REMARKS
Council Member Gale A. Brewer opens discussion on lobbying laws and separation of roles between campaign advisers and lobbyists
0:07:22
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173 sec
Council Member Gale A. Brewer expresses her appreciation for lobbyists and the valuable information they provide, but emphasizes the need for a clear separation between campaign advisers and lobbyists.
- Brewer highlights the increased percentage of lobbying of city council and staff in 2023.
- She advocates for campaign advisers to not lobby council members on issues, as it creates a conflict of interest.
- Brewer calls for clearer boundaries between campaign work and lobbying activities to maintain transparency and integrity.
Gale A. Brewer
0:07:22
very much, and thank you to chair Wessler for your focus on this issue.
0:07:26
Many years ago, I was chair of government operations committee, and I know how important this topic is to the city of New York.
0:07:32
I didn't wanna just stop by saying they have a lot of respect for lobbyists.
0:07:35
I think they bring information that is crucial.
0:07:39
They often have lengthier careers and topics that sometimes because of term limits and the way our city operates more expertise than many others and is vastly needed by our city.
0:07:56
So I wanted to tell say that to start with The intro 742, which I am a sponsor of along with Kelsey, a member wrestler and others, he said it correctly.
0:08:08
If I have a staff member who is leaving and becomes a lobbyist, they have to wait a year in order to talk to me about any substance of issue.
0:08:17
However, just like many other people, I employ individuals who help me get elected known as a campaign adviser.
0:08:26
Sometimes it's a company, sometimes it's an individual, sometimes it's a combination of people.
0:08:33
Those individuals, in my opinion, should stick to campaign work.
0:08:37
They should not be contacting me about issues.
0:08:40
According to the wonderful briefing, and I always wanna thank the staff because these briefings are phenomenal.
0:08:45
I the lobbying of city council members in 2023 accounted for 24%, and lobbying of city council staff was 17%.
0:08:56
Spending on lobbying the mayor and his staff accounted for 9%, which apparently was much more than previous mayors which at who average between 46%.
0:09:06
And as you heard from the chair, there's a lot more money involved in lobbying today.
0:09:10
So it is important for me when you think about the mayor, the public advocate, the city controller, the board president, and council member, all of whom, I believe, employ individuals to help us get elected, I personally don't want somebody who's helping me get elected for whom I have great respect coming to me with an issue.
0:09:28
Number 1, lobbying topics is real estate followed by nonprofits, and I may have a lot of respect for the real estate firms and a lot of respect for the nonprofits.
0:09:38
But if they wanna talk to me, they should call me individually.
0:09:41
I'm happy to talk to almost anybody.
0:09:43
There may be a few people I don't wanna talk to.
0:09:45
But most people I will talk to.
0:09:48
So the issue is do it that way.
0:09:49
Do not have your campaign people.
0:09:51
Similarly, somebody who's working with you on substantive lobbying issues I don't want them to be running somebody's campaign.
0:09:59
To me, that is a mix that should not exist.
0:10:02
Most to my experience most people separate them.
0:10:06
They either do campaign work or they do lobbying work.
0:10:08
They don't mix, but there are some that do, and I think that's a situation that should not exist.
0:10:13
Thank you very much, Mister chair.