributed by a paid member of Young’s staff.” The nonpartisan watchdog group CREW has listed Young as one of the 22 most corrupt members of Congress.
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This only underscores the need for publicly financed campaigns. There is nothing wrong with lobbying per se, the problem comes from campaign donations buying increased influence. This is how lobbiests get on the A list while constituents become an afterthought.
http://progressiveworldreview.com
June 19th, 2008 at 1:51 pmYoung’s staff has tried to dismiss this memo, saying it was “a random series of words, which were not meant to have any relation to one another.”
June 19th, 2008 at 1:57 pmDon Young’s wife appears to have a “desk” in the Congressman’s office. Does she also have a phone, a computer and a House e-mail account?
I know some Congressmen have their spouses on paid staff – but Mrs. Young is NOT on staff. Paid staffers are legally bound. Nonpaid people – not so much.
Given Mrs. Young’s apparent defacto presence in the office (enough to warn the interns about) just how does this fly?
Is this arrangement ethical? Legal?
June 19th, 2008 at 1:57 pmThis guy is from Alaska? Pfft.
June 19th, 2008 at 2:01 pmForTruth Says:
This guy is from Alaska? Pfft.
BINGO!!! Between Young and Teddy Boy Stevens and Stens’ son, a disgraced State Congressman, Alaska may have the largest number of elected officials per capita of any state in the country.
I love the state but hate their politics.
June 19th, 2008 at 2:11 pmWhat was interesting, if not creepy, was the intern’s list of dos and don’ts: if Mrs. Young offers you something to eat, it’s NOT a request. EAT IT. And Don expects that you open doors for him. Lazy old man, are your arms broken?
June 19th, 2008 at 2:18 pmS/b ‘largest number of corrupt elected official’ in number 6.
My Bad
June 19th, 2008 at 2:19 pmShoeless,
June 19th, 2008 at 2:21 pmI thought it was the same group of monkeys that wrote the complete works Shakespeare…
Hmmm, now that Tom DeLay is exterminated, can we please get some stronger pesticide for his brother, Randy?
C’mon, I’m sure Arkansas is still sitting on plenty of DDT.
June 19th, 2008 at 2:28 pmHis “A Team” of lobbyists is more important to him than his constituents? That’s disappointing. And even sadder to realize the likelihood that there are few Congresspersons with different priorities.
June 19th, 2008 at 2:40 pm“If you’re being chased by armed police man, don’t try to escape into a metro station.”
What!?!?
June 19th, 2008 at 2:46 pmThe people of America are missing from that A-list…that tells you who this guy is representing…what a crook.
June 19th, 2008 at 3:42 pmThis effing criminal has been caught with his hand in the cookie jar so many times he might as well be the author of the famous Nestelle Toulouse cookie recipe.
June 19th, 2008 at 5:16 pmSorry Paul W., can’t go along with your scheme of having campaigns publically funded. Nothing but a losing option. The only viable solution is to follow the recommendation of John Adams, our Founding Father and Second President. No political parties! They breed a devisive environment that has torn this Nation apart on more than one occassion. The shift would be a Revolutionary experience and probably cause more than one sitting Congressman to loose his seat at the next election.
June 20th, 2008 at 7:28 pm