Powerful Lobbyists Push for Santa Clarita Landfill
Intent on pushing its proposed landfill at Elsmere Canyon, trash hauler BKK Corp. has waged an aggressive, behind-the-scenes lobbying campaign in recent years that has hired on a former senator, two former members of the House of Representatives, a congressman’s wife and the former college roommate of a former secretary of agriculture.
BKK’s cast of powerhouse lobbyists demonstrates just how serious the company considers the proposed 190-million-ton landfill, which requires approval by the U.S. Forest Service in order to proceed. The company has testified that it has spent as much as $30 million in its fight for the project.
“If you want to be effective in Washington, you have to hire the best people available,” said Ron Gastelum, the chief administrative officer of BKK. “That is the nature of getting things approved in today’s environment.”
The firm’s lobbying clout came to light this week amid revelations that the FBI was probing a former BKK lobbyist, Richard Douglas, as part of the independent counsel’s investigation of former U.S. agriculture secretary Mike Espy.
Douglas, who roomed with Espy in the 1970s at Howard University, has been accused of improperly bestowing gifts on Espy while representing another company, Sun Diamond Growers, that had business before the Agriculture Department.
As part of his investigation of Espy, Independent Counsel Donald C. Smaltz is casting a wider net, looking into possible improprieties by those close to the former agriculture secretary.
Douglas’ attorney, John M. Dowd, said his client’s lobbying work for BKK and other companies was entirely aboveboard and that the FBI is “chasing phantoms.”
“They think they can investigate the world,” Dowd said. “There’s nothing here. It’s just a waste of time. It’s just a waste of money. Everything was done in a most aboveboard, proper manner. They think they can turn people’s lives inside out like a sock.”
Company officials say their relationship with Douglas was a brief one, lasting only about a year. They say they know of no wrongdoing and have cooperated fully with federal investigators.
And BKK says its hiring well-connected lobbyists is nothing more than the company’s effort to aggressively press its position among government decision makers.
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Lobbyists on both sides await word on when the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee will consider California Sen. Barbara Boxer’s bill prohibiting any landfill in Elsmere Canyon. The House has already approved similar legislation introduced by U.S. Rep. Howard P. “Buck” McKeon (R-Santa Clarita).
“We’re in California, and Washington is a long way away,” Gastelum said. “We’re at a disadvantage. We don’t have a congressman who wants to carry this as a major issue.”
In fact, McKeon has vigorously opposed the landfill and has drafted a bill that would effectively kill the proposal. Because of McKeon’s active opposition, BKK must hire lobbyists to present its side of the story, Gastelum said.
“From the bully pulpit of Congressman McKeon’s office, he can talk to anyone,” Gastelum said.
Among the lobbying firms BKK has hired in recent years is the Paul Laxalt Group, headed by the former Nevada senator. The company also represents Lockheed Martin Corp., Sears, Roebuck & Co. and MGM Grand Inc.
In addition, Judy Kern Fazio, the wife of Rep. Vic Fazio (D-West Sacramento), represents BKK with former Texas congressman Tom Loeffler. They work for Arter & Hadden, which also represents large corporations ranging from Nintendo of America to Circus Circus Enterprises.
Two former members of Congress--Bobbie Fiedler, who once represented a portion of the San Fernando Valley, and Tony Coelho, former House majority whip--have also lent BKK a hand.
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Fiedler said she made a few telephone calls and attended a few meetings on behalf of BKK, but did not consider the work lobbying. Gastelum called and asked that she assist the company in setting up appointments with members of Congress, Fiedler said.
Coelho has acted as a strategist for the company, but never served as a lobbyist, Gastelum said.
Opponents of the landfill say they have noticed all the big names on the other side.
“The question that comes to my mind is whether BKK has been given undue influence with their money,” said Santa Clarita Councilwoman Jo Anne Darcy. “We always felt like we were way outnumbered when it came to that game.”
Santa Clarita does, however, have its own Washington lobbyist.
For more than a year, the city has retained John R. O’Donnell, who also represents the cities of Oxnard, Port Hueneme, Phoenix and Albuquerque. He is with the firm of Murray, Scheer, Tapia & Montgomery, which has a variety of municipal clients.
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Among O’Donnell’s duties is assisting local officials on lobbying trips. During a recent Senate subcommittee hearing, for instance, Santa Clarita Mayor Carl Boyer testified in favor of a bill that would prevent a landfill from ever coming to Elsmere Canyon.
Anti-dump activists say they lack the cash to employ lobbyists.
“We rely on ourselves to call, to write letters, just to try to get the word out,” said Marsha McLean, president of the Santa Clarita Valley Canyons Preservation Committee. “The main thing we need to do is get the correct information to the people that the other side is lobbying. They don’t paint Elsmere as the gorgeous canyon that it is.”
