Does the hand that holds the leash of California's "first dog," cuddly corgi Sutter Brown, also have a hand in guiding policy with the dog's master, Gov. Jerry Brown?
That's the question being raised about Jennifer Fearing, the senior state director for the Humane Society of the United States, who critics suggest has turned her role as regular walker of the governor's dog into a cannily effective way to lobby the state's chief executive on animal rights issues.
Fearing scored a perfect 6-for-6 record this legislative season in getting bills signed by Brown, placing her in the ranks of Sacramento's most effective lobbyists.
Among the coups for the Humane Society was legislation banning lead ammunition that Fearing said endangered as many as 130 species in California. It was one of 11 bills signed by Brown out of the 18 that the Legislature passed to restrict guns or ammunition.
"The question needs to be asked," said Jennifer Kerns, spokeswoman for Free California, a gun-rights group that opposed the lead ammunition ban. "Is there a conflict of interest with such a close relationship between a lobbyist and a governor" - and his popular pet?
Gun rights and hunting groups in California are exploring filing a complaint about Fearing with the state's Fair Political Practices Commission, Kerns said. She argues that while Fearing is a volunteer dog walker, she is also a registered lobbyist and should report her services to Brown "as a donation in kind" to the governor.
The Humane Society director, who has strolled the Capitol grounds with Sutter since Brown took office in 2011, said that notion is ridiculous.
"If people think I am resting on the furry laurels of Sutter Brown," she said, they should know that "I work awfully hard to pass these bills, for someone who's just a dog walker.
"I genuinely like that dog," Fearing said. "I really enjoy the relationship I have with him" and with his owners, the governor and his wife, Anne Gust Brown.
"It's not contrived or political," she said. "They let me share him with others ... and it's created a whole aura in the Capitol."
Steve Glazer, a senior adviser to Brown, also said there is no conflict or abuse of privilege. "Sutter is very lovable, and he'll cuddle up with anybody - especially someone who rubs his tummy," he said.
"The governor knows how to wag the dog, but the dog does not wag the governor."
The personable 10-year-old corgi, with a Twitter following of 6,000 fans, has become such a star in the Brown administration that the website BuzzFeed, only half in jest, dubbed the pooch "a force in California politics."
Sutter's social media presence (he also has a Facebook page) documents the prominent part he has played with Fearing to attract attention for causes dear to her and the governor.
The animal-rights advocate shepherded Sutter on the road last year as a volunteer campaigner for Proposition 30, the governor's pet tax-increase measure, which Fearing's group said was critical to future state funding for animal-protection measures.
She and the pooch logged 3,000 miles and hit dozens of cities across California, drawing TV crews that would have ignored ordinary stump stops. "The dog got the key to the city of Chico on live television," Fearing recalled.
Last year Sutter and Fearing joined the governor, actor Pierce Brosnan and animal rights activist and TV dog trainer Cesar Millan to push for California's Pet Lover's license plate.
Fearing also enlisted Sutter and Uggie, the Jack Russell terrier who starred in the Oscar-winning film "The Artist," in a successful campaign to urge the governor to sign a bill against dog-hunting of bears and bobcats.
In a legislative year in which environmental groups largely came up losers in Sacramento, Fearing and the Humane Society boasted a big win with the lead ammunition ban. That added to a string of victories during Brown's term: a ban on the sale of animals along roadsides, strengthened animal-fighting penalties and a prohibition on the sale of shark-fin soup.
Ethics experts suggest that although the Humane Society head may be a dedicated animal lover, her closeness to the key canine merits a closer look.
Fearing is "a powerful person who wants something from the government," said Jessica Levinson, an expert on law and governance issues and associate professor of law at Loyola Law School in Los Angeles.
With her role in the dog's life, "she has access to Gov. Brown," Levinson said. "There are a variety of ways to exercise influence."
California taxpayers, for instance, would have a right to know if "Brown had a kid, and his tutor was head of the California Teachers Association," Levinson said.
Kerns of Free California said Fearing's political success "has not gone unnoticed in the lobbying community in Sacramento."
With Fearing being the first dog's frequent walker, "there are services being provided, and those services have monetary value" that should be reported as lobbying under campaign finance law, she said.
Fearing responds that critics are "clearly overestimating the value" of her Sutter-sitting. She said her organization's winning record is due to good groundwork, and then "we really work to make our case" with legislators.
"It's obvious that I have the relationship with the governor and his wife in Sacramento, and every lobbyist is trying to have a relationship with anyone who makes a decision," Fearing said.
But she insists she's never talked with Brown or his wife about a bill before him or the Legislature.
"I wouldn't misuse that relationship," she said. "I deal with staff, and I go through the right channels.
"I would like to believe that we live in a civilized society where you can do neighborly things like walking people's dogs" without being accused of having ulterior motives, Fearing said.
But she's not naive.
