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Met inked deal for up to $100,000 with ’strategic communications’ consultant
October 22nd, 2009, 12:14 pm · 18 Comments · posted by Teri Sforza, Register staff writer
As the Metropolitan Water District of Southern California sought approval for new union contracts that would hike employee pay and pensions, it hired a “strategic communications” consultant - for up to $100,000 - to help get the work done, reports our former colleague Chris Reed of The San Diego Union Tribune.
We at The Watchdog were a bit puzzled early on in this pitched battle when our usual (and quite reliable) media contacts at Met - one of whom earns more than $150,000 a year - forwarded our questions and requests to consultant Marathon Communications.
But there’s a logical reason for going outside, officials said.
“We were retained in late July to help Met communicate about the tentative MOU,” Marathon’s Brian Lewis told us in an email. “We were hired to get the word out to the media about the new agreement because the people you ordinarily deal with at Met are members of one of the four bargaining units and stood to be direct beneficiaries of the agreement.”
Reed has posited that Marathon may have had a hand in silencing our colleagues at the Los Angeles Times, who didn’t see fit to report on the issue. As if, Lewis says.
“Contrary to what you may have read on the Internet, we have no control over the media no matter how much we would like to,” Lewis wrote. (That made us chuckle, which was Lewis’s intent, which shows he may have some sway over the media after all.)
We have asked Met for a copy of Marathon’s contract, and for a total of its invoices - as well as for the contracts and invoices of other consultants who worked on the contract negotiations. We’ll update you when we get word.
Meantime, Marathon’s description of its work sheds an interesting light on our democracy:
“The objective of every Marathon communications strategy is the same: to achieve our clients’ objectives,” says the firm’s web site. “Whether these objectives lie in the realm of public perception (the swaying of public attitudes toward an issue or a company) or public policy (tailoring business plans to succeed within current political realities) Marathon has the knowledge, experience, and relationships to create specific and specifically targeted messaging to shore up support and neutralize opposition.”
Met’s management didn’t convince its board to approve the new contracts, and we’re not sure that the public’s attitude toward Met is one of benevolence these days. But, that was probably not part of Marathon’s contract.
More Watchdog:
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Amazing -
thank you for bringing to this our attention.
It is disgusting.
IT’S TIME FOR THE BOARD TO CLEAN HOUSE!!!
Good work, Teri. Stay on these scoundrels. The deeper you dig the dirtier it gets.
But don’t be naive. When you put in a request for invoices do you think you will get ALL the information??? How would you know something is missing if you don’t know it exists??? Trusting these scoundrels to hand over the goods is like expecting Dracula to share his blood bags with you. Forget it. And if you catch them later at hiding information they will say it was just an ‘oversight’. hah.
So we are spending taxpayer money for MWD to hire an outside PR firm to spin their story and attempt to silence the press??? I would love to see the resumes of those who are doing the dirty work. I wonder of any of them are former newpapers or media people? Power brokers must have clout to earn their money.
The common citizen is so disallusioned with what is happening around us in big business and government. It’s 100 times worse than what I recall as a kid. So blatant. They hardly put an effort into hiding the unethical behavior anymore. I guess since their jobs are guaranteed they have absolutely nothing to worry about. I think lying and being good at it is actually a career booster these days. Sad.
Yeah, so Ms Sforza, when will you be exposing the rate stabilization fund? I would think that 600 million of funds beng spent to artificially hold the rates low would be of highest priority.
What?- no criticism of the 27 million spent in orange county on a water test lab? Or the new revelations on Duvall? How about waste the alllied MWD agencies committed with the stabilization fund, and are now upset that teh truth may come out.MWD has informed these agencies for years that it was, at the agencies request, deferring the full cost of supplying water, and even now the agencies are demanding more deferral. They say hold off until the heat ( political uproar) dies down! Look ocob (= old cold bastard), if there is a honest bone in your body, you would research the total issue at MWD before you joined the daisy chain.
