Kristin Wells has just signed on as a partner with Patton Boggs. Wells was most recently deputy chief counsel at the House Foreign Affairs Committee.
According to a release, Wells will work with public policy and international law teams at the firm to "help corporate clients in their dealings with foreign governments and legal systems, as well as international markets."
Wells, who worked under current committee chairman Howard Berman, D-Calif. and the late Rep. Tom Lantos, D-Calif., dealt with issues such as international refugee policy and immigration matters, international women's issues, and consular affairs. While working on Capitol Hill, she has had a hand in congressional resolutions declaring genocide in Darfur, the Intelligence Reform Act of 2004, and the Tuberculosis and Malaria Reauthorization Act of 2008.
She has also worked as counsel at the House Judiciary Committee under then-ranking member (now chairman) John Conyers, D-Mich. In addition to the departure of Wells, House Foreign Affairs Committee Chief Counsel David Abramowitz recently took a position as director of policy and government relations in Humanity United's Washington office.
Information technology lobbying group TechNet has hired Rey Ramsey as the organization's new president and chief executive officer.
Ramsey currently is chief executive officer of One Economy Corp., a global nonprofit that leverages the power of technology to improve the lives of low-income people, which he co-founded in 2000. One Economy brings unserved and underserved communities into the economic mainstream through facilitating affordable at-home broadband access, producing public-purpose media, and training and employing "Digital Connectors," youth aged 14-21, to enhance their communities' technology capacity.
At TechNet, Ramsey will be based in Washington, D.C. where he will oversee the Silicon Valley organization's day-to-day operations, strategic planning and implementation of its public policy and political agenda.
Separately, TechNet also announced that Paul Otellini, president and CEO of Intel, and Eric Schmidt, chairman and CEO of Google, will join the organization's executive committee.
(Photo of Ramsey from One Economy website)
Former Sen. Tom Daschle ,D-S.D.has joined law and lobbying firm DLA Piper as a senior policy advisor. He will not register to lobby, however.
Previously, Daschle was a senior advisor at Alston & Bird.
At DLA Piper, Daschle will counsel clients on a wide range of regulatory and government affairs issues, the firm said. He is also expected to play a significant role in management and client development globally. In addition to advising clients, Daschle will also serve on DLA Piper's Global Board.
(Photo of Daschle from Creative Commons)
Howard Gantman, a former aide to Sen. Dianne Feinstein, D-Calif., has been named vice president of corporate communications at the Motion Picture Association of America.Gantman joined the MPAA in August as senior communications consultant and previously was Feinstein's staff director at the Senate Rules and Administration Committee. He also served as staff director of the Joint Congressional Committee on Inaugural Ceremonies where he was responsible for overseeing President Obama's swearing in ceremony. Prior to work the committees, Gantman was Feinstein's communications director for nine years.
"The MPAA is at a critical time in its evolution as the voice and advocate of the American motion picture, home video and television industries around the world," Dan Glickman, chairman and CEO of the MPAA, said in a statement. "Howard's unique combination of expertise in public affairs and communications, will make him a critical player."
In his new position, Gantman will oversee MPAA's communications program in Washington. Elizabeth Kaltman, vice president of corporate communications will oversee MPAA communications in Los Angeles.
In 2007, National Journal profiled (subscription) Gantman as part of our Hill people series.
(Photo of Gantman provided by MPAA)
Joan Fitz-Gerald is the new president of America Votes, a coalition of progressive groups focused on voter mobilization.
Fitz-Gerald was previously president of the Colorado Senate from 2005 thru 2007 and was the first woman to hold that position. She was also chair of the Democratic Legislative Campaign Committee. In 2008, she was one of several Democrats who ran for a House seat to replace Mark Udall, who is now the state's Senator. Fitz-Gerald narrowly lost in the primary to Jared Polis, who is now the representative from Colorado-2.
A Manhattan native, Fitz-Gerald relocated to Colorado with her husband decades ago. Now she's returning to the East Coast to live in Washington to fill her new position.
She replaces former Rep. Martin Frost, D-Texas, who was president of the 527 group for the 2008 election. America Votes raised $25.9 million in the 2008 election cycle aimed at getting out the vote, according to the Center for Responsive Politics.
(Fitz-Gerald pictured in center from Creative Commons)
Anthony Coley is set to join communications firm Brunswick Group as a director. Coley was most recently communications director to the late Sen. Edward Kennedy, D-Mass and at the Kennedy-chaired Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee.
Coley starts in his new role in late November, and he's taking a vacation in Costa Rica in the interim. A North Carolina native, Coley got involved in student government while in high school, and he has enjoyed government work ever since. "Government and public service is still a noble profession," he says.
He started his career in politics working on Al Gore's 2000 presidential campaign and then he worked for former-Rep. Harold Ford Jr, D-Tenn., and former-Sen. Zell Miller, D-Ga. "I'm the only Democrat in America who worked for Zell Miller and Ted Kennedy," he jokes.
