HANS RIEMER'S
K STREET
MONEY MACHINE
County Council Candidate Has Accepted Tens of
Thousands of Dollars from Lobbyists Outside of County
The story the Washington Post, Gazette and Examiner refused to cover is now a RobertDyer.net exclusive! Here is the latest update on Hans Riemer, George Leventhal and Marc Elrich attempting to buy the election, with Big Money from outside of Montgomery County.
But Hans Riemer takes the issue to a new level, by accepting a Fort Knox worth of money not only from donors outside of the county, but with a large slice of it coming from K Street lobbyists in Washington, D.C. and beyond. This puts Riemer out of step with Barack Obama, who has said he will not accept campaign contributions from lobbyists. So shouldn't supporters of President Obama in Montgomery County be concerned about Hans Riemer gaining election with lobbyist donations?
Examine the following report I've compiled to inform the voters of Montgomery County, because - as you know if you read them regularly - the Post, Gazette, Examiner, and Sentinel all declined to provide any substantive coverage of this election.
The fact that you are here, and reading this, means that you are one of those citizens who takes the right and duty of voting seriously enough to research the candidates. And you therefore know that you didn't get the full story you needed from the local media - and that was intentional on their part.
So here's an example of the kind of reporting they failed to do, and I took the time to compile it for you:
Hans Riemer has a war chest of contributions from sources that raise questions about what he will do if elected:
- Hefty checks from a Who's Who of D.C. area developers and development attorneys with pending projects from Clarksburg to Bethesda.
- A major percentage of contributions are from outside of Montgomery County and the state of Maryland.
- Most puzzling are the massive checks Riemer has received from lobbyists, unions and other national entities outside of the county:
Penguin PAC - $1,000 [A Federal PAC affiliated with U.S. Rep. Tim Ryan (D - Ohio) who has advocated increasing the Federal debt - an interesting point given Montgomery County's fiscal crisis, that Riemer is taking funds {and direction?} from a fiscally-irresponsible Congressman]
SEIU - Annapolis, MD - $2,000
Mid-Atlantic Political Action Committee (Out-of-State PAC) - $4,000
Mid-Atlantic Community Fund (Washington, D.C.) - $2,000
John Larson for Congress (Federal Committee) - $500
Richard Neimand, Neimand Collaborative (Washington, D.C.) - $1,000 + $1,000 = $2,000
Julian Haywood, Washington, D.C. (lobbyist with "Heather Podesta & Partners") - $250 + $1,000 = $1,250
Allan Rivlin, D.C. (partner with Peter D. Hart Research Associates) - $200
Julian Epstein, D.C. Lobbyist/Attorney - $500
William Clyburn, Clyburn Consulting (lobbying firm) - $500
Margie Omero, D.C., Democratic pollster - $500
Friends of Jim Clyburn, South Carolina - $500
Julia Norell, D.C., Lobbyist - $150
Justin Gray, D.C., "Government Relations," - $1,000
Naomi Weinberg c/o Bain Capital, MA - $500
Kendall Meek Campaign Account. D.C. - $1,000
Jennifer DiJames of D.C. "Big Business" Lobbying law firm Williams and Jensen - $500
Spencer Adler, D.C. Attorney - $500
Chaka Burgess, Silver Spring, MA - Amgen, Inc. - $500
Alison Byrne Fields, SVP/Managing Director, DDB Issues & Advocacy, D.C. - $100
Camelia Mazard; Doyle, Barlow & Mazard "Regulatory" Law Firm, D.C. - $1,000
Anita Estell, D.C., "Anita Estell is considered a pioneer in the Washington, D.C. lobbying community." - anitaestell.com - $1,000 ...and many, many, many more!
Wow. Even Scrooge McDuck might need some time to count all that up, but I hope you'll take time to do the math before voting on Tuesday - where is all this Big Money coming from, and why is it being given to Hans Riemer? Ask yourself the questions that the reporters from the Post, Gazette, Examiner and Sentinel have failed to ask the candidates. And at some point, ask the Post, Gazette, Examiner and Sentinel why they never asked those questions, never covered the election, and never provided the kind of information voters need to make informed decisions.
Hans Riemer has coasted all year, with little to no scrutiny from the media, and has offered no specifics on what he would do if elected. He has misled firefighter unions and ambulance fee opponents alike, flip-flopping at every turn.
His rapidly-changing positions become even more troubling when combined with his campaign treasure chest.
Why are K Street lobbyists so concerned that Hans Riemer be elected to the Montgomery County Council?
Clearly, they expect something in return for such massive sums, with checks as large as $4,000. I cannot recall such an influx of outside money in a county race in my time in politics here. Riemer joins Marc Elrich and George Leventhal ($16,000 from unions outside of the county) in accepting huge sums of outside money.
The question all three must answer is: What have they promised these donors in return for their blockbuster checks? And how will those promises affect the quality of life in Montgomery County?
I asked Hans to clear this up for the voters at our only General Election debate:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fw5TE3kgjsM
But he declined to answer those questions. If you run into him on Election Day, make sure to ask him about these massive lobbyist contributions - why did he accept them, when President Obama has said he would not do so? And what do his contributors expect him to do in return?
The people of Montgomery County have a right to know. It's too bad the local media is too busy trying to elect Hans Riemer, rather than ask him the questions voters want answered.
Don't you think we can do better? We can have a more ethical council by electing candidates like me, who are not beholden to developers, unions or... ...K Street lobbyists(!!).
Robert Dyer will answer only to you.
Who do Hans Riemer, Marc Elrich, and George Leventhal have to answer to in return for Big Money from outside of Montgomery County?
Ask them.
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