Teamsters, Keel cited for failing to report lobbying

The Philadelphia Ethics Board has cited Teamsters union Local 830 communications man Frank Keel for failing to follow the city’s lobbying disclosure law.

During the intense battle in City Council last year over Mayor Jim Kenney’s proposed sweetened-beverage tax, the Teamsters paid Keel to write opinion pieces opposing the levy.

That amounts to lobbying, said the ethics board, finding that the union and Keel both failed to follow the lobbying law.

It requires lobbyists to register and their clients to file reports disclosing what they’ve spent to influence city policy if it’s more than $2,500 in one quarter.

The board says the union paid Keel $5,000 for his services.

Keel and the union cooperated with the inquiry, the ethics board said.

The union will pay a $2,000 penalty. Keel, who was told to register as a lobbyist, was spared a fine.