Coley also was a spokesperson to New Jersey Democrat Jon Corzine in both his senate and governor's offices, and he was promoted to be Corzine's communications director just before Corzine's near fatal car accident made headlines.
Coley earned a "public relations professional of the year award" in New Jersey for his handling of the accident and the one week government shutdown in the state. Outside of work, Coley has been running a lot and he recently lost about 60 pounds.
"I thought losing it was hard, but keeping it off is harder," he says. He will take part in an upcoming 5 K race for the D.C. charity "So Others Might Eat."
Coley is excited about working in the private sector with Brunswick Group, and he likes the firm's public affairs focus. The managing partner of Brunswick Group's D.C. office is Hilary Rosen.
The Internet Innovation Alliance Tuesday named David Sutphen co-chairman. He succeeds Larry Irving, who stepped down to become vice president of global government affairs at Hewlett Packard.
Sutphen will work with co-chair and co-founder Bruce Mehlman to promote broadband availability and adoption across the U.S. Mehlman is a co-founder of lobbying firm Mehlman Vogel Castagnetti.
"Today, [broadband] delivers critical health care, education and employment opportunities as well as the compelling news and entertainment content we all demand," said Sutphen in a statement. "Our challenge is to ensure that all people, regardless of race, income or geography, are benefiting from this revolution."
Sutphen is a partner at public affairs firm Brunswick Group. He was formerly with Viacom and the Recording Industry Association of America. Earlier in his career, Sutphen was a staffer for Sen. Edward Kennedy, D-Mass.
Sutphen is also the brother of Monica Sutphen, deputy White House chief of staff. In addition, he recently was part of a board that created of a new business trade group called Business Forward. See Tech Daily Dose's coverage of the group here.
Angela Martinez, spokeswoman for the Motion Picture Association of America, is heading to the Commerce department, CongressDaily's Andrew Noyes reports.
Martinez will be joining the Commerce Department's Economic Development Administration where she will work for senior adviser John Fernandez, assistant secretary of commerce for economic development. In her new role, Martinez will be overseeing legislative and public affairs.
My colleague and fellow National Journal blogger Andrew Noyes is heading to Facebook where he will be manager of public policy communications.
Andrew has been the editor and author of TechDailyDose and a fabulous reporter on technology issues for National Journal's CongressDaily since 2006. It's a loss for us and a gain for Facebook.
Facebook says Noyes will start his job in mid-November.
It's not often that a plum ambassadorship goes to someone who isn't a career foreign service officer or a big bucks campaign contributor, but President Obama has nominated Anne Slaughter Andrew to be the ambassador to the Republic of Costa Rica.
Hmmm.
The prospective diplomat is an Indiana University trained attorney who currently is Principal of New Energy Nexus, LLC, and, according to the White House release on her nomination, "advises companies and entrepreneurs on investments and strategies to capitalize on the New Energy Economy."
But Andrew is also wife of Joe Andrew, former Indiana Democratic Party chairman who was tapped by Bill Clinton to be Democratic National Committee chairman from 1999 to 2001 who also was a big backer of then Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton in her 2008 presidential bid--until five days before the must-win Indiana Democratic Presidential primary last year, when Andrew with great fan-fare threw Clinton under the bus, endorsed Obama, urged all his fellow Hoosiers to vote for Obama and called up party leaders and fellow superdelegates (Andrew had that status to the Democratic convention because he was a former DNC chairman) to basically shut the nominating contest down after the Indiana primary and get behind Obama.
In a public letter that at times was melodramatic and angst-ridden, Andrew wrote: "Why call for superdelegates to come together now to constructively pick a president? The simple answer is that while the timing is hard for me personally, it is best for America. We simply cannot wait any longer, nor can we let this race fall any lower and still hope to win in November. June or July may be too late."
Well, the contest did run until June and Obama still somehow made it to the White House. But for Joe, this was a selfless act: "My endorsement of Senator Obama will not be welcome news to my friends and family at the Clinton campaign," he wrote. "If the campaign's surrogates called Governor Bill Richardson, a respected former member of President Clinton's cabinet, a 'Judas' for endorsing Senator Obama, we can all imagine how they will treat somebody like me."
Geee, somehow he managed to survive and somehow the current Secretary of State must have an amazing amount of equanimity and grace not to have choked on this administration nomination.
Greg Farmer is expected to head the D.C. office of Qualcomm, according to a K Street sources.
Farmer currently works in government affairs with Nortel Networks. Earlier in his career, Farmer was chief of staff to then-Rep. Buddy MacKay, D-Fla.
Farmer also worked as an undersecretary of Commerce in the Clinton Administration, and he was also secretary of Commerce for the state of Florida, according to the Center for Responsive Politics.
Qualcomm is a wireless technology company based in San Diego, Calif. According to CRP, Qualcomm ranks fourth in political donations for the 2010 election cycle among all telecom service and equipment companies. During the 2008 election cycle, Qualcomm gave 76 percent of its money to Democrats. In the 2010 cycle so far, the company has contributed 87 percent of its donations to Democrats, and 13 percent of donations to Republicans.
