Asheville City Watch: Council hires former lieutenant governor as lobbyist

Jason Sandford

Jason Sandford is a reporter, writer, blogger and photographer interested in all things Asheville.

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In a new feature, we’ll occasionally call closer attention to various aspects of the workings of Asheville city government.

First up, something that totally slipped under my radar last month: the fact that Asheville City Council in December agreed to hire former Democratic N.C. Lieutenant Gov. Dennis Wicker to be a lobbyist for the city. The city is paying Wicker $60,000 for his services.

Wicker is leader of the Government Relations group in the Raleigh office of Nelson Mullins Riley & Scarborough, LLP, says wiki.

What will Wicker do? The Tribune Papers’ Leslee Kulba reports:

In not so many words, the City of Asheville retained a lobbyist. They accepted a proposal from former lieutenant governor Dennis Wicker (D) for monitoring and relaying news about pending legislation pertaining to the water-sewer system merger and drafting alternative language for anticipated adversarial bills. The city will enter into a $60,000 contract for the services.