For some reason, David Cicilline thought is was necessary to pay the lobbying firm of Peck, Madigan, Jones & Stewart $135,000 to help design a plan to use the federal stimulus money.  This seems like a dubious expenditure, but what's worse is that David Cicilline did not put the contract out to bid.  The project will be run by Sean Richardson, who was Patrick Kennedy's Chief of Staff, and a contributor to David Cicilline's campaign.

     City Councilor John Lombardi pointed out that Cicilline was able to circumvent the bidding process because it was deemed an "emergency expenditure."  John Lombardi goes on to criticize Cicilline's knack for inappropriate spending:

"I am deeply concerned that your administration continues to flout the mandated checks and balances for contracts and purchases," Lombardi said in his letter. "The city has opted to make a large expenditure, once again, without the benefit of public scrutiny."

"Under no interpretation of this provision could the hiring of a lobbyist to develop a plan to take advantage of the economic stimulus funds be defined of as an emergency." 
 

     Talk of an economic stimulus plan started to take place before the Presidential election, and once Barack Obama won the election on November 4th with a Democratic majority, passage was almost a definite.  Since this process has been hinted at for months and approved almost two months ago, how could it qualify as an emergency?  This is a perfect example of wasteful spending, a lack of scrutiny, and poor excuses, which are just what I have come to expect from the Cicilline Administration.