From TechDailyDose:
Think tankers at the Progress and Freedom Foundation will play musical chairs on Friday as the group's president, Ken Ferree, steps down to become a senior fellow and longtime senior fellow and director of PFF's Center for Digital Media Freedom Adam Thierer assumes the top job. Ferree, a former chief of the FCC Media Burea, became president of PFF in November 2007 after an executive-level exodus. Thierer formally joined PFF in 2005 but has been involved with group since its creation 16 years ago. He is an expert on content regulation and child safety, Internet governance, and intellectual property.
Patton Boggs is bringing on Scott E. Stewart as a partner. He was previously a litigator on the Justice Department's environmental team. At Justice, he spent eight years in the Environment and Natural Resources Division.
At Patton Boggs, Stewart will join the litigation department, focused on environmental issues. He will work to boost the firm's services to the clean technology sector.
Stewart earned his bachelor's degree from Stanford University in 1990 and his law degree from American University in 1995.
Matthew Chiller has been brought in to work in the Washington office of CH2M Hill, an engineering, construction, and procurement firm headquartered in Colorado.
Chiller, who will serve as senior director of federal affairs, has most recently been deputy chief of staff and legislative director to Rep. Laura Richardson, D-Calif. Chiller has also been a legislative director to two other California Democrats, Rep. Jane Harman, D-Calif. and the late Juanita Millender-McDonald, D-Calif., and he served in the same role with former Rep. Peter Deutsch, D-Fla. He also served on the recount committee of the contested 2000 presidential election for former vice president Al Gore and his running made Sen. Joe Lieberman, I-Conn.
Chiller has worked on transportation and infrastructure issues relevant to CH2M Hill.
Dow has tapped Kevin Kolevar, the former managing director at ClearView Energy Partners, to lead its public policy and issues management efforts. He will work with the government affairs team to help the company leverage business opportunities that arise from public policy developments. He will not register to lobby.
Kolevar was previously Assistant Secretary of Energy for Electricity Delivery and Energy Reliability, working on Department of Energy electric grid efforts. Before that, he served as chief of staff to Deputy Secretary of Energy. He has also served as a staffer to former Sens. Connie Mack, R-Fla., and Spencer Abraham, R-Mich.
For his new post, he will leave Washington D.C. for Midland, Michigan.
Cross posted from TechDailyDose:
Google's Washington office is growing (again).
Frannie Wellings, (at right) a top aide to Sen. Byron Dorgan, D-N.D., has announced she will join the Internet giant in three to six weeks as a federal policy outreach manager. It's a new role for Google that will utilize Wellings's background in consumer protection and technology issues. She will lead the company's work with trade groups, think tanks, and advocacy groups, serving as a liaison to the community and soliciting input and advice on Google's public policy positions.
Before joining Dorgan's office in 2007, Wellings was associate policy director for media watchdog Free Press. She has a master's degree in communications from the University of Pennsylvania and a bachelor's degree in psychology from Arizona State University.
Google also welcomed Mistique Cano as manager of global communications and public affairs. Cano previously served as vice president of communications for the Leadership Conference on Civil Rights and Pennsylvania press secretary for the presidential campaign of Sen. John Kerry, D-Mass. She has a degree from the George Washington University.
The Center for Reproductive Rights has announced that Laura MacCleery will be opening up its Washington office and working as director of government relations and communications.
MacCleery, who is moving from New York for the job, grew up in Alexandria, Va. "My father was a Reagan-era political appointee, so I've been talking about public policy over the dinner table since I was 7 years old," MacCleery said.
Her father, Douglas MacCleery, was a deputy assistant secretary in the Agriculture Department. Laura MacCleery spent eight years with the watchdog group Public Citizen, and she finished up as director of the group's Congress Watch. In New York, she was deputy director of the democracy program at the Brennan Center for Justice at New York University Law School. MacCleery went to the University of Virginia and to law school at Stanford University.
"I've always cared about women's issues," she said. "This is an issue that we've lost a lot of ground on. I think we need a new movement to make a full range of reproductive health choices available."
(Photo provided by MacCleery)
Scott Corley, the director of government affairs at Microsoft, is leaving to join Monument Policy Group where he will be senior vice president of government affairs.
At Microsoft, Corley was charged with lobbying Senate Republicans. He worked with Compete America, an immigration coalition, in favor of immigration reform. Republicans will remain his focus, he said, with his issues including immigration and technology. Corley's own Hill experience includes tenures on the staffs of former Sen. George Allen, R-Va., and former Rep. Jim Rogan, R-Calif.
Before joining Microsoft, he was director of government relations for the Information Technology Industry Council. He hails from Fort Worth, Tex.
Brett Kappel, a specialist in campaign finance and ethics regulations, has left Vorys, Sater, Seymour and Pease and joined Arent Fox's government relations practice, where he will be of counsel.
