Discoveries of a recently released investigation into allegations of corruption in Anaheim have led some in Irvine to sound the call for lobbying reform in their city.
In 60 days, the City Council is expected to deliberate proposals staffers have been asked to generate for strengthening Irvine’s current lobbying rules and their enforcement, as well as examine what lobbying laws other Orange County cities have.
The request to revisit Irvine’s lobbying ordinance was brought by Councilmember Kathleen Treseder, who said she wants to give “more teeth” to the ordinance before serious problems can crop up.
“I’ve been watching Anaheim and what they’re going through,” Treseder said. “I have noticed they’ve had a really tough time, now that the toothpaste is out of the tube, trying to go back and make fixes.”
The $1.5 million city-commissioned probe into alleged corruption in Anaheim was a reaction to the 2022 revelation of FBI investigations that included allegations a self-described “cabal” of business and political leaders had exerted significant influence in its City Hall.
Irvine is named nearly a dozen times in the 353-page report out of the independent investigation. Melahat Rafiei, who has a political consulting firm and was a former executive director of the Orange County Democratic Party, agreed in January to plead guilty to wire fraud and her plea agreement with federal prosecutors details schemes in both cities related to the influencing of new cannabis-related ordinances.
Treseder, in her request for staff to look at Irvine’s policies, listed several recommendations that are in the Anaheim report as well as some of her own.
One of her recommendations is to reduce the compensation threshold at which an individual is required to register as as lobbyist. Current Irvine regulations require individuals to register if they receive compensation of $10,000 or more in a calendar quarter.
Treseder said she thinks people can work…
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