So, the lobbying reports were due on July 31st. I was kind of waiting to have them on-line before I looked at them, but the Greater Madison Chamber of Commerce sent out a press release bragging about how much money they had spent. It seemed a little odd that they would really spend $44,758.25. But they made the following contacts:
Sanborn 14
Konkel 1
Cnare 16
Verveer 1
Webber 2
Olson 0
Brandon 47
King 4
Skimore 17
Golden 11
Gruber 6
Benford 0
Knox 7
Bruer 10
Palm 15
Compton 8
Rosas 11
VanRooy 11
Radomski 9
Thomas 11
TOTAL 201
Mayor 10
Piriano 12
Twigg 8
Mendoza 18
TOTAL 48
Council Members 4
Common Council 7
Equal Opportunities Commission 4
Economic Development Commission 5
Board of Estimates 2
Board of Public Health 2
TOTAL 24
That’s a grand total of 273 contacts at $163.95 per contact. (As an aside, that doesn’t count all the money they paid for radio ads and the wonderful NorthStar study.)
The contacts were primarily about “mandatory paid sick leave”. They had 8 contacts about inclusionary zoning, 1 “general city business” and 3 to Alder Golden about Big Box Parking.
Look at who they conctacted . . . and how the paid sick leave vote came out (Konkel, King, Verveer, Olson, Webber, Benford, Gruber, Knox and Palm voted for – Golden was absent) . . . I guess you do get what you pay for, those 156 contacts with the council members who voted against the ordinance paid off . . . and I guess some council members care more about what the Chamber of Commerce thinks than their own constituents and the low wage workers in Madison . . .
