The borough assembly is considering three candidates to serve as federal lobbyists for the borough in Washington D.C.
A federal lobbyist would primarily be charged with speaking to federal agencies and lawmakers, particularly Alaska’s congressional delegation, in the hopes of securing more funding for borough projects.
The current priorities, according to assembly members and borough manager Alekka Fullerton, are funding for the Lutak Dock, funding for a new Public Safety Building, and securing Federal Emergency Management Authority (FEMA) reimbursement for Porcupine Road repairs.
The borough, until this summer, paid lobbyist Jay Sterne $3,000 per month to serve as federal lobbyist. But borough manager Alekka Fullerton said she decided to drop Sterne due to his unresponsiveness.
The three new candidates come with increased price asks, of $5,000 per month for a team from consulting firm Van Ness Feldman, $5,000 per month for lobbyist Dave Russell of Bryan Cave Leighton Paisner, and $6,000 per month for a team from firm Blank Rome.
At an assembly committee-of-the-whole meeting Tuesday, assembly member Craig Loomis expressed concerns about whether a possible increase in funding likelihood from lobbyists would be worth the monthly outlay.
“As a gambling person, I don’t want to gamble on this,” Loomis said, though he added that he could still be convinced otherwise with more information.
But largely, assembly members indicated that they thought the representation would be a worthwhile investment, with assembly member Cheryl Stickler saying that the borough “couldn’t afford not to” invest in a lobbyist, given the scale of federal funding needs for ongoing borough projects.
As an example of where lobbyists could make an impact, Fullerton pointed to uncertain public safety building funding.
“We have $14 million that has been dedicated to the public safety building through the state and federal governments, but we only have a grant agreement in place for just over $1 million from the state,” Fullerton said. “I need help tracking down those awards, making sure that money is still there, and getting a grant agreement in place.”
The three lobbyist options each addressed the assembly over Zoom at the meeting, highlighting their connections to the state’s representatives, and agencies like FEMA and the Maritime Administration (MARAD) that hold the keys to significant chunks of borough grant funding.
Russell, the lobbyist from Bryan Cave Leighton Paisner, described the lobbyists from the three firms — himself included — as part of the “Alaska mafia” of Alaskan former congressional staffers now doing lobbying work in Washington, D.C.
“We’re all familiar with each other and this work,” Russell said.
“I see Dan, Lisa, and Nick regularly,” Russell added as testament to his connections, referring to senators Dan Sullivan, Lisa Murkowski, and congressman Nick Begich. “Nick’s chief of staff calls on a few of us for advice now and then. I had lunch with him a week ago.”
The assembly did not discuss their impressions of the candidates in depth, but plan to have more discussion at the next assembly meeting on Oct. 14.