PROVIDENCE — The $84,000 lobbying contract that the perpetually cash-strapped RI Public Transit Authority gave former Cranston Mayor and frequent GOP candidate Allan Fung's law firm made headlines, but it barely scratches the surface in a state where lobbying is a $15.7-million-a-year business — and the lines between politicians and lobbyists often blur.
Among the revelations in a 2022 data-run produced by the Secretary of State's Office at The Journal's request:
∎ Government agencies — from the City of Providence, to the Rhode Island Airport Corporation and the Rhode Island Office of Post-Secondary Commissioner — paid a total of $372,170 last year to a cadre of high-profile lobbyists to lobby state lawmakers on their behalf.
∎ The City of Providence — while paying $63,000 in lobbying fees to a crew of lobbyists that included William A. Farrell & Associates and the Government Strategies team of Gayle Wolf, former Warwick Mayor Joe Walsh and his son, William Walsh — was at the same time paying $691,967 in salaries to the 11 state lawmakers on its City Hall and public school payrolls.
Among those lawmakers: a city school principal, a math teacher, a police officer, a municipal court judge, and a budget analyst.
More specifically: Sens. Ana Quezada and Maryellen Goodwin, the Senate majority whip; Reps. Nathan Biah, Grace Diaz, Leonela Felix, Raymond Hull, John Lombardi, William O'Brien, Scott Slater and then-Reps. Anastasia Williams and Marcia Ranglin-Vassell. (There are three new names this year: freshman Reps. Anthony DeSimone and Enrique Sanchez and Sen. David Tikoian.)
The R.I. Office of Post-Secondary Commissioner was among them with two contract lobbyists — Bill Fischer and Leonard Lopes — paid $3,500 a month each.
∎ The State House lobbying corps dutifully turned out for legislative fundraisers, but many of the big-name lobbyists — and wannabes — went a step farther. They actually hosted fundraisers for Gov. Dan McKee during the heated '22 campaign season.
More on lobbying:Allan Fung's new $84K-a-year lobbying contract with RIPTA questioned by some. Here's why
Among the governor's fundraising hosts: Jon Savage, former Rep. George Zainyeh, the Walsh-Wolf lobbying team, former Senate Minority Leader Robert Goldberg, Peter Baptista, Nick Hemond, Rick McAuliffe, former House Speaker William Murphy, former Senate President M. Teresa Paiva Weed and former State Police Supt. Brendan Doherty, who between them pulled more than $4.9 million in State House lobbying fees in '22.
∎ Big picture: for-profit companies paid a total of $7.5 million in lobbying fees and salaries to their armies of State House lobbyists last year. The two companies that effectively run the state Lottery — Bally's ($196,500) and IGT ($379,000) — led the pack in how much they spent.
∎ Nonprofits spent another $7.1 million on lobbying, with Lifespan, the state's largest hospital network, spending $246,370, and Care New England, $180,000 on their lobbying efforts. The charter school operators — facing a potential moratorium on their expansion — paid a collective $275,000 between them, including, Achievement First.
∎ Some of those registered even jumped sides.
On July 1, 2022, and again this year, Ucci registered to lobby for his new employer, Rhode Island Energy, alongside former House Speaker William J. Murphy.
FWIW: After the final version of the bill made it almost impossible for Rhode Island Energy to qualify for remuneration, the company dropped its bid to receive any additional payments.
∎ Sometimes the crossover is not as straightforward.
Take for example: Jina Petrarca and Thomas Casale. The two are officers of the Auto Body Association of Rhode Island and appointees by the governor and legislative leaders to the Judicial Nominating Commission that chooses finalists for coveted lifetime judgeships.
It was nonetheless Casale's name that appeared over op-eds in The Journal [successfully] urging a 2022 override of McKee's veto of a bill to require auto insurers to pay industry "markup(s)" on repairs and "sublet services."
What to make of all of the overlapping politician-lobbyist connections?
In his role as executive director of the citizens' advocacy group Common Cause RI, John Marion is both a registered lobbyist and an outsider looking in.
As he sees it: "Lobbying is big business in Rhode Island. Former legislators — particularly former legislative leaders — are among the biggest beneficiaries because they can trade on their connections with former colleagues as an asset when pitching clients."
"That’s why Rhode Island has long had a revolving door law — to prevent public officials from immediately cashing in on the knowledge and connections they made while serving in government. But that only lasts for a year."
Marion believes "lobbyists are particularly powerful in Rhode Island because our legislature has little policy support staff and therefore legislators must rely on lobbyists for information and analysis.
"Rhode Island could limit the influence of lobbyists by creating a non-partisan policy staff and reforming our campaign finance system in ways that minimize the outsized role lobbyists play in funding political campaigns."
What makes someone a good lobbyist, or more sought after?
Simplest answer from those in the know: the most sought-after lobbyists are those perceived to have the ear of the House Speaker, Senate President and other power-players.
Example: former Warwick Rep. George Zainyeh's client list at his Athena Solutions Group has more than doubled in the two years since a fellow Warwick Democrat, K. Joseph Shekarchi, became the House Speaker.
Few other lobbyists topped the $778,749 in lobbying fees his company was paid last year, according to the Secretary of State's data-run.
But a few others came close, including former House Speaker William Murphy, who remains a well-liked figure at the State House more than a decade after he gave up the gavel. His Dome Consultants reaped $742,333 in lobbying fees last year from a client list that extends from the casinos to the hospitals, and from Big Pharma to the developers of the proposed Pawtucket soccer stadium.
