By DAVID PENDERED, AJC, 03/12/08
Three lobbyists with close ties to House Speaker Glenn Richardson and House Majority Leader Jerry Keen registered Tuesday to lobby for the creation of a city of Dunwoody.
The lobbyists are Clint Austin, Tony Simon and Sam Choate, according to records filed with the state Ethics Commission, which track lobbyists. Their client is listed as the Dunwoody Action Committee, which is identified as a group promoting Dunwoody's incorporation.
Choate is Richardson's former lawyer in the House. Choate also was counsel to the Republican Caucus in the state House, a group that was led by Keen.
Keen is slated to meet Thursday with Citizens for Dunwoody, a non-profit group advocating a city of Dunwoody.
Austin and Simon are close to Richardson. They were the strategists behind the state Republican House races in 2006.
Simon and Austin were deeply involved in the effort last year to pass a bill that would allow the creation of private cities. The proposal was strongly backed by developers. The lobbying team for that effort included Jay Walker, Richardson's former chief of staff, and Derrick Dickey, a former spokesman for Gov. Sonny Perdue.
Choate joined Simon and Austin in October.
The House has proved to be a stumbling block for the Dunwoody proposal.
The Senate passed the bill last year, but the House voted against it in the waning hours of the session. This year, a House committee voted to hold the bill, then voted to pass it when a member from Waycross asked for reconsideration.
The Dunwoody bill is among more than 110 bills and resolutions awaiting a vote by the House. Lawmakers will meet for nine days, after today, to vote on these proposals, in addition to working out differences with the Senate on a host of other House proposals that are pending in the Senate.
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