Palmview hires lobbyist

Palmview City Council last month agreed to pay legislative consultant Lee Roy Loya $2,500 a month to advocate for the city’s interests in Austin.

 

Loya and his company — The L Firm — specialize in “combining subject matter knowledge and expertise with a well-established, highly respected reputation and relationships within the industry” in a way that “gets things done” in Texas, according to a proposal he submitted to the city.

 

A longtime Austin insider, Loya has worked for a number of Texas legislators and is the son of the current mayor of Peñitas.

 

Palmview’s council discussed Loya behind closed doors in executive session on May 11 before approving a contract with him and The L Firm that runs through the middle of June 2027.

 

 

“Which is a consultant company who’s gonna help us over at the legislative level — both state and federal — to leverage funding for infrastructure, parks, fire, technology and any and other thing that we can leverage from the state capitol,” Mayor Ricardo “Rick” Villarreal said.

 

Aside from his $2,500 retainer, Loya may also bill the city for other expenses that include travel out of the area, printing, web domain purchasing and monthly email hosting.

 

Loya started out his career at the capitol working as a legislative liaison for then-State Representative Kino Flores.

 

He worked as Flores’ chief of staff before becoming policy advisor to Representative Senfronia Thompson and working as chief of staff for Representative Oscar Longoria, a position he worked in for eight years.

 

Loya says those roles gave him a breadth of experience on issues that run the gamut from horse racing to cyber security.

 

Most recently Loya worked as a public relations associate for Public Blueprint, an Austin-based public affairs firm.

 

In his contract with Palmview, Loya pledged to represent the city’s interests to legislative and executive branches in Texas to defeat or support action, provide guidance and consultation related to the city’s legislative goals, and advise the city in gaining support for its objectives, identify grants and funding opportunities at the state and federal level.

 

He committed to provide the city with timely updates regarding the status of pending administrative action and proposed legislation that might impact it.

 

In a letter pitching the city on his services, Loya said entities looking for sway need to navigate a volatile environment.

 

“Social media usage and constant breaking news on news networks means that issues can be defined immediately by what is popular and what is not,” he wrote. “Combine this high level of engagement with a polarized public and you have an unpredictable political and business climate, particularly in a quickly changing state like Texas.”

 

Entities should not, Loya wrote, rely on traditional media or social media to advocate for their views.

 

Instead, Loya wrote, they should rely on him: a “high-performance influencer.”

 

“If you want to impact what goes on under the pink dome, you need to understand how the legislative process works,” he wrote. “When promoting any issue in Texas, you’re going to find a complex web of process, politics, and personality. As principal, I bring self-directed, and outcome driven politically savvy government affairs expertise with diverse and progressive lobbying and advocacy experience with various high-profile agencies/associations.”

 

Palmview released its contract with Loya Tuesday in response to an open records request, but says an email chain related to that agreement should remain confidential because it falls within attorney-client privilege.

 

Palmview wasn’t the only city in western Hidalgo County to consider hiring Loya last month.

 

The La Joya City Council discussed hiring Loya the day after Palmview did, also behind closed doors in executive session.

 

 

The proposal was identical.

 

 

Council took no action on the proposal and Mayor Isidro Casanova didn’t respond to requests for comment on it.

 

City Manager Jaime Sandoval said it’s possible council will revisit that proposal, but he wasn’t certain it would.

 

Loya first pitched La Joya on lobbying for it in December of 2024, according to an email released through an open records request.

 

“As discussed, please send me a list of your priorities so that I may begin proposing them to the Legislative Budget Board for their consideration,” Loya wrote Sandoval. “Or, if they are not budget related items, so that I may begin talks with the proper agency with jurisdiction over the matter.”

 

Loya currently represents at least one other western Hidalgo County municipality: Sullivan City.

 

City Manager Richard Ozuna says Loya has represented Sullivan City’s interests since before Ozuna joined the city in December of 2024. 

 

Ozuna says Sullivan pays Loya $1,500 a month, which he says is money well-spent.

 

Initially, Ozuna said, he was a tad skeptical about Loya’s services. 

 

However, Ozuna says he’s seen Loya be active, involved and responsive in lobbying for the city’s interests.

 

Ozuna suspects that advocacy helped the city secure important grant funding from the state.

 

“I’m very happy with him,” Ozuna said.