In the category of "who-has-power-players-on-speed dial," storied political operative Jeff Britt is back at the State House this year — after a hiatus — with three lobbying clients so far paying his Deer Creek Research $16,500 a month: CARE New England, Scout and Orsted North America.
By way of comparison, former House Speaker Nicholas Mattiello's lobbying partnership had five clients — and $143,999 in lobbying business last year — his first back at the State House after his 2020 re-election defeat. His Westminster Consulting has only two clients so far this year: Lifespan and The Providence Journal.
Asked how he practices his trade, former West Warwick Senator-turned-lobbyist Steve Alves told Political Scene he attends a lot of legislative fundraisers — at least three in the week Political Scene happened to call him about his firm's $495,500 in lobbying business last year.
"I would have to say I attend 95% of them," said Alves. In 2022 alone, donors listing his firm as their employer sprinkled $10,975 in campaign donations across the political landscape in amounts ranging from $100 to $500.
Money aside, he said the events give him one-on-one face-time with legislators.
"From the number of years I've been up there, I've developed good relationships with members of the General Assembly and I really go out of my way to meet the new people .... I [have a] very hands on, ground approach.
"And I've developed a reputation up there. They know when they ask me a question they are going to get the right answer, a straight answer and a truthful answer ... They know that I have been through it," said Alves, whose first day as a lawmaker in 1991 coincided with then-Gov. Bruce Sundlun shutting down the credit unions. (He remembers having no idea why his phone was ringing off the hook until "I turned the TV on.")
His two-man lobbying firm — the Capitol Strategies Group — had $495,500 in lobbying business last year, with 16 clients, including VISA U.S.A., paying $60,000 in lobbying fees; Axcess Financial, $40,000; the Auto Body Association of R.I., $27,000, and Meals on Wheels, $20,000.
Who are the top paid lobbyists and firms in Rhode Island?
Former House Speaker Murphy (aka "Dome Consultants LLC) and former Senate Minority Leader Goldberg — the husband of Rhode Island Supreme Court Justice Maureen McKenna Goldberg — are among the top picks year after year.
Murphy's one-man shop netted $742,333 in lobbying fees, and Goldberg $723,083.
Goldberg's State House clientele last year included: Lifespan, CVS Health, IGT & Affiliates, FedEx, the R.I. Partnership for HealthCare, the Providence Chamber of Commerce, 1-800-Contacts, the R.I. Liquor Operators Cooperatve and the Humane Society of the U.S., among others.
Other big players in the State House lobbying world last year:
- Government Strategies: $1,170,790 (Joe Walsh, his son William Walsh, Gayle Wolf)
The firm had more than two dozen clients, including IGT, Construction Industries of R.I., the R.I. Builders Association, the Summit Medical Compassion Center, the City of Providence, the Rhode Island Turnpike & Bridge Authority.
Among those paying annual retainers: the Rhode Island College Foundation, which paid the firm $45,000. (The explanation from college spokesman John Taraborelli: "This lobbyist advocates for priorities like budget initiatives, bond referenda and, currently, the proposed HOPE Scholarship legislation. The foundation believes this is a worthwhile investment of its philanthropic dollars and an important way to support the college.")
Political contributions last year from donors listing Government Strategies as their employer: $51,125, according to the R.I. Board of Elections' campaign-finance website.
2. William A. Farrell & Associates: $977,705 (Patricia Octeau, Will Farrell, William Farrell and Matthew Jerzyk)
Their client list included: The R.I. Bankers Association, Bank of America, Citizens, AT&T, Uber Technologies, Everytown for Gun Safety Action Fund, Pfizer, Bally's, the City of Providence.
Political contributions from donors listing William A. Farrell & Associates as their employer: $10,225.
3. Advocacy Solutions: $974,872 (Frank McMahon, former DCYF director Linda D'Amario Rossi, Steve Nardelli, Chris Hunter and Emily Crowell.)
The team had more than two dozen clients, including: KPMG, Verizon, the Providence Working Waterfront Alliance, DoorDash, Lyft and the controversial Flock Safety. Delta Dental alone paid the firm $63,000.
Political contributions from donors listing Advocacy Solutions as their employer: $20,800.
4. F/S Capitol Consulting (Carolyn Murray, Margaret Hogan Sweeney and Thomas Papa, a one-time chief of staff to the Senate President): $837,180.
The firm's lobbying income included: $80,400 from the R.I. Beverage Association, $39,500 from the Cigar Association of America, $48,000 from the 3M Company, $5,000 monthly from the National Shooting Sports Foundation.
Political contributions from donors who list F/S Consulting as their employer: $21,125.
5. Athena Solutions Group: (George Zainyeh): $778,749
With a single registered lobbyist — former Warwick Rep. Zainyeh, a Chafee-era chief of staff — the firm had two dozen clients last year, including those at the center of controversies over charter school expansion (Achievement First and three other charters), electronic voting (Democracy Live), alternate energy expansion (The R.I. Solar Coalition) and Rhode Island's struggling hospitals (CharterCARE Health Partners).
He was also one of nine on IGT's Rhode Island State House lobbying team.
Political Contributions from donor(s) who listed Athena Solutions as their employer: $6,675.
6. Mayforth: $749,288 (Richard McAuliffe, Jeffrey Taylor)
A two-man shop, Mayforth's clients ranged from the Roger Williams Zoo, to the Leading Age RI nursing home lobby, Business Owners of Child Care Association to UFCW-Local 328.
Political contributions: $17,845.51
