Garrett consultant hits back on lobbyist staffers

A campaign consultant for Rep. E. Scott Garrett (R-05) called out Democratic challenger Dennis Shulman for hypocrisy today regarding the influence of lobbyists in his campaign.

A week after Shulman’s campaign criticized Garrett for hiring a new chief of staff who used to lobby for mortgage giant Countrywide Financial, Garrett consultant Matt Leonardo sent out a blistering email pointing out that Shulman Campaign Manager Jeff Hauser was a lobbyist for the Coalition for Comprehensive Immigration Reform (CCIR) last year.

“It appears Dennis Shulman and Jeff Hauser have egg on their faces,” said Leonardo.

Hauser worked for Shulman during a time period covered by lobbying reports that showed him in the employ of CCIR, during which time Hauser received one reimbursement check form the campaign. No termination paperwork was ever filed by Hauser.

During his time with the group, Hauser lobbied House members on for four pieces of legislation: The American Dream Act; The Development, Relief, and Education for Alien Minors (DREAM) Act; The Agricultural Jobs, Opportunity, Benefits and Security Act of 2007; and the Secure America Through Verification and Enforcement Act.

Hauser said that, even if he hadn’t filed the termination paperwork, he had not been paid by CCIR since he started working for Shulman’s campaign. He did volunteer for Shulman during his personal time in October, while he was still with the organization, he said.

“I’m employed exclusively by the Shulman for Congress campaign, and have been since November, 2007.”

Shulman, for his part, responded that the problem isn’t having a former lobbyist on staff – that there’s a difference between hiring someone who worked for a troubled mortgage broker and someone who worked for a non-profit immigrant advocacy group. Hauser’s former employer, he noted, is funded by groups like the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops and the United Methodist Church.

"Garrett puts a high paid lobbyist for the most disgraced special interest in the country in charge of his office, paid for by your taxes and mine, and then he has the gall to attack my campaign manager for working with groups such as the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops and the United Methodist Church?” he said. “Countrywide Financial is at the center of the housing-mortgage crisis which has helped throw our economy into recession – a crisis that Garrett until recently termed fear mongering. Garrett sits on the Housing subcommittee of the House Financial Services Committee, and yet he is entirely in the pocket of the industry he is supposed to regulate in the public interest."

Leonardo, who said that Hauser’s position on immigration issues echo the group’s, responded that Shulman’s response was pure “spin.”

"Shulman is going to have to hypnotize every voter in the 5th district to get them to buy that spin,” said Leonardo. “The bottom line is he made a baseless accusation against Scott Garrett that had zero merit. And if Shulman thinks having a pro-amnesty lobbyist running his campaign is a positive in the 5th district, he may want to get checked out himself."