Congressman Rahm Emanuel ditches lobbyist campaign treasurer

From Special Report's Political Grapevine:

Losing One Lobbying Link

Illinois Democrat Rahm Emanuel — the head of the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee who's made ethics a central issue in 2006 — quietly switched campaign treasurers last month dropping a long-time friend who is also a federally registered lobbyist.

William Singer, a former Chicago alderman and one of Washington's most prolific Democratic fundraisers, has been Emanuel's treasurer since his first campaign in 2002 and the Chicago Sun-Times reports that he's officially lobbied Emanuel on at least one occasion since then.

A spokesman for the congressman says that with ethics issues heating up in the House, Singer was replaced for "obvious" reasons.

Flashback...Porkopolis on Congressman Ed Pastor's cozy relationship with lobbyists:

Congressman Ed Pastor's relationship with lobbyists goes beyond sponsoring legislation that circumvents the well established process for acquiring surplus
federal lands. The Congressman is a member of a small group of Congressional legislators that has a lobbyist as a treasurer for both his campaign committee and his leadership Political Action Committee (PAC).

The Center for Public Integrity conducted a study of Lobbyists who are Political Committee Treasurers and found the following:

Lobbyist Arthur Chapa served as Treasurer for the Pastor for Arizona campaign.

Representative Pastor also has a PAC, Pastor's PAC, and its treasurer is Dennis Deconcini the former Senator from Arizona and a founding member of the Keating Five.

Here's an interesting tidbit about Mr. Chapa. He was once president of the Arizona Board of Regents. In 1997, the Board authorized the sale at public auction of the former Cotton Research Center property, located in Phoenix, Arizona which was owned by the University of Arizona. Mr. Chapa was not president of the Board at that time but, according to the minutes of the meeting, was a Board member.