On Vorys' website, Kappel's bio says he "has been representing clients in Federal Election Commission enforcement proceedings for nearly 20 years, during which he obtained the dismissal of charges against his clients without the payment of any fine in all but a handful of cases."
Kappel received his JD from the University of Virginia School of Law, where he was a Dillard Fellow and the Notes Editor for the Journal of Law & Politics. He received his BA summa cum laude from the State University of New York at Albany.
Kevin Martin, former Federal Communications Commission chairman, has joined Patton Boggs where he will work at the law and lobbying firm's telecommunications and technology practice.
Martin starts at the firm early next month and will oversee the practice with Jennifer Richter. Richter is also slated to become co-chair Patton Boggs' public policy practice.
Martin was named to the FCC as a commissioner in 2001 and was elevated to chairman in 2005. He resigned from the agency in January of this year and joined the non-profit Aspen Institute. Prior to the FCC, Martin was special assistant to former President Bush for economic policy and served on the White House's National Economic Council.
Whether he'll become a lobbyist isn't certain. Martin will register to lobby only if the work requires him to do so, a Patton Boggs spokeswoman said.
(Photo: Creative Commons)
The Raben Group, a Democratic-leaning lobbying and public affairs shop, has brought in two new hires as principals at the firm: Jackie Payne, former director of government relations for Planned Parenthood Federation of America, and Joel Packer, former director of educational policy and practice for the National Education Association.
In addition to her work for Planned Parenthood, Payne was a policy lawyer with the National Organization for Women's Legal Defense and Education Fund. She also chaired the National Coalition to End Domestic and Sexual Violence. Packer spent some 25 years with NEA, a powerful teacher's union, and he also served as deputy assistant secretary for Congressional and Intergovernmental Affairs in the Labor Department in 1993.
The Raben Group is headed by Robert Raben, a former aide to Rep. Barney Frank, D-Mass.
After ten years at Microsoft, Ginny Terzano is leaving to join Dewey Square Group, where she will be principle and head up communications for the public affairs firm. She replaces Kiki McLean, who left in June to take a job at Porter Novelli.
Terzano joined Microsoft's D.C. office in 1999, where she was senior director of public relations and corporate communications after many years in Democratic politics. Prior to Microsoft, Terzano was spokeswoman for Housing and Urban Development Secretary Andrew Cuomo, former vice president Al Gore and she was a former aide to Ronald Brown at the Democratic National Committee.
Dewey Square also announced the Maria Cardona will lead the firm's new public affairs practice, which will combine coaltion building, communications, constituent outreach, government relations and public policy. Cardona has been a principle at Dewey Square since 2005 and ran its Latinovations practice. Prior to Dewey Square, Cardona was senior vice president at the New Democrat Network and was communications director at the Democratic National Committee between 1998 and 2001.
She also worked at the Justice deparment's immigration and naturalization service, and the Commerce department.
(Photo of Cardona courtesy of Dewey Square)
DLA Piper has snagged former Sen. Mel Martinez, R-Fla. as a partner in its government affairs practice.
Martinez was elected to the Senate in 2004 and recently shook up Florida politics by resigning before completing his first term. A native of Cuba, Martinez also served as secretary of Housing and Urban Development in President George W. Bush's administration. He is also a former general chairman of the Republican National Committee. Earlier in his career, Martinez was mayor of Orange County, Florida and he spent some 25 years as a lawyer in private practice.
DLA Piper's government affairs group is co-chaired by former Michigan Gov. and Democratic representative James Blanchard. A 2005 study by Public Citizen found that of all eligible former members of Congress who had left office since 1998, 43 percent registered to lobby. The report also said that 50 percent of departing Senators became lobbyists.
(Photo of Martinez by Rick Bloom)
Gabe Horwitz, former legislative director for Rep. Doris Matsui, D-Calif., and Shannon O'Keefe, former deputy associate director for legislative affairs at the Office of Management and Budget, have joined McBee Strategic Consulting.
As an aide to Matsui, Horwitz crafted the lawmaker's policy agenda and managed her House Energy and Commerce Comittee and Rules Committee work. He was also Matsui's liaison to the Democrats' California delegation. Before Matsui, Horwitz was senior policy advisor to Rep. Marion Berry, D-Ark. and before that, worked for Rep. Mike McIntyre, D-N.C. He also worked at Dewey Square Group.
O'Keefe was most recently senior executive at ITT's Washington corporate office and before that worked for OMB where she handled commerce, defense, energy, environment, homeland security, international affairs and transportation issues. Before that she was a professional staff member on the Senate Appropriations Committee, working with Sen. Judd Gregg, R-N.H.
With these hires, McBee's staff grows to 41.
(Photos of Horwitz and O'Keefe courtesy of McBee)
(Updated at 1:38 pm to show correct number of McBee staff)
Law and lobbying firm Cozen O'Connor announced today that it formed a subsidiary to expand its lobbying practices at the federal, state and local levels, especially in Pennsylvania, New York, New Jersey and Delaware.
