Phil Ammann
Lobbyists for Miami-Dade County recently asked commissioners to entertain an unusual request: Would the county allow one of its lobbying firms to represent Uber, the controversial ridesharing tech service.
Yes, Uber is the company currently operating illegally in Miami-Dade County, notes Patricia Mazzei of the Miami Herald.
The San Francisco-based technology firm hired Ballard Partners to lobby Tallahassee lawmakers, prompting the request for a conflict-of-interest waiver.
During the 2014 session, Uber attempted to legalize the company’s business by way of the Florida Capitol. The ridesharing company is forbidden in Miami-Dade and Hillsborough counties, as well as other regions that regulate taxicabs and other public transportation services.
However, Uber and rival Lyft are operating there anyway, despite being targets of Miami-Dade and Hillsborough County code enforcement officers, which ticketed drivers and impounded cars last year.
As Miami-Dade and Uber are currently at loggerheads, possibly rising to the state level when Uber continues its Tallahassee push, the Miami-Dade Commission on Ethics and Public Trust pronounced Ballard could not represent both clients concurrently.
Mazzei reported that Sylvester Lukis, senior counsel in Ballard’s Miami office, argued to commissioners that there are no present conflicts since no state legislation was filed for Miami-Dade to either support or oppose.
With Ballard representing both the county and Uber, Lukis even suggested that the issue could be resolved by “mutually satisfactory” legislation.
That didn’t fly with commissioners, who unanimously voted Wednesday to reject Ballard’s request.
“If we go forward with this waiver,” Commissioner Daniella Levine Cava told reporters, “We’ll be paying our lobbyist to work against our own interests.”
Lukis, when asked which client would take precedence if Ballard has to choose, refused to respond.
