I seem to be having some difficulty getting staffers of Assemblyman Dan Logue to answer a few Qs about his ties, if any, to ALEC. If you read this, and you know of a Logue aide who's typically responsive to his constituents, please tell me who - you can email me at ncvoices.us (don't forget the .us!) at gmail.
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Kudos to you for pressing Logue's office on this question. I'd never heard of ALEC until reports started emerging during the struggle in Wisconsin last spring, showing ALEC to be a common factor in anti-union legislation in several GOP-governed states.
There was just a big national ALEC conference a month or two ago. I wonder if Logue's itinerary is public record?
Don't know; will find out.
BTW, I've just added a couple of sites to my "Digging 101" investigative-journalism site - His Vorpal Sword (near-daily) and DBA Press (infrequent but deep. This earlier-2011 piece is about ALEC, as are some others.)
(Now I've got some answers, but they're from an aide and it's not clear whether he checked with Logue to verify the info.)
Check out this blog:
Over 1,600 Identified - People Afffiliated with ALEC
http://becauseican-2old2care.blogspot.com/2011/09/over-1600-idenitified-people.html
Dan Logue is on the list of 1600.
Per @4SHCrane - Dan Logue is on the list Over 1,600 Identified - People Afffiliated with ALEC bit.ly/qi2AYi.
one more from @4SHCrane - SourceWatch.org bit.ly/ribuvS. Signed 2009 Anti Healthcare Reform Letter to Sen. Pelosi & Byrd scr.bi/gx7mZK
The (Sept 6) email I received came from Logue aide Cliff Wagner's account, and its answer to the Q "For how many years has Assemblyman Logue been a member of ALEC?" was "I believe that he [Logue] was a paid member of ALEC in his first year [2009] in the Assembly. It is my understanding that his membership has since expired." I emailed back the same day asking if he had actually checked this with Assemblyman Logue, but unless it's gone astray he hasn't yet sent an answer.
(The reference that put Logue into SourceWatch's "ALEC Politicians" list (link) was indeed from 2009, an ALEC letter on healthcare with Logue's name among the signatories.)
And "Anonymous", in future please use your real name, or at least a pseudonym (if you're feeling shy).
"It is my understanding that his membership has since expired."
Untrue, check out his reported expenditures for 2011 (hit control + f and find "American Legislative Exchange Council"
http://cal-access.sos.ca.gov/Campaign/Committees/Detail.aspx?id=1335498&session=2011&view=expenditures
that $100 is like the two-year membership fee for legislators that ALEC requires.
Logue is also referenced in this 2011 ALEC newsletter (again, control + F search for "logue"), in 2nd paragraph, page 13
http://www.alec.org/AM/pdf/insidealec/ia_julaug2011.pdf
Obtained that doc by a Google search for:
"dan logue" and "american legislative exchange council"
Thank you CGibson, that's extremely helpful.
(Blekko.com is turning out to be less so - "No results found for: "dan logue" "american legislative exchange council" site:alec.org")
Quibbles or nitpicks -
It wouldn't be legit to take the fact that Logue organized a trip whose purpose is near&dear to ALEC's heart, & that ALEC wrote about, as meaning that he's a member, correct?
And fwiw, the $100 on his campaign expenditures is listed as "meetings and appearances".
More to come, I hope...
Two minor things -
I checked the website, & the ALEC membership fee for politicians is indeed $50/year.
And in case others take a look at Logue's 2011-2012 committee expenditures filing & wonder what its (undated) $100 "meetings and appearances" payment to the Nevada City Chamber of Commerce was about, Cathy Whittlesey of the Chamber told me it was presumably for their annual Installation Dinner, held in January.
I did get a chance to speak with Assemblyman Logue, who said he couldn't recall whether he is an member of ALEC, but that they're a good group. He also said they weren't involved in his Texas trip that ALEC wrote about, that "we paid for it ourselves" and none of it was government money.
Well, one conclusion from all this does seem to be, when you ask a Q about your (Republican?) representative and get an answer from his aide, don't expect it to be worth much.
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