One head, one bed, two busoms & one troth....
A Midsummer Night's Dream, by William Shakespeare
A Midsummer Night's Dream, by William Shakespeare
This just in from the "You Gotta Be Kidding Me File." It turns out Delegate Dave Albo is friendlier with the lobbyists than we ever imagined. We already pointed out to you his annual lobbyist extravaganza, aka "Albopalooza." AMG, Albopalooza! (May 4, 2006). Well on Sunday, The Richmond Times Dispatch reported in an article entitled "Living in Truly Close Quarters" that Delegate Dave Albo actually rents his Richmond apartment from a Richmond lobbyist. This is not a joke.
It doesn't stop there. The article seems to say that Delegate Dave Albo actually was not paying this lobbyist landlord rent until just recently (when the guy decided to quit his government job and become a lobbyist).
Is that it? Nope. The article says Delegate Dave Albo had this lobbyist landlord to write him a letter of recommendation when he decided to adopt a child.
Why? Well the article says because this guy was a college buddy and because the landlord lobbyist college buddy doesn't lobby on bills before Albo's Committee - Delegate Dave Albo says only cable television issues and lobbying for uranium mining. Did that cause Delegate Dave Albo to abtain on all uranium votes?
Does the guy only lobby on "uranium mining and cable television?"
Looks like he has 32 or so clients. Including the Virginia Association of Regional Jails - they don't have any business in front of the Courts of Justice Committee or the Virginia Crime Commission that Delegate Dave Albo chairs do they? (note tongue in cheek)
And you know how it is down there - Republicans don't talk to other Republicans who are not on their committees. See - there's this Chineese wall thing. They don't help each other out, scratch each other's backs, or work together on bills at all. Nope. Not at all. (note tongue in other cheek)
And you know these landlord lobbyists college buddy types don't really ever expect anything in return. That's why there's the "college buddy state employee exclusion" to the gift reporting law. All this gift stuff isn't important anyway. Remember what Delegate Dave Albo said about those pesky lobbyists gifts a couple years ago?
It doesn't stop there. The article seems to say that Delegate Dave Albo actually was not paying this lobbyist landlord rent until just recently (when the guy decided to quit his government job and become a lobbyist).
And did Delegate Dave Albo ever disclose this "free" rent from the lobbyist mentioned in the article landord as a gift (state code section on gifts here) either before or afterwards???
Nope. (click here)Is that it? Nope. The article says Delegate Dave Albo had this lobbyist landlord to write him a letter of recommendation when he decided to adopt a child.
Why? Well the article says because this guy was a college buddy and because the landlord lobbyist college buddy doesn't lobby on bills before Albo's Committee - Delegate Dave Albo says only cable television issues and lobbying for uranium mining. Did that cause Delegate Dave Albo to abtain on all uranium votes?
Does the guy only lobby on "uranium mining and cable television?"
Nope
Looks like he has 32 or so clients. Including the Virginia Association of Regional Jails - they don't have any business in front of the Courts of Justice Committee or the Virginia Crime Commission that Delegate Dave Albo chairs do they? (note tongue in cheek)
And you know how it is down there - Republicans don't talk to other Republicans who are not on their committees. See - there's this Chineese wall thing. They don't help each other out, scratch each other's backs, or work together on bills at all. Nope. Not at all. (note tongue in other cheek)
And you know these landlord lobbyists college buddy types don't really ever expect anything in return. That's why there's the "college buddy state employee exclusion" to the gift reporting law. All this gift stuff isn't important anyway. Remember what Delegate Dave Albo said about those pesky lobbyists gifts a couple years ago?
Del. Dave Albo (R-Fairfax) went to Wolf Trap and took in a Redskins game courtesy of Dominion, and to a NASCAR event and two dinners on Altria. "These are two of the largest corporations in Virginia," he said, adding that it's to be expected that firms with large interests "would be more involved." "Nobody expects anything in return. It's a chance to talk. That's what we do," he said.See these lobbyist guys just want to talk about the weather, the meaning of life, smoking in restaura. . . er, I mean the cosmos. Client matters don't really come up much. Lobbyists just to smoke stogies and drink lots of beer in close proximity to legislators - apparently even rent them rooms. . . .
"Lobbies Treated Va. Lawmakers to $211,000 in Gifts, Food, Trips," Washington Post, B05 (Feb. 4, 2005).
2 comments:
George,
Thanks for the update on the latest of the unethical practices of a corrupt Delegate. None of this suprises me. It makes me shake my head in disgust and sadness but, with Albo, it is no suprise.
Some of the commentary in this article seems disingenuous. For example, at one point it says "And did Delegate Dave Albo ever disclose this 'free' rent from the lobbyist mentioned in the article as a gift either before or afterwards???" This is all fine and well, except that as the author notes in the previous paragraph, Delegate Albo was paying rent once the friend in question became a lobbyist. He was not receiving "free" rent from a lobbyist.
Under Item 5, the section relating to the disclosure of gifts, in the State Code that the author has provided a hyperlink to, it specifically asks about gifts from individuals "other than a relative or personal friend." Prior to becoming a lobbyist, this individual was simply a personal friend of Delegate Albo. Once this individual became a lobbyist, Delegate Albo paid rent. This line of argument regarding the “gift” of “free” rent is a moot point.
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