Federal efforts for the subsidiary, Cozen O'Connor Public Strategies, will be led by Mark L. Alderman, who joined Cozen O'Connor in April. He is a former chairman at the dissolved firm WolfBlock. He was a member of the Obama for America National Finance Committee.
According to a release put out today, David F. Girard-diCarlo will also "play a leadership role in overseeing the growth" at the subsidiary. He was an ambassador to Austria under former President George W. Bush. Girard-diCarlo is also former chairman of the law and lobbying firm Blank Rome and was co-chair of the 2000 Republican National Convention in Philadelphia.
Former Sen. Gordon Smith, R-Ore., has been tapped to head the National Association of Broadcasters, the trade group announced Friday morning.
Smith, who was defeated by Democrat Jeff Merkley in 2008 after two terms in office, starts Nov. 1. Among Smith's top priorities will be leading broadcasters' effort to stave off legislation that would force AM and FM radio to pay fees to performers whose songs they air.
NAB's former president, David Rehr, stepped down in May after four years on the job.
Smith, who served on the Senate Commerce, Finance, and Foreign Relations Committees, will be introduced to NAB members and make brief remarks at the group's annual Radio Show in Philadelphia next week and will meet the entire NAB board in mid-October.
While on Capitol Hill, Smith also chaired the Senate Republican High Tech Task Force -- a role that helped foster his interest in new media and technology issues.
His appointment comes on the heels of a string of recent defeats for the NAB, including its failure to block the XM-Sirius satellite radio merger. The association was also a key player in the nation's switchover to digital television signals.
From our energy and environment blog:
Friends of the Earth this morning announced Erich Pica as its new president. Pica, 34, has coordinated the group's campaigns against nuclear, oil, gas, biofuel and coal subsidies and its efforts to regulate emerging technologies for nearly a decade. Pica replaces retiring President Brent Blackwelder, who has led the group since 1994.
"We're going to redouble our efforts and change the political climate both in Congress as well as in the grassroots," Pica told NationalJournal.com this morning. He criticized the energy bill the House passed in June as "severely compromised" and said his group will continue opposing a cap-and-trade system that could give Wall Street too much power and opportunity for more "financial mischief."
In other news of energy and environment people moves:
The American Wind Energy Association rolled outs its new federal legislative affairs team earlier this week. Chris Chwastyk is the group's new vice president of federal legislative affairs. Chwastyk was chief of staff to Rep. Chet Edwards, D-Texas, who opposed the House energy bill. Jim Martin, a longtime Republican strategist who worked on Arizona Sen.John McCain's presidential campaign last year, was hired as AWEA's director of strategic policy initiatives. Rob Gramlich, formerly AWEA's policy director, has been promoted to senior vice president for public policy, where he will take on a larger role in representing the organization to the media and energy industry.
Blug Dogs, the 52-member group of fiscally conservative, pro-business Democrats, have been excercising their power as a voting bloc this year on major legislation, making aides to those members in hot demand on K Street, Roll Call (subscription) reports. Stacey Alexander , former chief of staff to Rep. Jim Matheson, D-Utah, and Drew Goesl, former chief of staff to Rep. Mike Ross, D-Ark., are the most recent senior Blue Dog staffers to head to K Street, the paper said.
Francine Friedman, currently counsel at Hunton & Williams, is joining the lobbying firm Parven Pomper Strategies as senior vice president.
Prior to Hunton & Williams, Friedman's bio says she "played a key role in the opening of [Democratic] Senator Dianne Feinstein's national fund raising office in 1992" and was an executive assistant at the National Association of Medical Equipment Suppliers. She also interned at the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee in 1989 and 1990. Friedman attended Georgetown University and William & Mary School of Law.
At Hunton & Williams, Friedman focused on tax, energy, housing, health care, privacy and trade issues. She also worked on civil litigation, with an emphasis on consumer law, contract disputes and class actions.
Friedman's hire brings Parven Pomper staff to six.
(Photo from Hunton & Williams)
Robert Hoffman, vice president for government affairs and public policy for Oracle, is leaving to open a D.C. office for New Jersey-based Cognizant Technology Solutions where he will steer global public policy.
Hoffman joined Oracle in 2001 after working on Capitol Hill for former Senators Mike DeWine, R-Ohio and Larry Pressler, R-S.D. and for former Republican California Governor Pete Wilson.
Oracle spent $4.99 million on lobbying in 2008, according to the Center for Responsive Politics. In the 2008 election cycle, Hoffman gave $4,000 in campaign donations to Republican Senate candidates and party committees.
(Photo of Hoffman courtesy of the Ashcroft Group)
Robert Weissman has been named the new president of the consumer advocacy group Public Citizen, stepping into the shoes that were long worn by Joan Claybrook, who announced her departure in December 2008.
Weissman, 43, has been the long-time director of corporate accountability for the citizens' action group Essential Action, editor of Multinational Monitor, a magazine the covers corporate actors worldwide, and an attorney for the Center for Study of Responsive Law.
