Cirignano sounds like it’s a fairly uncommon name. I could see how some might think “the Cirignano” being discussed on BMG recently was “their Cirignano”.
But what about John Walsh?
Does anyone know if he’s the same John Walsh who appears on the MTA’s Officers/Employee Report (Form LM-2 from the U.S. Department of Labor) as a Legislative Agent?
Just curious.
It’s odd, too, that the Massachusetts Teacher’s Association either didn’t file or it’s numbers are way off. I checked under both the NEA and the AFL-CIO. It looks like a public records request is in order.
Please share widely!
But I do know that:
a. From data entry while volunteering for the campaign, there are like 9 John Walshes in Massachusetts.
b. John is from Abington. Does the form list towns?
By the way, is this online anywhere?
Excerpt from here, that I got to from this post, which is on one of the education sites I read regularly:
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For those who are eligible to pay only agency fees, and exempt political spending from their dues, this information can be very helpful. That is, if it is provided!
you’re talking about this guy, whose middle name is “Coleman.” With all due respect, dweir, it took me 30 seconds to bring up that listing. There’s no reason you couldn’t have done that search before posting this. John Walsh is a pretty common name around these parts, and the odds were overwhelmingly that Deval Patrick’s campaign manager (whose middle initial is “E” and who “owns a small local insurance agency” in his hometown of Abington) and a registered lobbyist happened to share those first and last names rather than that they were the same guy. Try to be more careful before tossing out stuff like this.
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As for a public records request, if you think one is in order, file one!
That’s great you found the information on Walsh, the lobbyist. I did not kow that such a search engine existed. I would have thought after all the discussion on this site about how opaque the state’s website is, you wouldn’t assume that everyone knows everything that’s available there. Nonetheless, I thank you for holding me to a higher standard! I’ll take that as a compliment.
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I did, however, already kow about state public records request procedure. Unfortunately, this is a federal record, and my guess is that the request procedure is differnt. I’m still looking for information on how to go about that. Anyone know?
a Google search on “Massachusetts lobbyist search” would have taken you to where you needed to go. So you didn’t need to know that such a thing existed. You just needed to try to find out.
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As for federal public records, again, a single Google search on “FOIA” gets you what you need.
How was I supposed to know “lobbyist” and “legislative agent” were the same thing?
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As for the federal FOIA yes, I’ve found this info, but I should clarify my quandry. If the record doesn’t exist, what is the procedure for getting it?
on your first question, I don’t really know what to say.
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On the second, that’s kind of a metaphysical problem — if the record doesn’t exist, it doesn’t exist, so there’s no way to get it. I suppose you might be able to establish that a record that should exist in fact doesn’t, but there’s no way you can force the creation of a record that you would like to see, but that isn’t there.
It’s a law with no teeth.
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I still might try the FOIA request. Maybe it’s a lag or mistake on updating the portal database, or maybe it’ll flag someone who can require that the form be submitted.
Yes, I’m sure you are dissapointed by that reply…
Just to clarify… I was disappointed by the tone of the answer, not its content. đŸ™‚
the type of humor you like. As opposed to this of course.
Really, it’s an amazing tool, especially when one is inclined to put up a post that’s a little smeary in nature like this one.
Would there be something wrong if “John Walsh the Campaign Manager” and “John Walsh the Lobbyist” were one and the same?
It’s all about getting on the Google. Yes, it’s quite clear you are lost. David has offered you some good tips, though, to help you navigate out of the information wilderness.
I think someone is bored and trying to create a shitstorm out of nothing…
Well, it wouldn’t be a crime but it certainly would not pass the smell test.
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The kind of question you are asking is best asked more quietly — email, comment on another diary, or using the search engine of your choice.
And why is it that it wouldn’t pass the “smell test”? I think this is an interesting question.
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Many Patrick supporters came out swinging against the Healey ad that asked should we have a criminal defense attorney for governor. (Let’s not reopen that debate). So, why not a lobbyist for campaign manager?
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I understand this is hypothetical, and yet, I don’t understand why the reaction that my original post was an attempted smear. Unions are what they are, and that means they are going to oppose lobbyists. Can one be pro-education and yet anti-teacher union? Can one be pro-teacher union, and yet, anti-teacher union lobbyist?
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Is the nature of politics enough that if it doesn’t appear correct, it isn’t? Is that a rational response, cynical, or pragmatic? I have to wonder is it the position of lobbyist, the association with a union, or the particular union that wouldn’t past muster.
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The real campaign manager owned an insurance company, but no one would accuse him of peddling for the insurance industry. The bounds seem to be there, they seem to be accepted, but do they deserve to be questioned?
The quick answer: we don’t live in a world of rational actors. Bad symbolism has an effect. Some lobbyists also do not give up their briefs when they enter public service: the Bush Administration is rich in such people.