Speaker 2: That's the.
Speaker 0: Next item.
Speaker 1: Please report from City Manager Recommendation to execute a contract with Dentons US. For Federal Legislation Legislative Representation Services in an annual amount not to exceed $138,000 citywide.
Speaker 0: Mr. West.
Speaker 4: Diana Tang will present this exciting report. We have a new lobbyist.
Speaker 5: Mayor, members of the City Council. We are pleased to be bringing to you Dentons as the firm that staff is recommending for our Federal Legislative Advocacy Services in DC. Staff issued a request for proposals in.
Speaker 7: December.
Speaker 1: 2015 and evaluated five firms. We chose Dentons based.
Speaker 7: On their qualifications and costs for.
Speaker 5: Services. Dentons is the largest law firm in the world, and John Russell has put together a strong bipartisan.
Speaker 1: Team to advance.
Speaker 5: The city's legislative agenda. John and his colleague Derry Saga is here tonight with us, and I would like to invite them to say a few words.
Speaker 4: Well, good evening, Mr. Mayor. Members of the council, it's a pleasure to be with you here tonight, not the least of which, because there's no ice and snow on the ground, which we left yesterday. We stand before you representing a core team of 25, 25 advocates in Washington and a team of 125 to participate in the public policy and regulation practice at Dentons. All stand ready and willing to serve you. More importantly, all are excited to serve you. We know that our job means our clients are the city's citizens. And we humbly accept that mantle.
Speaker 9: Very.
Speaker 4: Thank you. Hi. Excuse me. I'm Darry Sragow.
Speaker 0: I don't live in Washington and I don't lobby. I'm the managing partner of the Los Angeles Office of Demos, which, as you heard, is the largest law firm in the world. And I spent much of my life running political campaigns in California. I met a gentleman by the name of Alan Lowenthal in his in his campaign headquarters in 1998, when he aspired to be a member of the state legislature and worked very extensively around the state, used to work in the U.S. Senate. And my role here will primarily.
Speaker 4: Be to be the.
Speaker 0: Person you can reach on California time on the ground locally while John Labor is in Washington DC with the team as you.
Speaker 4: Heard of a couple of dozen lobbyists to take care.
Speaker 0: Of your needs in in the nation's capital. Long Beach has a story to tell. It has money to ask.
Speaker 4: For to help.
Speaker 0: With the funding needs of the city. John and I have been sitting through the entire council meeting hearing about those needs, and we are honored and pleased to have been chosen. Long Beach is a place that is very.
Speaker 4: Intriguing to us, very frankly, to.
Speaker 0: Carry your banner in Washington. And we look forward to being helpful to you. So thank you. Thank you. I'm a conservative, Councilman Richardson.
Speaker 3: Thank you, Mayor Garcia.
Speaker 0: And please go ahead, you guys grab a seat. Thank you very much.
Speaker 3: So so again, thank you. I want to thank staff Diana Ting for really making sure that the federal pledge committee was being engaged in this process. You know, I serve as the Fed, the Fed, the chair of our Fed large committee, our federal legislative committee. And I think that our agenda has been I mean, our committee has worked really hard to make sure it's reflective of this sort of dynamic and innovative council and have ideas that come out of this council. I think this is a necessary change to bring on a new firm with the energy and the wherewithal to really keep up with this agenda. Long Beach is a large city and we help drive the national conversation on a number of really important, critical issues from goods movement to climate change, a number of other things. You know, Long Beach's advocacy was important in how we were able to help support dedicated freight, get into the six year transportation bill . We can do that uniquely because we are a port city and we're important. So I think it's important that that we brought these guys in. I'm really excited. I did have a chance to meet John and Dairy just prior to this meeting, and I think they're really excited and they they really have a sense of what our priorities are as a council. I think they're excited to work with us, and that's really important to have a group that really doesn't see us simply as another name on the list, but really an opportunity to really build something special here with us. So again, I'll be voting in support. I encourage my colleagues to vote in support. And welcome to the team.
Speaker 0: Thank you. Next up is Councilwoman Gonzalez. Sorry, Councilwoman Mongo. Nancy, I skipped the last time I was moving you up.
Speaker 1: Thank you. I had a great opportunity to meet with our new team today, and I am very excited about the possibilities. I think that they are in tune in understanding what Long Beach needs. I think they are going to be great boots on the ground in DC and advocating for us. I know I spent a good amount of time talking with them about C-17 and the transition and jobs for our community and that that's a priority. Infrastructure, of course, is a priority for our port and ensuring that those one in eight jobs that are here in Long Beach stay in Long Beach. And knowing and understanding what those needs are to make sure that our tax money comes right back here to the great city of Long Beach. So I look forward to working on dynamic and thought changing legislation that can really move the dial for us across the country. And I look forward to their ideas and working with the think tanks and so on and so forth and DC, I think that'll really step us ahead of the game in terms of the next allocation of funding and where we're going with that. So thank you for your ideas. Thank you for your input and I really appreciate that. We're going to be working with you.
Speaker 0: Councilwoman Gonzalez.
Speaker 5: Q And as the third member of the Federal Legislative Committee, I also encourage support from my council members to vote in favor of this. I think it's it's wonderful a change of pace for us as we've gone to meetings in D.C. and talked about many of our priorities, which are very important. I know I've often encouraged my council members to my colleagues here to think about the west side of the city and Shoemaker Bridge. And I know Diana has been wonderful at help and helping push that. In terms of transportation, we've gone to the Department of Transportation and talked about that in length. And so I look forward to working with you. I really do. And I know we'll be meeting soon as well. Appreciate it.
Speaker 0: Thank you. Any other public comment? Hi. On this issue on the on the on this contract. Right. Or is it just a general public comment?
Speaker 2: Yeah. It's, uh.
Speaker 0: If it's okay, if it's if it's general, we're going to have it at the end of the meeting. There'll be general public comment. If it's on this item, you can you can come now.
Speaker 2: Oh, good. Thank you. I'm going over.
Speaker 0: Okay. Thank you. Mr. Good. You.
Speaker 6: This has to be, I think, the single most intelligent thing that this council is having at this council has ever had before it. And I fully support it. I'd like to suggest you amend the motion. To point out and to ensure that there will be a correlative elimination of any travel. To Washington by any council person. But but there will be a correlative allowance for increased in Skyping period. These people. And I haven't worked with them before. But in the previous lobbyists we've had, they've been very effective and the last thing they need is some political hack coming a trailing along on a route on a political junket period. So to show the good faith. What you should do is amend the motion. That each of you pledged. Never, ever to use taxpayer money to go to Washington. And. Skype. All you want. Period. Don't get in their way.
Speaker 0: Thank you. See no other public comment. Members, please go and cast your votes.
Speaker 1: Motion carries.
Recommendation to adopt Specifications No. RFP CM16-059  and authorize City Manager to execute a contract, and any amendments thereto, with Dentons US, LLP, of Washington, DC, for federal legislative representation services, in an annual amount not to exceed $138,000, for a period of one year beginning March 1, 2016, with the option to renew for two additional one-year periods, at the discretion of the City Manager.  (Citywide)