Only 100K? I find that hard to belive
Only 100K? I find that hard to belive
=================
It was actually $130K
From the CIty of LA says:
It would be interesting to see who recommended this consultant firm, and whether or not it is the guy who stood the most to gain by the enhanced plan, Ivey I think his name is?
This consultant obviously wasn’t hired to “tailor business plans to succeed within current political realities”
My guess is that they were hired to not sway public attitudes, but to sway the attitudes of the MWD Board and people who influence the MWD Board.
==============================
The PR firme was a WELL CONNECTED firm that does all the “consulting” for ALL the major public employee bond issues-like school bonds and so forth.
They are NOT there to “consult” but to provide positive PR for the bond issue=because MET has their own, in-house, highly paid PR hacks.
It would be interesting to see who recommended this consultant firm, and whether or not it is the guy who stood the most to gain by the enhanced plan, Ivey I think his name is?
This consultant obviously wasn’t hired to “tailor business plans to succeed within current political realities” because the MWD Board of Directors obviously weren’t aware of the political fallout they would be subject to if this deal were ratified. If this was the firm’s mission, they certainly weren’t worth $1 let alone one hundred thousand of them. It seemed obvious that while the Chair of the MWD Board was in favor of the contract, and maybe even a committee of the MWD Board, the Chair badly underestimated what the rest of the MWD Board would do, especially in the wake of the publicity.
My guess is that they were hired to not sway public attitudes, but to sway the attitudes of the MWD Board and people who influence the MWD Board. If they were hired to sway public attitudes, again they certainly were bad at what they did. There was no way that the public was going to go for enhanced anything in this economic climate. It was apparent that MWD management was counting on the public not knowing or caring about this issue, Anyone who works in public government knows that nothing is a secret in public government, and if they thought that people would just take it, again, they were wrong.
From what I’ve seen in public service, consultants are hired for several reasons. One is to have someone to blame, other than management, if there is a problem. Another is to hire someone other than staff to tell boards and councils what managment wants them to hear. Last is that a consultant or his or her family member is there for political payback.
Wanted to get a post in before Jan chimes in!
Post all ya want, Nemo. Unless there is something earth-shattering or new on these blogs, I am pretty much done for the most part. I am sure you will continue to enjoy yourself whether I am posting or not.
City, once again, a great post!
Keep us posted on the suggestions and action items that come from this consult.
I think the better investment would of been $250,000 a year for a good Public Relations Firm.
What kind of car will a couple hundred bucks buy? Maybe the GOVT should take over Mgmt of the water supply since banking, auto, and health industries are benefiting so much from being under the microscope. How long till our corner grocery stores are govt rationing agencies too.
Here is what you miss, lobbyists are the best friends of politicos. so when new laws are proposed and complete “change” is pushed on the people a very small but persuasive percentage of the population gets richer and parties with said public figures. therefore the upper 3% still benefit off the sweat of the little guys who’s interests are supposed to be at stake. Turn your radar away from job creating private agencies and show us how our tax dollars actually work for once.
Every bureaucracy in government uses consultants to achieve their crafty goals and in their attempts to decieve the taxpayers.
The MWD is the least of the offenders. The LE and FD unions have stolen in a worse fashion than the looters did during the Riots in the 1990’s.
As citizens we sit back and bitch about these crooks stealing us blind but rarely do we stand up and demand that these crooks be hels accountable.
With the internet citizens have a better tools to keep track of these lying scumbags and it will lead to changes.
Lets start by getting these government unions dissolved!!!
“With the internet citizens have a better tools to keep track of these lying scumbags and it will lead to changes.”
Yes, because we all know the internet is a reliable source of information…
Great selective reporting again Ms. Sforza!
Great reporting! It’s very important to ensure there is transparency and oversight of governmental agency. The average american doens’t have the time or the ability to make a difference and our politicians are bought and sold.
Hopefully with good reporting there will be increased accountability and the taxpayers will finally have a voice.
I wondered why the LA Times was so quiet on this. I know the OC Register and the Union Tribune scooped them on this, but with so many LA MWD members on the Board something should have been said. I think perhaps the LA Times showed its pro-union yellow streak, by its complete silence….