"I tell people, if you want a friend in Sacramento," she said, "get a corgi."
via www.sfgate.com/news/article/Critics-howl-over-lobbyist-walking-governor-s-dog-4924284.php
That's the question being raised about Jennifer Fearing, the senior state director for the Humane Society of the United States, who critics suggest has turned her role as regular walker of the governor's dog into a cannily effective way to lobby the state's chief executive on animal rights issues.
Fearing scored a perfect 6-for-6 record this legislative season in getting bills signed by Brown, placing her in the ranks of Sacramento's most effective lobbyists.
Among the coups for the Humane Society was legislation banning lead ammunition that Fearing said endangered as many as 130 species in California. It was one of 11 bills signed by Brown out of the 18 that the Legislature passed to restrict guns or ammunition.
"The question needs to be asked," said Jennifer Kerns, spokeswoman for Free California, a gun-rights group that opposed the lead ammunition ban. "Is there a conflict of interest with such a close relationship between a lobbyist and a governor" - and his popular pet?
Value of dog-walking
Gun rights and hunting groups in California are exploring filing a complaint about Fearing with the state's Fair Political Practices Commission, Kerns said. She argues that while Fearing is a volunteer dog walker, she is also a registered lobbyist and should report her services to Brown "as a donation in kind" to the governor.
The Humane Society director, who has strolled the Capitol grounds with Sutter since Brown took office in 2011, said that notion is ridiculous.
"If people think I am resting on the furry laurels of Sutter Brown," she said, they should know that "I work awfully hard to pass these bills, for someone who's just a dog walker.
"I genuinely like that dog," Fearing said. "I really enjoy the relationship I have with him" and with his owners, the governor and his wife, Anne Gust Brown.
"It's not contrived or political," she said. "They let me share him with others ... and it's created a whole aura in the Capitol."
Steve Glazer, a senior adviser to Brown, also said there is no conflict or abuse of privilege. "Sutter is very lovable, and he'll cuddle up with anybody - especially someone who rubs his tummy," he said.
"The governor knows how to wag the dog, but the dog does not wag the governor."
Social media star
The personable 10-year-old corgi, with a Twitter following of 6,000 fans, has become such a star in the Brown administration that the website BuzzFeed, only half in jest, dubbed the pooch "a force in California politics."
Sutter's social media presence (he also has a Facebook page) documents the prominent part he has played with Fearing to attract attention for causes dear to her and the governor.
The animal-rights advocate shepherded Sutter on the road last year as a volunteer campaigner for Proposition 30, the governor's pet tax-increase measure, which Fearing's group said was critical to future state funding for animal-protection measures.
She and the pooch logged 3,000 miles and hit dozens of cities across California, drawing TV crews that would have ignored ordinary stump stops. "The dog got the key to the city of Chico on live television," Fearing recalled.
Last year Sutter and Fearing joined the governor, actor Pierce Brosnan and animal rights activist and TV dog trainer Cesar Millan to push for California's Pet Lover's license plate.
Fearing also enlisted Sutter and Uggie, the Jack Russell terrier who starred in the Oscar-winning film "The Artist," in a successful campaign to urge the governor to sign a bill against dog-hunting of bears and bobcats.
String of victories
In a legislative year in which environmental groups largely came up losers in Sacramento, Fearing and the Humane Society boasted a big win with the lead ammunition ban. That added to a string of victories during Brown's term: a ban on the sale of animals along roadsides, strengthened animal-fighting penalties and a prohibition on the sale of shark-fin soup.
Ethics experts suggest that although the Humane Society head may be a dedicated animal lover, her closeness to the key canine merits a closer look.
Fearing is "a powerful person who wants something from the government," said Jessica Levinson, an expert on law and governance issues and associate professor of law at Loyola Law School in Los Angeles.
With her role in the dog's life, "she has access to Gov. Brown," Levinson said. "There are a variety of ways to exercise influence."
California taxpayers, for instance, would have a right to know if "Brown had a kid, and his tutor was head of the California Teachers Association," Levinson said.
Kerns of Free California said Fearing's political success "has not gone unnoticed in the lobbying community in Sacramento."
With Fearing being the first dog's frequent walker, "there are services being provided, and those services have monetary value" that should be reported as lobbying under campaign finance law, she said.
More than the dog
Fearing responds that critics are "clearly overestimating the value" of her Sutter-sitting. She said her organization's winning record is due to good groundwork, and then "we really work to make our case" with legislators.
"It's obvious that I have the relationship with the governor and his wife in Sacramento, and every lobbyist is trying to have a relationship with anyone who makes a decision," Fearing said.
But she insists she's never talked with Brown or his wife about a bill before him or the Legislature.
"I wouldn't misuse that relationship," she said. "I deal with staff, and I go through the right channels.
"I would like to believe that we live in a civilized society where you can do neighborly things like walking people's dogs" without being accused of having ulterior motives, Fearing said.
But she's not naive.
"I tell people, if you want a friend in Sacramento," she said, "get a corgi."
Carla Marinucci is senior political writer at The San Francisco Chronicle. E-mail: cmarinucci@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @cmarinucci
via www.sfgate.com/news/article/Critics-howl-over-lobbyist-walking-governor-s-dog-4924284.php
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