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StumbleAssemblyman Morse Arberry steps down to pursue lobbying career
Wednesday, Sept. 1, 2010 | 7:50 p.m.
Morse Arberry
The longtime chairman of the powerful Assembly Ways and Means Committee has resigned from elected office to pursue a lobbying career, including a $10,000-a-month contract representing the court system in Clark County before his former colleagues.
Morse Arberry, a Las Vegas Democrat first elected to the Assembly in 1984, said he stepped down Tuesday to avoid a conflict of interest between his elected position and his lobbying work.
His sudden entry into the lobbying corps underscores the fact that Nevada has no law to prevent legislators from immediately peddling their influence with former colleagues after they leave office.
Other states and the federal government have one- or two-year “cooling off” periods to slow the spin of the revolving door between government and special interests that have business before the government.
Arberry, who formed Titan Partners on June 21, said he doesn’t believe in cooling-off periods.
“I think you have to hit things while the iron is hot,” said Arberry, who was in his final term in the Assembly because of term limits. “For 25 years I served in the Legislature and in public, and I bring relationships and a lot of knowledge to the table. A cooling-off period hinders an individual. Momentum you have is lost because then you’re not involved in the field.”
Clark County Commissioner Steve Sisolak laughed at Arberry’s comment. He called Arberry a friend, but said his remarks reflect “exactly why we need a cooling-off period.”
The Clark County Commission will vote on Arberry’s lobbying contract next week.
The Legislature convenes in February. Asked what he would be doing for courts in Clark County until the Legislature convenes, Arberry said, “I can best answer that after the meeting a week from now.”
Doug Pinkham, president of Public Affairs Council, a nonpartisan, nonprofit group in Washington, D.C., that promotes best practices for ethics, said cooling-off periods are intended to remove even the appearance of impropriety.
“Whether it’s ethical or not, it doesn’t look good,” Pinkham said. Arberry is “using access and expertise to benefit clients. By benefiting clients, he’s making money.”
County Commissioner Chris Giunchigliani called the proposal to hire Arberry to lobby for District Court and Las Vegas Justice Court “incredible.” She noted that the courts have proposed paying Arberry through administrative fees, which are tacked onto court fines, including parking and speeding tickets.
“While I respect that they (the courts) are the third branch of government, it continues to show they are out of touch with the budget issues we have in local government,” Giunchigliani said. “They don’t need a lobbyist. We should all be working together, not against each other. You don’t have to get people nailed with fees to fund lobbyists.”
Arberry would be paid $10,000 per month from September through June 2011, when the 2011 Legislature is scheduled to adjourn.
He would then be paid $2,000 a month through June 30, 2012. If a special session occurred during that time, he would get an additional $400 per day.
The court system did not issue a wide call for prospective lobbyists through a request for proposals.
Judge Art Ritchie, chief judge of the Eighth Judicial District, which encompasses Clark County, dismissed the hand-wringing over Arberry going to work as the court’s lobbyist. The same “civics discussion” came up two years ago when the judges hired a lobbyist and the contract came before the County Commission, he said.
The judiciary needs lobbyists because “we have a lot of common interests (with Clark County government), but we have a lot of interests that might be different,” he said.
As for signing Arberry, Ritchie said, “Frankly, we’re trying to navigate the legislative process. We’re judges, not legislators, so we need someone who can navigate the Legislature.”
Assembly Majority Leader John Oceguera, D-Las Vegas, praised Arberry’s decades of service. Arberry knows the budget process as well as anyone in the state, he said.
But Oceguera added that he plans to introduce legislation that would establish a cooling-off period for retiring lawmakers before they can become lobbyists.
“There ought to be a time period because you are so close to your colleagues, you have to have some time and distance before you come back and come on the lobbying side,” he said. “It’s almost like you’re a colleague still, as opposed to a lobbyist.”
Turning to lobbying after leaving office is not without precedent for Nevada’s part-time citizen Legislature.
Former Assembly Speaker Richard Perkins, a Henderson Democrat who decided not to seek re-election in 2005, returned to lobby for private-sector clients.
Two of Carson City’s more influential lobbyists, Pete Ernaut and Josh Griffin, also had brief stints as assemblymen.