Weissman's top priorities are climate change, health care reform, financial regulation and campaign finance reform.
"Public Citizen will do everything it has done so well for nearly 40 years - and more," Weissman said in a statement. "We will invest more in organizing people, both virtually and through traditional, on-the-ground means. I am proud to follow in the footsteps of Public Citizen's first president and founder Ralph Nader and Joan Claybrook."
(Photo of Weissman provided by Public Citizen)
John Runyan, who led International Paper's federal affairs team for 12 years, has left to launch his own lobbying firm, Runyan Public Affairs.
Runyan's first clients include International Paper, R.R. Donnelley & Sons Co. and the Coalition for Transportation Productivity. Runyan will also be a strategic affiliate of the Business and Industry Political Action Committee (BIPAC), where he will help the organization with business development. Runyan previously chaired BIPAC's grassroots and voter education program aimed at businesses called the "Prosperity Project."
Prior to International Paper, Runyan was senior government relations adviser to McGuiness & Williams, and worked on government relations at Printing Industries of America. He also worked for former Sen. Donald Stewart, D-Ala.
In 2008, International Paper spent $2.88 million on lobbying, according to the Center for Responsive Politics. In the 2008 election cycle, Runyan gave campaign donations of $2,000 to former New York mayor Rudolph Giuliani and $1,000 to Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz.
(Photo of Runyan courtesy of Rational 360)
Former House Majority Leader Richard Armey, R-Texas, resigned from his post at the law and lobbying firm DLA Piper amid turmoil caused by his leadership of Freedom Works, a grassroots group that has been opposing health care reform, Politico reported.
Armey told Politico that he was concerned about the media scrutiny he and his group were receiving and its impact on DLA Piper. Click here to read the full story.
Claire Buchan, chief of staff at the Commerce Department under former President George W. Bush, has joined Constellation Energy in the newly created position of vice president for public strategy.
She will report to James Connaughton, who was the former chairman of the White House Council on Environmental Quality for Bush. Connaughton is Constellation's executive vice president of corporate affairs, public and environmental policy.
Before the Commerce department, Buchan was White House deputy press secretary and she served as deputy assistant secretary at the Treasury department under former President George H.W. Bush.
Constellation Energy spent $1.37 million on lobbying for the first half of 2009 and $2.96 million for all of 2008, according to the Center for Responsive Politics.
(Photo courtesy of Commerce department)
Neil MacBride, who has been an associate deputy attorney general at Justice since January, is the leading candidate for U.S. attorney in Alexandria, one of the nation's most prominent law enforcement posts, the Washington Post reported this afternoon.
MacBride was vice president for anti-piracy policy, general counsel and a registered lobbyist in 2007 for the Business Software Alliance, which represents some of the country's largest software and information technology companies. MacBride also worked for Vice President Joe Biden, when Biden was a Democratic senator from Delaware.
MacBride's lobbying background prompted the Post to report that:
"It would be unusual for a recent corporate lobbyist to be a U.S. attorney, and some prosecutors and governmental watchdogs have questioned whether appointing MacBride would run counter to the spirit of the Obama administration's efforts to change the lobbying culture of Washington."
Robin Raphel, a former U.S. ambassador to Tunisia, is returning to the State department where she will be coordinator of all U.S. non-military assistance to Pakistan.
Raphel has been working at lobbying and consulting shop Cassidy & Associates since 2007. She serves as a senior vice president and practice leader for Cassidy's global affairs and trade consultancy group.
Raphel was assistant secretary of State for South Asian affairs in the Clinton Administration. More recently, she was deputy inspector general for Iraq Reconstruction, an independent body established by Congress to oversee aid sent to Iraq. Early in her career, she was detailed to Pakistan by the U.S. Agency for International Development as an economic/financial analyst.
According to the Center for Responsive Politics, Raphel has represented Anwar Hossain Manju, a former cabinet minister in Bangladesh and an owner of a newspaper chain. She's also represented the Iraqi Red Crescent Society
Long-time Washingtonian David Bass announced the launch of his new public relations and public affairs firm, Raptor Strategies. Raptor's clients include energy, media, insurance and international groups.
Out of the gates with an attitude, the firm's motto is "New Times Demand New Strategies." Specifically, it's about precision in message delivery. Bass told National Journal that he will operate from a deep and abiding respect for traditional journalism with a keen awareness of the utility of 'new' media.
Bass got his start in Washington as a legislative intern in the Senate before moving on to the media world, where he worked at National Journal, The Weekly Standard, Campaigns & Elections, The Hill and The Washington Times.
Before launching his own firm, Bass held top positions at Luntz Maslansky Strategic Research and Qorvis Communications.
"What once took decades [in Washington], can now be solved with a patio table and a few properly chilled beers," jested Bass. Jokes aside, the communications veteran characterized today's policy-based Washington as being in a state of flux with, "every industry scrambling to understand and react."
Expect the announcement of a senior executive at Raptor in the coming weeks, he said.
