Texts Suggest Lobbying Firm had Been on the Chopping Block

BRADENTON – Text messages found in public records are providing yet another behind-the-scenes look at some of the inner workings of Manatee County Government. As Manatee County Commissioners discussed publicly for the first time this week a plan to seek interviews and a potential contract with a replacement lobbyist firm for its federal goals, some commissioners may have arrived at the discussion with a decision already made on what they feel the direction of the board should be.

 

During a Manatee Commission work session meeting on Thursday, Commissioners and administration discussed the board’s state and federal legislative priorities. While addressing commissioners about the board’s federal legislative priorities and its current lobbying firm, Jocelyn Hong & Associates, Deputy County Administrator Robert Reinshuttle informed commissioners that the three-year contract with the county’s long-time lobbying firm had reached its expiration.

 

Before presenting a provisional packet of legislative priorities, Reinshuttle informed commissioners that the existing contract with Jocelyn Hong & Associates had expired in July. Reinshuttle explained that the contract was extended by six months, bringing it through to the end of last year. However, currently, the lobbying firm is being retained by the county on a month-to-month basis.

 

Commission Chair Van Ostenbridge followed Reinshuttle's presentation by proposing the commissioners entertain the idea of seeking new representation for its federal lobbying.

 

Van Ostenbridge told the board that while he liked Ms. Hong and her firm, and was happy with her work, he also said that he had informed Hong in May that he was likely to vote in support of exploring other options for federal lobbyists when it came before the board.

 

Commissioner George Kruse spoke favorably of his personal experience with Ms. Hong, but agreed with Van Ostenbridge’s position that the board might consider meeting with and interviewing other firms. Kruse, however, did express reservation about the timing of the discussion and/or decision to seek other representation in Washington D.C. given the amount of time required to communicate and build a priorities plan and to be prepared to represent the county’s interests by the spring.

 

"I feel this is a conversation that would have been better a few months ago," Kruse offered. "Do we rush this through as quickly as possible, in 30-60 days, so that by the end of February we have a new lobbyist? This doesn’t give us a whole lot of time," Kruse added.

 

Van Ostenbridge conceded that the timeline for such an action was not ideal, and admitted to Kruse that he had previous private discussions with Reinshuttle and County Administrator Scott Hopes about the board potentially seeking a new lobbying firm, but ultimately decided not to raise the subject until the new board was sworn in November.

 

Text records obtained by the Florida Center for Government Accountability show that Van Ostenbridge was expressing displeasure with the lobbyist back in June 2022. Despite Van Ostenbridge’s assertion that he was happy with the service and representation provided by Ms. Hong, texts he sent to Reinshuttle appear to show that the commissioner may have been at least somewhat dissatisfied with the relationship.

 

On the morning of June 3, Van Ostenbridge and Reinshuttle were exchanging text messages concerning a Zoom meeting the two had joined with Ms. Hong and her husband,John "Scott" Sherrill, who also works with the firm.At one point, Van Ostenbridge texted Reinshuttle writing, "Her husband is such a moron. As useful as tits on a bull."

 

Reinshuttle responded by texting the acronym, "lol" (laughing out loud).

 

Later, Van Ostenbridge texted Reinshuttle again, presumably after the Zoom meeting had ended, writing, "I thought that went well."

 

"Yes. Have you done a 180 on them?" Reinshuttle asked in a text. "I told Scott Hopes that extending them for six months is probably the way to go because we don’t know what the new congress will look like and they may not have the right contacts with Republicans."

 

"We should use the time to interview a few firms," added Reinshuttle in a follow-up text message.

 

Van Ostenbridge agreed with Reinshuttle’s suggestion to use the six-month contract extension to begin interviewing other firms. "Not a 180," Van Ostenbridge answered, "I’m comfortable with the six-month extension though."

 

Van Ostenbridge followed with another text, telling Reinshuttle, "I don’t want them to check out on us for six months. Dangle the carrot and keep Ôem working hard."

 

"Exactly," responded Reinshuttle.

 

Van Ostenbridge added that it was his estimation that Ms. Hong and her firm does not "fit our board well" and may not be "much help in a red wave."

 

"I think she’s good with Dems," Van Ostenbridge texted to Reinshuttle. "I like the idea of the new board choosing the replacement.“

 

Reinshuttle again agreed with Van Ostenbridge and offered "there are higher powered law firms and lobbying shops available."

 

Despite Reinshuttle and Van Ostenbridge having a mutual understanding of the intended plan for the board to seek a new firm roughly seven months ago, it appeared during Thursday’s work session some commissioners were hearing the proposal for the first time.

 

On June 11, roughly a week after his and Van Ostenbridge's text conversation about her firm, Reinshuttle texted Ms. Hong. "Jocelyn, I have pushed to either amend, renew or extend your contract for some months. I get no movement, but will intensify my efforts," Reinshuttle texted.

 

By June 20, the contract had been extended by the county as Van Ostenbridge and Reinshuttle discussed. Ms. Hong sent a text to Reinshuttle to thank him. "Just wanted to say THANK YOU for getting our contract extended seamlessly! You are a champ and we appreciate it!!“

 

While commissioners discussed the pros and cons of seeking an alternative lobbying firm during Thursday’s work session, there initially appeared to be majority agreement that the course of action should be for commissioners and administration to begin researching options and seeking interviews with multiple potential firms.

