How many lobbyists represent local government entities? Would you believe 33?

In the 2009 Florida legislature, here's who's registered to lobby for local governments:

St. Johns County (4)
Bohannon, Hubert (Bo)
Fiorentino, Thomas M., Jr.
Mobley, Joseph
Walker, Whitney W.

St. Johns County School District (4)
Boekhoff, Henry
Hamilton, James P.
Mixon, M. Juhan
O’Farrell, Michael J.

St. Johns River Community College (1)
Roy, James C.

Florida School for the Deaf and the Blind (3)
Eccles, Patsy
Hutto, L. Daniel
Wiseman, Terri R.

St. Johns River Water Management District (5)
Green, Kirby B., III
Jenkins, Dwight T.
Mennella, Kathryn Lynn
Slayton, Michael C.
Wilkening, Harold A., III

First Coast Technical College (2)
Bohannon, Hubert (Bo)
Walker, Whitney W.

First Coast Technical Institute (1)
Fiorentino, Thomas M., Jr.

City of Jacksonville (12)
Bohannon, Hubert (Bo)
Dean, Isaac Henry
Dudley, Christopher F.
Fiorentino, Thomas M., Jr.
Fraser, Towson
Hart, Kenneth R.
Madden, Steven J.
Meros, George N., Jr.
Mobley, Joseph
Thompson, James Harold
Thrasher, John E.
Webb, Stacey S.

City of Jacksonville/Construction Trades Qualifying Board (1)
Hickok, Richard A.

State Attorney, 7th Judicial Circuit (2)
Bustamante, Luis E.
Smith, David R.

No lobbyist is registered for the Airport Authority, Anastasia Mosquito Control District of St. Johns County; City of St. Augustine; City of St. Augustine Beach; and Town of Hastings, among others. None is registered for four out of five constitutional officers in St. Johns County. Flagler College has no lobbyist disclosed (although its Chancellor, William L. Proctor, is our 20th District Representative and Republican Lord of All He Surveys from Here to Tallahassee).

Thirty-three (33) lobbyists is a lot of corpulent cash-contributin' influence-peddlers.

Pound for pound, thirty-three (33) lobbyists is far more lobbyists than are registered to represent entire multinational corporations before the Florida Legislature. Exxon-Mobil has five, while Boeing makes do with only two lobbyists.

Local governments hereabouts must be very worried to hire so many lobbyists.

What are they spending on lobbyists, and why?

What are they gettin'?

It's our money.

What do you reckon?

See http://www.leg.state.fl.us/data/lobbyist/Reports/Principl_LEG_2009.pdf for a good time!