Doing dues

With the expected onset of a recession, the City of San Diego is facing mounting budget woes. But so far, at least, Mayor Jerry Sanders has continued to spend plenty on the City’s Sacramento lobbyist. According to a disclosure statement filed on October 24, the City paid $42,000 to the lobbying firm of Sloat Higgins Jensen and Associates during the quarter ending September 30. For the first nine months of this year, the firm has collected a total of $297,500. The company boasts a long list of public and private clients, including the California State University’s office of the chancellor. Other of the City’s lobbying-related expenses have included $4460 in tickets on Southwest Airlines and dues payments of $27,220 to the California Redevelopment Association; $100,000 to the Southern California Alliance of Publicly Owned Treatment Works, which advocates on sewage issues; and $15,196 to the California Association of Sanitation Agencies.