Uber Lobbies Against Oregon Legislators
Friday, May 29, 2015
According to public records, Uber has retained Dan Bates of Thorn Run Partners. Bates, a respected lobbyist who leads a team of four, has deep ties to the City of Portland. His most recent position before Thorn Run Partners was as the City of Portland’s chief lobbyist. While Bates may be an unfamiliar name to most, he is a respected force in the Capitol. His firm represents just shy of 20 clients in Salem.
Uber’s efforts at the city level preceded their current effort in Salem. In addition to the $67,000 fine they paid for operating without approval last year, Uber spent nearly $13,000 in the first quarter of this year alone lobbying the City of Portland.
A review of the lobbying contacts made to city officials include few surprises. The effort included many visits by a half a dozen different people. One visit that did raise eyebrows is that of Portland’s premiere Democratic campaign consultant, Mark Weiner. The city’s lobbying reports show he made a personal trip to see Portland City Commissioner Dan Saltzman.
According to filings with the Oregon Secretary of State’s Office, Weiner helped elect many of the current Democrats in Salem, works for the Senate and House Democratic campaign arms and has deep ties to Oregon’s public employee unions. Weiner’s firm also received tens of thousands of dollars from Governor Kate Brown’s most recent election. Neither Uber officials, their local public relations firm, their lobbyists in Salem nor Weiner himself would respond to questions about Weiner’s involvement. A visit to Saltzman should have also been recorded on his calendar, yet the visit does not exist, further raising red flags.
Having strong lobbyists is par for the course for Uber. The Washington Post recently reported that Uber has 161 registered lobbyists across the country. They employ David Plouffe as their in-house counsel. Plouffe rose to prominence by successfully running President Barack Obama’s 2008 campaign. In Nevada, where they just passed a measure allowing ride-sharing to operate, Uber hired a high profile lobbyist known for representing Amazon.com, Zappos.com and Dish Network.They have comparably strong lobbyists in other states as well. Uber’s legislative tactics are considered above board and even old school.
The contrast with the opposition is stark. The Transportation Fairness Alliance, the coalition of cab companies formed to fight ride sharing has retained long-time lobbyist Steven Kafoury, a former State Senator and father of Multnomah County Chair Deborah Kafoury. Despite Kafoury’s pedigree, he seems to be operating more as a lone ranger. This battle may well be his last hurrah. Some capitol insiders think he is well positioned to get a measure passed that would effectively shut down Uber and Lyft in Oregon. His longevity and longstanding personal relationships far outweigh those of the Thorn Run team, which is a far newer group.
This week in lieu of answering any questions, Downen provided this statement:
"This bill is written in a way that makes it nearly impossible for Transportation Network Companies to operate. More than 20 states-- as well as the city of Portland-- have passed regulations that understand the unique nature of ridesharing, and we hope Oregon's leaders in the legislature can do the same."
With such an impressive team and a measure they think is so innocuous, you would expect Uber might be less willing to levy the threat of ceasing to do business in Oregon. Unfortunately, that is not the case. With over 500 drivers, according to Uber, – some of whom are making the bulk of their living as Uber drivers – such threats can have a chilling effect on their workforce. Drivers are facing no such luck and already worried about how to pay their bills should Uber take its ball and go home (again). Unlike riders, drivers have still yet to be engaged in the lobbying effort to preserve their livelihood.
Meanwhile, Uber is continuing to roll out new features as if their future is bright. On Wednesday they launched “dynamic” pricing in Portland, and before day’s end charged at least two times the normal fares if you happened to be in an area with high demand. Uber drivers were given fair notice and cheered the launch of this new feature. It appears riders get no advanced warning their rates might be as much as twice as much to get home as it took to get to their destinations earlier in the night until. When theytry to summon a car, they are in for a surprise.
Starting as early as today the company is launching Uber Pedal, a service that will allow you to throw your bikes (up to two) on the back of select cars. One should not be surprised that it comes with a small price tag. No word on whether they will increase the cost if there are too many bike rack requests at the same time though. Portland seems to be only the second city (with Seattle being the first) to launch Uber Pedal.
Related Slideshow: What 20 Cities Around the World Did when Uber Came to Town
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