(Photo courtesy of David Bass)
Before signing on to lead the health and tax practice at Dow Lohnes Government Strategies in late July, Ken Bowler's Washington career took a slightly unconventional turn. Since mid-2005, Bowler, a former staff director of the House Ways and Means Committee who spent 16 years running Pfizer's Washington office, has been the vice president for international and governmental relations with the Church of the Latter Day Saints.
Bowler, a fourth generation member of the church, said the job involved more work with foreign ambassadors and less lobbying on Capitol Hill. But in the end, he says, the lure of the health care issues he followed since the mid-1970s was overpowering. "I discovered that I missed being involved," he says, and "felt left out of this big important debate going on right now."
So when Bowler was approached by Dow Lohnes Vice President Mike Scrivner -- an old friend and colleague from Capitol Hill, where Scrivner was a top aide to then-Rep. Norm Lent, R-NY -- about helping build the firm's health care practice, Bowler says, he readily agreed. See Dow Lohnes press release here: http://www.dowlohnes.com/files/upload/Bowler.pdf
-- Julie Kosterlitz
Verizon has snagged a staffer from Massachusetts Democrat Sen. John Kerry's office to work as part of its federal regulatory team.
Brian Rice, who holds the title of communications policy advisor for Kerry, will serve as a director of federal regulatory affairs for Verizon, but he won't be lobbying. He's expected to work under Kathleen Grillo, who was recently promoted to become senior vice president of federal regulatory affairs.
Rice will represent Verizon on issues before the Federal Communications Commission and deal with other technology policy matters. Rice has also served as a professional staff member at the Senate Small Business and Entrepreneurship Committee under then-chairman Kerry. In addition, Rice has worked as a budget analyst in the Massachusetts State Senate.
According to Center for Responsive Politics, Verizon consistently gave more money to Republicans from 2000-2006. The gap closed in 2008, with 50 percent of Verizon's donations going to Republicans and 49 percent going to Democrats. For the 2010 election cycle, the broadband and wireless communications company has almost exclusively contributed to Democrats: $32, 266, or 95 percent, to Dems; and $909, or just 3 percent, to Republicans.
The US Chamber of Commerce is moving ahead with its plans to launch its Free Enterprise public relations offensive this fall.
The effort has a new field marshall: Brian Gunderson, a former chief of staff to then-Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, and before that, to then-U.S. Trade Representative Robert Zoellick. He also worked for House Majority Leader Dick Armey, R-Texas.
The campaign is in the process of talking to various PR firms and pollsters, says Chamber Senior Vice President for Communications and Strategy, Tom Collamore. It has held focus groups and plans "listening sessions" with small businesses. The current plan is to promote the campaign with some high profile speeches in September, and have a splashy launch in October.
Comcast is bringing on two new D.C. hires already familiar with the Capitol, the Philadelphia-based cable company announced Monday.
One is Joe Trahern, a former lobbyist for General Motors, who will be Comcast's senior director of federal government affairs. Before GM, Trahern served as chief of staff to Rep. Doris Matsui, D-Calif., as a staffer for Sen. Richard Durbin, D-Ill., and Sen. Byron Dorgan, D-N.D., and in political affairs at the White House under President Bill Clinton.
Rudy Brioché, the other new hire, joins as senior director of external affairs and public policy counsel. In that role, he will help define the company's public policy interests, which revolve around telecommunications law. He has served as a legal adviser at the Federal Communications Commission and before that worked for Sen. Frank Lautenberg, D-N.J.
Comcast spent $2.8 million on lobbying during the first half of this year, according to the Center for Responsive Politics. In 2008, the company spent a total of $12.5 million, placing it among the top spenders in the television, movies, and music industries, the Center said. Topping Comcast's 2008 lobbying agenda were tax, broadcasting, and intellectual property issues.
The American Civil Liberties Union has tapped Michael Macleod-Ball as acting director of its Washington office, which has been on the front lines of the battle against government warrantless wiretapping, Internet free speech fights and a range of other issues.
Read more in TechDailyDose.
Daniel Caprio has joined law and lobbying firm McKenna Long & Aldridge as managing director of government affairs.
From 2004-2006, Caprio was chief privacy office at the Department of Commerce and Deputy Assistant Secretary for Technology Policy, where he advised the department and the White House on technology policy and privacy issues.
In 2007, he served on the Department of Homeland Security Data Privacy and Integrity Advisory Committee and in 2009 was named by the European Commission to represent the technology industry on the implementation of the European Commission's radio frequency identification recommendations.
Prior to the Commerce department, Caprio was chief of staff to a commissioner at the Federal Trade Commission.
(Photo courtesy of McKenna Long & Aldridge)
Mark Lindsay, a former White House advisor to President Clinton and a member of President Obama's administration transition team, is joining the Livingston Group as a director of the the firm's health and pharmaceutical practice area.
Previously, Lindsay held a number of positions with UnitedHealth Group, including president of the AARP pharmacy services division and vice president of public communications and strategy. When Clinton was president, Lindsay held a variety of positions including assistant to the president for the Office of Management and Administration. Before that, he worked for Rep. Louis Stokes, D-Ohio.
