Lobbyists lobby hard for D.C. lobbying job

The lobbying before the Las Vegas City Council on Wednesday was unprecedented in that the lobbyists were vying for a chance to plug the city in Washington, D.C.

And after nearly two hours of discussion, the council decided it needed more time to digest all that lobbying.

Three firms pleaded their cases, only to find the council confused over how many companies it should hire -- one, two or all three.

Adding to the difficulty was Mayor Oscar Goodman's inability to participate on the matter due to the recent hiring of his mayoral campaign leader, Tom Letizia, by the firm Alcade & Fay.

"I wish they hadn't hired you, Tom, but they did and I'm out," Goodman said to his friend as he left the dais.

For the next 90 minutes the council listened to find the company that would give the city the best representation in the nation's capital.

Lawrence Grossman, senior vice president of Cassidy & Associates' Shandwick Washington division, said his 25-year-old company provides the benefit of both a large staff and proven success.

Cassidy is trying to wrest the city's federal lobbying away from Alcade & Fay and US Strategies.

Both Alcade and US Strategies currently provide such services. Alcade makes $68,000 a year, while US Strategies is paid $96,000 annually.

Hector and Richard Alcade, the father-and-son team at the firm, joined with former Rep. James Bilbray to lobby the council members individually before Wednesday's meeting.

Alcade & Fay has successfully obtained for the city transportation money for both the Spaghetti Bowl and the Sahara Avenue interchange.

"We have a one-thousand percent batting average," Bilbray told the council. "Why would you change if you have success?"

Heidi Hanson, senior vice president of US Strategies, said her firm has committed itself to serve only one city -- Las Vegas.

But having two lobbyists at work in Washington has created some confusion, she said.

"I think it's better with one firm, but possible with two," Hanson said.

City Councilman Gary Reese worried that the lobbyists were "crisscrossing paths" in an effort to score transportation, housing and redevelopment dollars for the city.

But Councilman Michael McDonald said he thought having two firms "expands our empire."

Now that the council has heard from the three firms, it will have to decide how many of them to hire.

North Las Vegas recently approved a contract with Alcade & Fay for lobbying services. North Las Vegas pays the company $90,000 a year.

The city of Las Vegas also has an interlocal agreement with Clark County to pay Alcade & Fay to lobby against the storage of nuclear waste at Yucca Mountain.

City Manager Virginia Valentine said she plans to create communications guidelines to help alleviate some of the problems. Still, the city staff recommends that both accountability and effectiveness could be improved by working with one firm.

Erin Neff covers Las Vegas government for the Sun. She can be reached at (702) 259-4062 or 229-6436, or by e-mail at [email protected].

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