Bring A Check

Re Lombardo Event at Bensings_000079 by documents on Scribd

Well, well, well. Looks like we've stumbled upon the secret recipe for political success in Sparks: a dash of cronyism, a sprinkle of lobbying, and a heaping helping of taxpayer money. Who knew?

So, Governor Lombardo's giving us the cold shoulder, but he's happy to rub elbows with the elite at Chez Bensing? Color us shocked. Maybe if we started throwing around six-figure lobbying contracts, we'd get a callback too.

Speaking of which, Barrett (Barrett Resources) and Bensing (SB Strategic Consulting, Inc.) must be laughing all the way to the bank. $90K each to lobby for Sparks for the lands bill? That's not a bad payday for whispering sweet nothings into politicians’ ears. And let's not forget Barrett's had a $350K windfall hired by the City of Sparks since 2019 whispering these same sweet nothings.

Chris Garvey tried to rain on this parade, but hey, why let a little thing like fiscal responsibility get in the way of good old-fashioned political back-scratching?

The City of Sparks been working with Barrett Resources since 2019, and with all that lobbying what does Sparks have to show for it? Crickets. But don't worry, folks. Now we've got Bensing on board too this year. Because if one lobbyist is good, two must be better, right?

And now, the pièce de résistance: a "bring a check" event at Casa del Bensing, starring none other than Governor Lombardo himself. We can only imagine the champagne dreams and caviar wishes that'll be flowing there.

So, what have we learned? If you want to hobnob with the political elite, don't bother with pesky things like journalism or public service. Just cozy up to the right mayor, land a cushy lobbying gig, and voila! You too can host governors in your backyard.

Now, if you'll excuse us, we're off to practice our schmoozing. Clearly, we've been doing this all wrong.