 

Newly elected Commissioners Amanda Ballard and Mike Rahn said that while they had not worked with Ms. Hong, they did see potential benefit from taking the opportunity to find a firm that was best suited to network with elected officials "from both sides of the aisle."

 

"Looking at different options is always good for everybody," added Commissioner Jason Bearden.

 

Commissioner Vanessa Baugh stressed to her colleagues that the county has worked with Hong’s firm since 1998 with a focus mainly on environmental issues. Baugh shared that it was her opinion that Ms. Hong had represented the county successfully in the past, but also felt the county had been working with the firm for too long and would be better served by a firm with "Florida ties.“

 

Although Commissioner Baugh stated that it was not her intention to "knock" Ms. Hong, she shared with the board that it was her opinion that the commission’s last trip to Washington D.C. was a "disaster.“ Baugh shared that she and two other commissioners received significant public criticism for having stayed at the Ritz Carlton during the legislative session.

 

"We landed in D.C., and I look at my phone,“ explained Baugh. "And how convenient it came out that we were staying at the Ritz while three other commissioners didn’t have their reservations at the Ritz.“

 

Baugh was referring to former Commissioners Carol Whitmore, Misty Servia, and Reggie Bellamy. Commissioners Baugh, Kruse, and Satcher stayed at the Ritz Carlton, while the former requested their reservations be changed to a different, less expensive accommodation.

 

Baugh insisted during Thursday’s discussion that despite public perspective, commissioners had no role in the making of the hotel reservations. Baugh added that the hotel accommodations were an example of Ms. Hong failing to protect commissioners and not following Florida Statutes that govern travel by public officials.

 

Text records partially confirm Baugh’s account, showing that Ms. Hong texted Reinshuttle more than a month prior to the commissioners’ trip detailing travel expenses and accommodation options she had researched.

 

On April 5, 2022, Ms. Hong texted, "Hi Bob (Robert Reinshuttle), Please check your email. I found a block of 10 rooms at the Ritz Carlton Pentagon City for $359 May 11-14.“

 

The next day Ms. Hong texted Reinshuttle again, writing, "FYI- Commissioners Bellamy and Servia reached out to me this a.m. about the trip! I spoke to Lauren (Lauren Grubb, assistant to the administrator) this morning too.“

 

The typical procedure for reserving commissioner travel accommodations is that commissioners’ assistants book the reservation using the commissioner’s county credit card–orP-card. The information provided to Reinshuttle would most likely have been passed on to each of the commissioner’s assistants for scheduling, and confirmation of the reservations would have then been communicated to each commissioner by their assistant. As seen in Ms.Hong’s text message to Reinshuttle, the original block of rooms identified as available by Ms. Hong, was a block intended to accommodate the entire party traveling from the county to Washington D.C.

 

Van Ostenbridge also made other arrangements for his hotel, opting not to stay at the Ritz–although he did not stay at the same hotel where Servia, Whitmore, and Bellamy had switched their reservations to.

 

On Thursday, Baugh also informed the board that she and Reinshuttle had participated in a conversation with lobbying firm Ballard Partners. Baugh strongly advocated that commissioners consider the firm as a replacement for Jocelyn Hong & Associates, and told the board she had already received a contract proposal from Ballard Partners and placed it into commissioner mailboxes for review.

 

Baugh stated that the contract proposal–which some commissioners said they had not yet received a copy of–would offer improved terms as compared to the contract with the county’s current firm. In addition, Baugh stated the Ballard Partners firm would be better positioned to "work both sides of the aisle“ and advocate for the priorities of Manatee.

 

County Attorney Bill Clague advised commissioners on some points of consideration in making a change to a larger firm. Clague told the board that should they wish to open a Request for Proposals (RFP) to explore other options, there are things commissioners should keep in mind when considering firms such as Ballard Partners.

 

"I think the board should understand, those firms have a lot of really high dollar clients. Some of the clients have a huge amount of money that they are spending,“ advised Clague. "So the firm will prioritize way in advance as they go into Congress.“

 

"I think to get into that league of representation takes a little while,“ Clague explained. "To make sure that you get the prioritization that you should get for the money you spend with those firms takes work.“

 

Clague advised that commissioners should proceed in soliciting multiple offers and approach the decision in a way that is competitive to be sure they get the best representation.

 

Baugh pushed back on Clague’s advice, repeating her position that Ballard Partners was the firm the county should go with. "They’ve got everything we need and then some,“ Baugh concluded.

 

Baugh found two allies in her pitch for Ballard Partners in commissioners Rahn and Ballard. (It should be noted that during the discussion it was stated by commissioners that Ballard Partners is of no relation to Commissioner Amanda Ballard, despite the name.)

 

Near the conclusion of the discussion, Van Ostenbridge requested the county administrator set up one-on-one interviews for commissioners with Ballard Partners. It was not clear by the end of Thursday’s discussion whether the board’s intention is to proceed with an RFP for proposals and interview additional firms–or if it is already majority settled on hiring Ballard Partners.

To view the source text message records for this story, click here.

To replay the portion of Thursday's work session discussion on this topic, click the video below.