City Council members to lobby legislators

Six of seven Spokane City Council members are headed to Olympia today as part of a wider effort by civic leaders to lobby state legislators on issues important to Spokane.

Councilman Brad Stark said he opted out of the trip when he realized that all of the other council members were going. The cost is $675 per person, including three nights of lodging.

“I think there is a point of diminishing returns,” he said.

The council last fall increased its travel budget from $12,000 to $20,000 a year in part to allow council members to attend more conventions involving cities and for lobbying events.

Council members will be joined by Mayor Dennis Hession and Susan Ashe, the city’s legislative affairs director.

Hession will travel to Olympia tonight with Gov. Chris Gregoire following opening ceremonies for the U.S. Figure Skating Championships in Spokane.

They will be part of a delegation of business and other agency leaders who will make up an annual Olympia lobbying excursion organized through the Spokane Regional Chamber of Commerce. This year’s delegation was expected to be nearly 80 people.

“They go early in the session to try to promote the entire community agenda,” said Marlene Feist, city public affairs officer.

The legislative agenda adopted by the City Council about a month ago is a laundry list of issues and projects important to the city, including changes in the state open records act to limit requests for what could be deemed overly broad disclosure of records.

The agenda also lists funding for the Fox Theater, liberalized tax laws, street and highway projects, economic development, education, water quality and housing.

In addition, the city wants to strengthen language protecting attorney-client communications, including those deemed to be “work product.”