Asked if the money was intended to support any specific position, Lehane declined further comment. Lehane’s nonprofit had given Consumer Watchdog its $45,000 donation five weeks earlier, according to documents provided to The Times by Court. “I feel pretty good about the stand” on McGuire’s bill, he said. “When we tried to talk to Consumer Watchdog about the facts of the legislation, they seemed quite entrenched and weren’t interested in learning more about the bill,” he said.Ĭourt said his organization’s opposition was based on a concern that the legislation could make it easier for cities to target homeowners for things like zoning violations. Mike McGuire (D-Healdsburg), said the eleventh-hour opposition was a surprise. “We didn’t make any friends, as we often don’t do,” Court said. More than five dozen local government and public safety groups supported the measure Airbnb, two industry groups and Consumer Watchdog were opposed. The day before a key legislative hearing, Consumer Watchdog claimed the bill was a privacy threat. The bill would have required Airbnb homeowners to tally up the nights rented and the amount paid to ensure taxes were collected, though it did not require any personal information from renters. In 2015, Consumer Watchdog joined Airbnb, then a Lehane client, in a successful effort to kill legislation in the state Capitol that would have imposed new rules on the home-sharing industry. Lehane said in an email to The Times that he’s known Court and others “for a long while” and that he has “been in the foxhole with them on various consumer-related projects over the years.” In every year the nonprofit made donations, it sent checks to Consumer Watchdog. They served as consultants to some of the nation’s most powerful corporate players: AT&T, Los Angeles Clippers owner and former Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer, and Hollywood producers during the 2007 writers’ strike.įor three years, Lehane and Fabiani served as directors of Main Street American Values - an organization with no staff and a low public profile. Lehane and longtime business partner Mark Fabiani, 60, once served as advisors to President Clinton and Vice President Al Gore, earning the moniker “masters of disaster” for their skill in winning tough political fights. But he declined to identify the sources of his organization’s contributions. The good news is that reasonable levels of rhetoric should return to normal on Friday.According to Lehane, 50, none of his nonprofit’s money came from Airbnb. The usual plagued name association - the Liberals with Dalton McGuinty the Tories with former premier Mike Harris, with perhaps a smattering of attempted dubious Stephen Harper tie-ins thrown in - should make the rounds, along with cheesy displays meant to illustrate Liberal waste and hysterical warnings of Conservative-led dystopia. We should expect more partisan gimmickry before Ontarians head to the polls on Thursday. Wynne cautioned, “a vote for Andrea Horwath is a vote for Tim Hudak.” Horwath has abandoned her party’s supporters and principles, leaving the province prone to a Hudak-led annexation. In a column published in a Toronto paper Sunday, Ms. The Liberals have unearthed a prop from the 2011 election to reinforce this point an illustration of a box of Hamburger Helper, doctored to read “Hudak Helper,” with a picture of NDP leader Andrea Horwath standing behind Mr. Article contentĪnd so emerges the Liberal campaign’s most recent gimmick, which begs committed NDP voters to consider a vote for Ms. This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. Manage Print Subscription / Tax Receipt.
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