RivCo Board of Supes Dumps One Lobbyist, Retains Another

By PAUL YOUNG, City News Service:

The Board of Supervisors voted 4-1 this week to cancel a contract with a lobbying firm that has worked on behalf of Riverside County at the state level for a decade and renew a contract with another lobbying firm -- despite an Executive Office recommendation that it, too, be dismissed.

County Legislative Affairs Director Brian Nestande persuaded the board Tuesday to end its relationship with Sacramento-based Cline & Duplissea, but board members were less comfortable severing ties with Michael Y. Corbett & Associates.

“Mr. Corbett has been a good friend and voice at the state Capitol,” said Supervisor John Benoit. “He has represented our interests well in the public safety arena. He has been working in the current legislative session under the assumption we would continue his contract. Not doing so would be like cutting him off at the knees. We should at least pay him through October.”

Supervisor John Tavaglione agreed, saying the county had the “best of the best” in Corbett.

“His forte is the courts and public safety,” Tavaglione said. “We’re still battling to get (state reimbursement) formulas correct on public safety allocations. Mr. Corbett’s been working on our behalf, and we should keep him on.”

Supervisor Kevin Jeffries had requested in January that Nestande re- evaluate the county’s lobbying interests to determine who had returned value on their contracts and who hadn’t. The supervisor was in support of Nestande’s recommendation that both Cline & Duplissea and Michael Y. Corbett get the boot.

“We can’t afford to keep throwing money at something that doesn’t always result in success,” said Jeffries, who cast the lone dissenting vote in the motion to retain Corbett. “Mr. Corbett’s contract has expired. Now we have to establish a new one. We talk a lot about protecting the county. What about protecting the taxpayer?”

Jeffries concurred with Nestande’s position that county agencies need to coordinate better to ensure their goals are aligned. The supervisor also emphasized the upside of belonging to groups and organizations, such as the California State Association of Counties, that pool lobbying resources in Sacramento.

The cost of the new contract with Corbett will be determined following negotiations in the coming weeks. The agreement will last until Oct. 31.

Meantime, the county’s contract with its longtime federal lobbyist, Thomas Walters, was not affected, nor was the contract with another state lobbying concern, Neilsen, Merksamer, Parrinello & Gross.

Nestande, a Coachella Valley Republican who served three terms in the Assembly, was hired in December to work under county CEO Jay Orr, who received flak from some county residents for creating the $168,000-a-year position, which was viewed in some circles as a permanent lobbying post. Nestande pointed out Tuesday that he is one of only two people in county government dedicated to monitoring and acting on state affairs.

The former lawmaker did not address specific failings of any lobbying firm in the six-page assessment he submitted to the board, but noted that his analysis included questioning whether each legislative advocate had been prompt in responding to county requests, had accomplished goals set by the county and had proven generally effective in getting the county’s message across to lawmakers and the governor.

Nestande presented a cost comparison showing that, if the county had not renewed contracts with both Cline & Duplissea and Corbett’s firm, the county’s two-year lobbying costs would have decreased from $860,000 to $690,000. That would be less than what’s spent in neighboring San Bernardino County -- $708,000 -- and in San Diego County, $1.05 million.

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