The work of political consultants and lobbyists is drawing increasing scrutiny from the San Diego County Board of Supervisors.<\/p>\n
Supervisors passed a pair of measures on Wednesday aimed at both curbing lobbying<\/a> by former county officials and bringing into the public eye the work of political consultants hired with county tax dollars.<\/p>\n In recent months, the county has hired<\/a> a group of consultants to devise plans for how to bring in more revenue to county coffers in the years ahead.<\/p>\n Their work includes polling, drafting future possible ballot measures to raise taxes and running a public relations campaign about the county\u2019s budget needs, according to the $320,000 contract between the county and Ironwood Public Affairs, a firm ran by a former county staffer turned lobbyist named Victor Avi\u00f1a.<\/p>\n Under a plan backed by supervisors on Wednesday, Avi\u00f1a\u2019s firm will have to provide the county a report on its work by the end of September.<\/p>\n \u201cI just think we need to be absolutely transparent,\u201d said Republican Supervisor Joel Anderson, who introduced the plan to order the consultants to draft a report.<\/p>\n Meanwhile, an ethics-reform push by the board\u2019s Democratic chair was also unanimously passed on Wednesday.<\/p>\n A measure from Supervisor Terra Lawson-Remer bans former officials from lobbying county government<\/a> for two years after they leave public service. It also bars county officials from using insider information to make bets about county government activities on prediction-market platforms such as Kalshi and Polymarket.<\/p>\n Lawson-Remer said her and her colleagues have been working to \u201creally make county government work better.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cThis is one more item in that vein, that really tries to ensure that government is accountable to voters,\u201d the supervisor said of the new reforms.<\/p>\n The new requirements for lobbyists follow reporting by The San Diego Union-Tribune<\/a> on the county\u2019s unusually lax rules governing former staffers\u2019 ability to lobby their prior employer on behalf of private clients.<\/p>\n During Wednesday\u2019s meeting, Lawson-Remer did push back on Anderson\u2019s attempt to draw the county\u2019s consultants out into the public eye. Supervisors ultimately passed a watered-down version of the plan he had initially proposed.<\/p>\n Originally, Anderson wanted the consultants to make a public presentation about their activities during a Board of Supervisors meeting next month.<\/p>\n But the upcoming midterm election drew concern about that idea from Lawson-Remer and county attorneys.<\/p>\n That\u2019s because part of the consultants\u2019 efforts have involved polling residents on their support for raising the county\u2019s sales tax rate.<\/p>\n This fall, there is a separate countywide half-cent sales tax surcharge on the ballot, put there by a\u00a0coalition of county labor unions and nonprofits.<\/p>\n The measure, if passed, is expected to bring in between $400 and $450 million in new revenue for the county every year, with funds earmarked for county social services, public safety agencies and projects to mitigate the sewage crisis in the Tijuana River Valley.<\/p>\n According to polling by the consultants the county hired, a potential sales tax hike got a cold reception from county residents back in February. It found two-thirds opposed such a measure, with only 8% strongly in support.<\/p>\n While the regressive tax hike had a poor showing in the poll, the idea of taxing wealthier people and more valuable real estate polled far better.<\/p>\n According to the poll, 60% of respondents favored taxing the sale of real estate worth more than $5 million. A similar share \u2014 56% \u2014 said they supported imposing a payroll tax on people who earn at least $350,000 per year.<\/p>\n The poll results were first reported<\/a> by Voice of San Diego.<\/p>\n