The Washington Suburban Sanitary Commission (WSSC) probably deserves its own investigative series. If we had a truly inquisitive local ‘fourth estate’ we might have gotten one a long time ago. But local media in Montgomery County is obsessed with being ‘friends’ to the powerful, instead of auditors or investigators. Our very own “Independent” and tax-supported MyMCM appears to be pretty uninterested in diving deeper into the “why” behind topics, such as why WSSC continually hikes water rates with little to no pushback from MoCo politicians in office. Also the “who” – who does WSSC support, directly or indirectly, with our – the citizens, the rate payers of MoCo – money?
Following up on our post “Why Do WSSC Water Rates Keep Getting Hiked? And Why Does the MoCo Council Not Bat an Eye?” we did some more digging. Someone has to.
How much is WSSC paying Annapolis-based lobby firms, for example? Below is a capture of a recent solicitation and contract number direct from WSSC’s database.
Ignoring the typos and wrong date data keyed in, it appears to be awarded just this January. Why? And for what, exactly? No doubt state law impacts WSSC and they want their voice at the table when more regulations are debated in mini-swamp Annapolis. But who is getting paid? We know one Nicholas G Mannis is getting paid. He’s the managing partner at Manis, Canning & Associates (MC&A).
And he also spreads that Annapolis lobby shop money around. Bigly.
Headed on over to OpenSecrets.org and popped in the name. A bunch of political donations came up from one Nicholas G Manis. Hundreds. Below is just a smattering of the donations doled out recently.
Ah, it is only a few hundred dollars here and there to local Democrats and a few Maryland Repubs too – who cares (you might say). True. Although a few hundred dollars adds up and it appears it is all going to line the coffers of Annapolis incumbents. What is the old saying? “A billion here, a billion there, and pretty soon you’re talking real money.”
And it does add up. Here are other recent politician donations from another Manis, Canning & Associates Esquire, John Favazza. Look, our old friend and vaccine “investor” Cheryl Kagan appears!
Another MC&A Esquire, Joseph Bryce. Let’s see who he has been donating to, as well. Oh look, another Maryland State Senator Cheryl Kagan spotting!
On and on it goes. Here is one more, just so the fact-pattern is fully established here. This is from yet another MC&A employee.
So you can see that MC&A is well-connected to Annapolis careerists (including the many from MoCo), and so is the other lobby shop that WSSC is paying / mentioning in this contract, which is Capitol Strategies, LLC.
Again, we don’t know how much WSSC is paying in this contract and yes, not every dime WSSC pays these lobbyists is being recirculated into the coffers of local politicians – but certainly some percentage of it is!
And the broader point is that ratepayers in MoCo are being asked to fork over more and more each year for reliable tap water service – but some of this money heads out the door to things and companies that have zero to do with system maintenance or delivering cleaned-up Potomac River water to households and business.
More to come.
Related posts:
Why Do WSSC Water Rates Keep Getting Hiked? And Why Does the MoCo Council Not Bat an Eye?
WSSC Office of Inspector General Reporting on In-House Procurement Office Performance Reveals Much to “Be Improved”
A Property Tax Hike, But By WSSC? Fitch Ratings Revision for WSSC Shows What Could Be in Store for MoCo Residents