Despite the General Assembly taking on of various ethics bills for its members, none of the legislation I’ve seen addresses the lobbyists. And some of these relationships between lobbyists and members of the legislature have a certain odor to them. Case in point: Del. Watkins Abbitt (I (but really R)-59th) and his wife, Madeline.
Del. Abbitt, a member of the legislature since 1986, serves on the House Appropriations Committee and chairs the General Government subcommittee. Among the clients of Mrs. Abbitt is the Commissioners of the Revenue Association. Recall, if you will, that the budget proposed by outgoing Gov. Tim Kaine included a proposal to transfer the entire cost of operating the Commissioners and Treasurers offices to the localities. Such a move would likely result in the elimination of those offices as cash-strapped localities simply cannot afford to keep them.*
Next week is Budget Week and by noon next Tuesday, we will learn just how effective a lobbyist Mrs. Abbitt is. Of course, by then, it will be a little too late.
The general rule for ethical behavior is the avoidance of impropriety. The influence of lobbyists on the legislature is already bad enough, but when the lobbyist is your spouse, the smell is worse than the SPSA landfill in Suffolk. While I understand the need – indeed the right – for everyone to earn a living, the General Assembly needs to ban spouses from lobbying the legislature.
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*No doubt, this is the reason our own Commissioner of the Revenue has been spending so much time in Richmond lobbying; however, her presence there is really proof that perhaps these offices really are unnecessary. Who is minding the store?
VIVIAN J. PAIGE | All Politics is Local 
Are you sitting down?
http://tinyurl.com/yjrjh7b
“The Web of Lobbying Around Watkins Abbitt”
His sister and niece are both registered lobbyists. Wait until you see this list.
Update if you want.
Of course, the list is out of date now. Here are the current ones.
http://www.vpap.org/lobbyists/lobbyist/53563
Couldn’t find the mother, Watkins Sister right away.
The General Assembly should also ban legislators from having intimate relationships with the staff of the General Assembly and lobbyist. That way there would be no impropriety, whatsoever.
Too bad the print/tv media haven’t picked up this improper and unethical relationships some of our elected officials are engaging in. Thanks for writing about this.
It’s pretty obvious no one is “minding the store” in Norfolk’s Revenue office. No assessing going on there… the Commissioner is in Richmond volunteering her time( while being paid by the taxpayers) for an organization that has a paid lobbyist, and now the computers are on the fritz!!