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"It's another attempt by the Ethics Commission to make it undesirable to be a lobbyist, and it has no public policy benefit," billboard lobbyist Steve Afriat told the LA Times about a city Ethics Commission proposal of making lobbyists wear badges when they're "engaged in lobbying."
It's the billboard companies (and not necessarily Afriat) thatcontinually pile lawsuits up against the city anytime a new billboard is erected and the city questions whether it might be in violation of the law or not.
Harvey Englander, a lobbyist representing hotels near LAX likened the proposed badges to "the Star of David imposed on Jews in Nazi-era Germany," as the LA Times put it. Englander said that he refused to "wear the equivalent of a yellow arm band."