E-mail This StoryAfter quietly hiring a former staffer of U.S. Sen. Dick Durbin (D-Ill.) and business associate of former Quincy Mayor Chuck Scholz to lobby for the city in February 2008, Quincy Mayor John Spring said he didn’t have to go through the City Council when the matter came before the City’s Finance Committee in February 2010.
Spring said he could merely use his mayoral powers to hire for professional services such as legal work or engineering in this case, but Spring had already hired Michael Alexander and Associates two years earlier as then-Director of Administrative Services Kenny Cantrell signed a letter of agreement dated late February 2008.
Billing statements obtained by QuincyNews.org and WTAD News via the Freedom of Information Act show Alexander agreed to become a lobbyist for the city in February 2008 for the sum of $5,000 a month (Click here). When the City’s efforts to appeal the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission’s dismissal of its Hydropower permit at Lock and Dam 21 were denied, City officials said Alexander’s services to the City had ended.
But over a 40 month period from February 2008 to April 2011, the City paid Alexander $200,000.
City Planner and Hydro Project Manager Chuck Bevelheimer said in February 2010 that Alexander had helped the City obtain two grants for Hydro: One for $475,000 and one for $350,000. Bevelheimer said Alexander’s role would be to lobby for state and federal grants and help secure the FERC permits and licenses needed for the project.
The City had also apparently already hired another law firm, Stoel Rives, to work on the 1603 issue as well (More on Stoel Rives in the next QuincyNews/WTAD report).
From February 2008 to December 2009, Alexander’s billing statements were vague, saying only that his services were for “lobbying” with the City promptly cutting him his $5,000 checks. But as his hiring became more widely known (some aldermen were asking questions about Alexander’s role), his billing statements added a few more details.
Click here and here for more detailed billing.
Alexander billed the City $5,000 in February 2008 for a retainer and the city paid that bill. The letter of agreement was replaced by a contract the City provided following the QNO/WTAD FOIA request that was signed by Spring in March 2010. This contract was much more detailed than the 2008 Letter of Agreement and focused on Hydro (Click here to read the contract).
E-mails from December 2010 to March 2011 show Alexander communicating with Durbin staffers to deal with the 1603 funding issue as well as attempting to respond to the FERC permit denial.
Alexander also included Scholz on multiple e-mails. Scholz is listed as of counsel to Michael Alexander and Associates. Scholz was rarely included on e-mails from city officials to Alexander.
So while Alexander was being paid to lobby his old boss, Durbin, Spring touted letters from Durbin and U.S. Sen. Mark Kirk to FERC that showed their support for Quincy’s Hydro project. FERC Commissioner Jon Wellinghoff said the letters arrived before Quincy had formally made its appeal.
But after the letters were sent, Spring sent a February 23 e-mail to the members of the City’s Hydropower Corporation Board (except for Lisa Oakley) and Director of Administrative Services that read the following:
“Good News. The Senators came through for me.”
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Reply #13 on : Mon July 04, 2011, 14:17:04