Group Claims Rep. Lowery Sells His Time

Representatives of the citizen lobby Common Cause said Friday that the private sessions that Rep. Bill Lowery (R-San Diego) grants to contributors to his Congressional Leadership Council are “an affront to the democratic principles this country stands for, and we urge him to stop immediately.”

Common Cause coordinator Mark Zerbe, speaking at a press conference in Lowery’s downtown San Diego office, charged Lowery with “parceling out his representation in $1,000 chunks” to anyone who pays this annual fee. He also accused Lowery of denying access to citizens who do not or cannot pay the amount.

“If you can’t have access without having to pay $1,000, certainly it’s a problem,” Zerbe said. “You shouldn’t have to pay $1,000 to meet with your congressman.”

Lowery, reached in Washington, said the charges were “ludicrous.”

The Congressional Leadership Council is a fund-raising organization run by Karolyn Dorsee, said Gene Gregston, Lowery’s district administrator. Dorsee could not be reached for comment.

The annual fee entitles members to private sessions with the congressman on a quarterly basis and receptions for members with top Washington political leaders, according to a photocopy of Lowery’s literature that Zerbe distributed at the press conference.

Zerbe said he has been with the San Diego office of Common Cause for about three years and he has not been able to arrange a meeting with Lowery.

Zerbe said he did not know whether Reps. Jim Bates (D-San Diego), Duncan Hunter (R-Coronado) and Ron Packard (R-Carlsbad) had similar fund-raising organizations. He said, however, that he has been able to meet with Bates, and that Hunter’s and Packard’s staffs have been helpful when he could not reach the congressmen.

Zerbe said he has contacted Lowery’s office several times, but he could not get an appointment. Zerbe said he does not know if Lowery’s fund-raising practice is illegal. He said he hopes, however, that now that he has made these practices public, Lowery will stop them.

If Lowery does not stop granting private sessions to people who contribute $1,000 to his fund-raising efforts, Zerbe said, “I will, by all means, look closely to see if it is illegal.”

Lowery said that Zerbe’s claim is “a ludicrous argument. I think I’ve been highly responsive to my constituents.” Lowery said he will meet with anyone, provided that they make an appointment in advance. He also said that he holds monthly “town hall meetings that anyone could come to for free. No one has to pay a dime to come to those.”

In his eight years in office, Lowery said, no one from Common Cause has contacted him personally about arranging a meeting.

Zerbe tried to arrange a meeting with Lowery two weeks ago, Gregston said, but the congressman’s schedule was already filled. Common Cause members did not contact Lowery’s office about another meeting until Friday, Gregston said.

Lowery said he will make two brief visits to San Diego in May, but he has scheduled a June 14 meeting with Zerbe.