Mitt Romney Registered As Lobbyist For Salt Lake City Olympics

Mitt Romney Registered As Lobbyist For Salt Lake City Olympics

WASHINGTON -- Republican presidential hopeful Mitt Romney loves to talk about his role salvaging the 2002 scandal-tarnished Winter Olympics in Salt Lake City. It's one of the only items on his resume that he will discuss without hesitation. He's so proud of the accomplishment, he wrote a book about it called "Turnaround: Crisis, Leadership, And The Olympic Games."

His Olympics success was pivotal in his winning run for Massachusetts governor in 2002, and it may turn out to be just as important in his current campaign for the presidency. It's why he plans on cheering from the good seats when the opening ceremonies commence for the summer games in London this week.

But when it comes to the retelling of his Olympics story, Romney never mentions the L word. Lobbyist.

Romney wasn't just the head of the Salt Lake Organizing Committee. Romney was also a registered lobbyist for the organization, Utah state records show.

Romney last worked as a lobbyist on Dec. 31, 2000, according to a spokesman for the state lieutenant governor, who oversees the registry.

As a lobbyist and president of the Salt Lake Organizing Committee, Romney didn't just stabilize the balance sheet. He brought in a record $1.3 billion in federal dollars for Salt Lake City's games and more from Utah. In 1996, the Atlanta Summer Olympics cost U.S. taxpayers $609 million. The Salt Lake Tribune wrote in March 2000: "If charming state lawmakers were an Olympic event, Mitt Romney would be draped in a flag about now, singing the national anthem."

After winning support from Utah's Legislature for Olympics projects, Romney told reporters that "hosting the world is obviously bigger than SLOC can do alone. The Legislature recognizes they are a critical partner. I am very pleased they have confidence in us and confidence in our plans."

full story: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/07/26/mitt-romney-olympics_n_1704261.html