Mastodawn

'People forget': Council Member Alter warns some lobbyist meetings could go unreported

Future meetings between Austin's elected officials and lobbyists hoping to influence their votes could go unreported because "people do just forget," Council Member Ryan Alter said.

https://www.kxan.com/investigations/people-forget-council-member-alter-warns-some-lobbyist-meetings-could-go-unreported/

#Investigations #Austin #Local #News #TopStories #AustinCityCouncil #Lobbyist #RyanAlter

KXAN News Austin Mar 18

Austin boosts lobbyist transparency, but relies on self-reporting

When paid lobbyists try to influence Austin’s elected officials, new rules taking effect next week aim to bring more of those efforts into the open -- but critics warn one change could do the opposite.

https://www.kxan.com/investigations/austin-boosts-lobbyist-transparency-but-relies-on-self-reporting/

#Investigations #Austin #Local #News #TopStories #CityCouncil #Lobbyist #PublicCitizen #Transparency

Dave Volek Feb 20

The Self Lobbyist

Back in the good old political days, we did not have professional lobbyists:

https://tiereddemocraticgovernance.org/blog_details.php?blog_cat_id=33&id=178

#tiereddemocraticgovernance
#lobby #lobbyist #lobbying

LilMikeSF Feb 19

Corrupt Police Union Prez & Cohort Headed To #Federal #Prison ...

Longtime #Massachusetts State #Police Union leader and his fave registered state lobbyist have both been resentenced in federal #court for a years-long “organized criminal enterprise” to defraud union members and the state.

Both Dana Pullman, then State Police Association of Massachusetts (#SPAM) president, and Anne Lynch, a top cop #union #lobbyist, were convicted in 2022 of a scheme where Pullman would use his role to steer biz to Lynch and receive copious cash kickback$.

"Dana Pullman and Anne Lynch ran the Massachusetts State Police union like an old-school racket, siphoning money from troopers, deceiving the Commonwealth, hiding income from the IRS and then lying when they got caught. Their conduct was deliberate, sustained and corrosive,” said United States Prosecuting Attorney Leah B. Foley.

https://www.wcvb.com/article/massachusetts-state-police-union-sentencing/70411106

https://www.bostonherald.com/2026/02/18/former-state-police-union-president-lobbyist-sentenced-in-racketeering-fraud-scheme/ #CopWatch #LEOs

Benjamin Carr, Ph.D. 👨🏻‍💻🧬Feb 10

#AndreessenHorowitz’s Rising Influence Over Trump-Era #AI Policy
#SiliconValley’s richest #venturecapital firm emerges as a “lobbying juggernaut” for minimal AI regulation.
Sounding board is firm’s chief #lobbyist, #CollinMcCune. The firm, colloquially known by the shorthand #a16z for the 16 letters between the A and Z in its name, arguably has veto power over any AI-related proposals, according to one former #WhiteHouse official.
https://www.bloomberg.com/news/features/2026-02-10/trump-s-ai-policy-shaped-by-vc-tech-giant-andreessen-horowitz
https://archive.ph/mMhHx