Danny Thompson is a former Democratic assemblyman. He now wanders the Legislature as a lobbyist and head of Nevada AFL-CIO.
And then there are those who don’t even bother to leave office before becoming head of an advocacy group. State Sen. Mark Amodei, R-Carson City, served both as elected representative and president of the Nevada Mining Association. Former state Sen. Warren Hardy, R-Las Vegas, served as president of the Associated Builders and Contractors before he resigned in 2009 to continue in that paid position.
A number of local government employees also serve in the Legislature, prompting some to question who their true constituents are — the voters who elected them or their employers who sign their paychecks.
Julie Tousa, president of the Nevada Center for Public Ethics, said Arberry’s situation “is definitely a conflict.” She said his former position will give him an unfair advantage in the legislative process.
Although commissioners will consider the contract Tuesday, there is some question whether the courts need their approval because it is a separate branch of government.
If commissioners say no, Ritchie said, “we’ll cross that bridge when we get to it.”
Giunchigliani said Clark County’s cooling-off period does not apply to elected officials. That’s why former Commissioner Chip Maxfield was allowed to become head of the Clean Water Coalition in 2009, within months of leaving the commission.
Giunchigliani will try Tuesday to gain enough votes to support a county resolution to incorporate a one-year cooling-off period for elected officials.
During the last legislative session, the Assembly passed a bill that would prevent local governments from hiring contract lobbyists. The bill ultimately died in the Senate. But it got near unanimous approval in the Assembly, including from Arberry.
Discussion: 2 comments so far…
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I cannot believe the County will spend $10,000 in tax dollars, a month, to pay a former Representative of the people. to try and influence his former mates to spend more tax dollars to a division of a public entity????
WHAT. Spend tax dollars to buy influence to spend more tax dollars all supporting public servants. It is time to vote them all out. (I assume Jr. Reid will vote for this, they are party mates).
So it only took 10k to sell his soul. How pathetic.
In an age where lobbyist (like Jon Porter) are considered the scum of the earth that doesn't stop the rats (like Jon Porter) from selling their souls.
C'mon! Lay off the "Moose". Unemployment among black males is through the roof.
Wow...unconscionable.
And not just a little bit like the REST of Nevada's political and judicial landscape.
I love this GEM:
"State Sen. Mark Amodei, R-Carson City, served both as elected representative and president of the Nevada Mining Association."
And we wonder why MINING pays a paltry couple of pennies in taxes!
Go Chris G! Court fees should not be used to finance a personal lobbyist for the judges. The judges have proven themselves to be seasoned politicians, as reflected by their successful elections, and they are fully capable of lobbying for themselves. This is not a legitimate use of court imposed fees.
Caroll... "sell his soul", c'mon... I agree with Chris G., the court system doesn't need a paid lobbyist, but to infer that Moose has "sold his soul" or in any way betrayed the public trust is just plain silly!
He has a right to earn a living and it appears one of his main assets now is the experience and contacts he's made in 30 years of public life. How is that "selling his soul"?
That's also $10K a month, which is more than he made an entire year during his years in the Legislature. He's an hororable man who has served this state well and to suggest otherwise is ignorant to the facts.
If the law is changed and I'm fine with that, then so be it... but as of now this appears to be well within bounds. Let's throw the rocks when appropriate, not at every announcement involving a political figure.
"...a $10,000-a-month contract representing the court system in Clark County before his former colleagues."
The former chair of the committee holding this state's purse strings has sold out. That's not the most outrageous part of this story -- that would be the courts need a lobbyist at all, and the COUNTY is expected to pay the fee. As if Clark County's court system were somehow a different entity than the rest of Nevada's judicial branch, justice and municipal courts excepted.
Commissioner Giunchigliani's "incredible" label should be heeded, even though as she noted Arberry's fees would be paid "through administrative fees, which are tacked onto court fines, including parking and speeding tickets." In other words keep gouging the poor people sucked into this irretrievably corrupt government we've allowed to be usurped by courts no longer about justice but justifying revenue stream to government.
Think, People! The judicial branch is seated at the Capital. Despite what chief judge Ritchie had to say, it's the judiciary's own fault it doesn't know how to talk to its budget masters.
