Rep. Kip Smith spent the hours before his DUI arrest last week with two other state lawmakers being entertained by three lobbyists, including one for brewer Anheuser-Busch, state records show.
Lobbyist spending disclosures for Jan. 12 show Smith, R-Columbus, and fellow House members Ben Harbin and Jason Shaw had dinner at Alfredo’s Italian Restaurant in Midtown. Smith was arrested hours later by Atlanta police on charges of driving under the influence.
According to the police report, Smith recorded a .091 blood alcohol level on a Breathalyzer test. The officer reported that Smith said he had been at Hal’s, a Buckhead bistro, and claimed to have had “a single beer.”
The arrest report does not mention Alfredo’s, but one of the lobbyists at the dinner said Thursday that the meal included wine.
Smith, 29, was pulled over after running a red light on Peachtree Road, the police report said. The arresting officer, who was following the lawmaker’s 1998 gold Jaguar, said the light had just turned red when Smith went through the intersection at Pharr Road.
Smith has not publicly discussed the events of the night leading up to his arrest, telling the Columbus Ledger-Enquirer he had admitted his mistake and was “moving forward.” He did not return a call or email from The Atlanta Journal-Constitution.
The reported tab came to $60 per lawmaker. Entrees at the restaurant run from $14.50 to $23.95.
In an e-mail, Shaw said, “I did have dinner that night at Alfredo’s with some good friends and I took a cab home.”
In a separate e-mail, McMullen said the dinner ended around 9 p.m. and the six men “parted ways.” Smith was arrested several hours later.
The lobbyists who paid the tab at Alfredo’s were Georgia EMC lobbyist Travis Bussey; Georgia Chamber of Commerce lobbyist David Raynor; and Chuck McMullen, a managing director of the Atlanta office of McKenna, Long and Aldridge. McMullen is lobbyist for a number of clients, including Anheuser-Busch and private prison operator Corrections Corp. of America.
Joselyn Baker, spokeswoman for the Georgia Chamber of Commerce, said Raynor told her that “wine was served with dinner.” Baker said she did not have any other details about the evening.
No lobbyist claimed any expenses from Hal’s the night Smith was arrested.
Since his arrest, Smith has attracted an opponent in the Republican primary. Columbus businessman John Pezold announced his candidacy earlier this week.
Smith won a special election in 2009 to claim the seat vacated by his father, former Georgia DOT Commissioner Vance Smith. Since arriving for his first legislative session in January 2010, Kip Smith has accepted nearly $10,000 in lobbyist meals, trips and gifts.
Gifts included $740 for lodging at Amelia Island Plantation on the northeast Florida coast for the Georgia Association of Convenience Stores 2010 convention; $1,130 in tickets to Atlanta Braves and Falcons games and the Atlanta Zoo; and dozens of meals, drinks and other entertainment expenses.
Mitch Ambler of the Georgia good-government group Citizens Helping America Restore Government Ethics said Smith’s arrest, combined with the sums that lobbyists spend on him, “raise a red flag with me,” he said.
According to its mission statement, CHARGE typically works on the front end of the political process by identifying and supporting fiscally conservative candidates with “proven ethics, unquestioned integrity and civil demeanor.”
Based on what has been made public, Ambler said, it is unlikely a candidate like Smith would meet his group’s criteria.
“There is a certain standard by which we live, and that kind of behavior wouldn’t pass through the CHARGE filter,” he said.
Mixing alcohol and lobbying is nothing new at the Capitol. Several lobbyists operate “hospitality suites” with open bars near the Gold Dome. They reported spending $3,156 to stock those suites during the first week of the session.
House Speaker David Ralston did not respond to a request for comment for this article, but in prior interviews he has opposed placing limits on lobbyist spending in favor of timely disclosure of what was spent.
The three lobbyists at dinner with Smith, Harbin and Shaw reported spending $180.24 on the lawmakers the night of Smith’s arrest.
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