I sincerely hope Arberry's replacement on Ways and Means sees this and cuts the judiciary's budget accordingly. More, I sincerely hope We the Fleeced get off their butts and force that committee to put that particular budget under a microscope and start cutting accordingly.
"The legal system has also been wounded by lawyers who themselves no longer respect the rule of law ..... When lawyers cannot be trusted to observe the fair processes essential to maintaining the rule of law, how can we expect the public to respect the process?" -- the Honorable Edith Jones to Harvard's Federalist Club "American Legal System Is Corrupt Beyond Recognition, Judge Tells Harvard Law School" 2/28/03
THE MOOSE is LOOSE
Ok so let's examine this article the "MOOSE" said he is resigning his position that he currently holds for a position lobbing for the courts. Who in their right mind would quit a job without knowing they are going to receive the vote needed to retain this new position,(A WEEK FROM NOW), unless he has already created a back door deal.(HE SAID THE ABOVE STATMENT HIMSELF)
RIGHT THERE SHOULD SHOW YOU HOW CORRUPT THE CLARK COUNTY COMMISSIONS IS.
I mean this "Moose" guy has some set of &alls to put this out there. So let's say this is true he gets the job anyway, isn't this same guy who "O's" hundreds of thousands ($496,000) in taxes to the state and feels he don't have to pay. (AND IS HEAD OF THE WAYS AND MEANS COMMISSION), I guess what better guy to lobby for the courts than someone who thinks he's above the law
Here is the link above to prove Taxes issue for the "MOOSE".
http://nortownnv.com/2009/12/31/harvey-m....
Now on to the next" RANT"(TRUTH) our Clark county commission has beat up on everyone for pay cuts and concession and, they can afford to pay $ 10,000 a month,( TO THIS SWINDLER), this is absurd. Should they approve this position for the "MOOSE" I hope that all the people of Nevada that are asked to take Concessions and pay cuts "DON'T DO IT" because right here proves they have a $hit load of money to spend.
Moose is about the crookest guy in the legislator and you're going to give him a lobbyist job to represent the CLARK COUNTY COURTS "REALLY" please say it not so. I am trying to retain faith in our commissioners but if they allow this to go on in these tough economic times after they have told us how bad it is, then it will be hard for me to trust anything they say anymore. As for any of the commissioners thinking about running for Mayor, you should tread lightly because as a candidate for mayor it will be a hard sale to believe you"
Let's not forget people the elections are in NOVEMBER let's see what these commissioners do and how they VOTE!!!!!!!
ANOTHER *SHINING* EXAMPLE OF THE DECREPIT STATE OF THESE INCUMBENT 'POLITICOS'.
These wretched types KNOW there is NO LAW against this kind of dung.
AND THEY PURPOSELY DIDN'T PASS LAWS AGAINST THIS TYPE OF CRAPOLA
because they knew they wanted to get on the government gravy train as soon as they could get on it.
NO JOBS, NO WATER, NO ECONOMY
But YOU - keep writing those tax checks, baby.........
You would think that a person that has 25 years SERVING the public and legislature would have already imparted his wisdom to all.What were you waiting for if you haven't,the right price?Thanks for holding back your solutions till now,Morse,or is that More?
Thank God for the intelligence of Nevada voters. They instituted term-limits so we can weed out the dead-wood and the border-line criminals in Carson City & Clark County. Arberry is just one in a long line of career politicians who used their position to insure their future at taxpayer expense. Nothing new there. But at least taxpayers are becoming more aware of the skullduggery and less apathetic towards it. Good for them!
Yea,but look who is making the laws,for their own interests.Quit looking at who's a Dem. or who's a Rep,And look who's doing what,not who's saying what.Put these guys under the microscope and use your common sense to see who is really there looking after YOUR interests.They all sure aren't working for me.I wonder who they really are working for.I hope this story is an easy lesson for those who are still wondering.Read it again if basic comprehension fails u.
Are you kidding me! This is the same clown who voted for a cooling off period for state employees in the 2009 session. Check out AB463.
Are u sure nota,there are alot of clowns running around now and there all starting to look alike.No,Ia'm not prejudiced about clowns either.