For more click here for the press release.
Mark R. Dybul, the global AIDS coordinator under former President George W. Bush, will joined APCO Worldwide's international advisory council, the firm announced Tuesday.
Dybul was a Bush appointee who helped build the President's Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief, (PEPFAR), which distributed AIDS drugs to 2 million AIDS patients in Africa. Dybul's abrupt resignation in the first weeks of Obama's administration resulted in criticism that an effective official had been shepherded out the door. The State Department countered that he was treated no differently than other political appointees.
Dybul, a doctor who has cared for AIDS patients, has been celebrated for the scope and successes of PEPFAR, and to a lesser extent associated with criticisms of abstinence-only policies. Dybul's backers denied he supported abstinence-only programs.
Dybul will help APCO's clients "raise awareness, build advocacy and maximize the reach and impact of their global health efforts," he said in the APCO statement.
Dybul will join over 50 other on the council which include former elected officials, business leaders, and other influentials, some of whom are registered as lobbyists.
Dybul has also served at U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, the National Institutes of Health, and the World Health Organization, according to the release.
The National Republican Congressional Committee on Tuesday criticized House Speaker Nancy Pelosi for hiring a new aide with K Street connections.
Pelosi announced Monday that her policy director, Amy Rosenbaum, would be stepping down, CongressDailyAM reported(subscription). She is expected to hold a temporary position for Pelosi as an adviser on healthcare reform legislation.
Taking over for Rosenbaum is Richard Meltzer, who was Pelosi's transition coordinator after Democrats won control of the House in the 2006 elections. In a release, Pelosi said Meltzer "recently left" Washington Counsel Ernst & Young, where he had been a registered lobbyist, as of the second quarter of 2009, according to Senate Office of Public Records documents.
Meltzer has worked on the Hill in the past. In the 1990s, he served as counsel to the House Select Committee on U.S. National Security and Military/Commercial Concerns with the People's Republic of China, chief counsel of the House International Affairs Select Committee on the U.S. Role in Iranian Arms Transfers to Bosnia and chief counsel to the House Committee on Natural Resources.
The NRCC put out an e-mail saying that Pelosi had promised to "close the revolving door" between government officials and lobbyists, and yet hired a lobbyist.
"The revolving door is wide open in House Speaker Nancy Pelosi's office just two years after she promised to crack down on the practice of congressional aides moving into lobbying shops and then back into government," the NRCC said.
A Pelosi spokesman said that Meltzer is knowledgeable and she "trusts him" on policy issues. He also said that Pelosi's concern about closing the revolving door is about discouraging the practice of staff leaving Capitol Hill and becoming lobbyists rather than discouraging lobbyists from returning to Capitol Hill to work as staff.
The Retail Industry Leaders Association hired Mark Warren as vice president for tax policy, where he will drive the group's tax agenda.
Warren was deputy assistant secretary at the Treasury department where he worked in the office of legislative affairs. He joined the department in June 2006 and advised the Treasury Secretary on legislative matters including tax, pension, Social Security, the budget and economic policy.
Prior to Treasury, Warren spent ten years on Capitol Hill, where he served as special counsel to Sen. Kit Bond, R-Mo., chief counsel to the U.S. Senate Republican Policy Committee, and staff director and chief counsel at the Senate Committee on Small Business.
Warren holds an undergraduate degree in finance and a law degree from Georgetown University, and a masters in tax law from New York University. Warren has also spent time in private practice working in New York and Washington.
From our colleagues at TechDailyDose:
After leaving Microsoft in December, Jack Krumholtz is joining the Glover Park Group as a managing director of its government relations practice. Krumholtz opened the Microsoft federal government affairs office in Washington, D.C., in 1995 and acted as a one-man shop for a year working out of the company's Chevy Chase sales office. Given the distance from Capitol Hill, Krumholtz spent most of his time in his Jeep on conference calls and writing and checking emails on the side of the road, said the company at the time. See Tech Daily Dose entries here for more on Krumholtz and here for details on his replacement at Microsoft, Fred Humphries.
Elsewhere in the tech policy world, David Washington, who has been serving as the associate director of the White House Office of Public Engagement, has joined the Information Technology and Innovation Foundation as a senior fellow. At ITIF, Washington will work on building private and public partnerships. Washington has a PhD in forensic clinical psychology from the University of Nebraska-Lincoln and a master's degree in legal studies from the University of Nebraska-Lincoln Law School.
The American Chemistry Council hired Don Thoren as managing director of the chemical industry lobbying group's newly created political mobilization department.
Thoren is to build the new field-oriented, campaign style department which aims to bolster the American Chemistry Council's relationships with lawmakers in their home states and districts.
For the past eight years, Thoren has been the district director of state and government affairs and the director of political outreach and communications for Altria Client Services. Prior to that, he worked at SWR Worldwide and the National Restaurant Association.
ACC also hired Tre' Riddle as director of federal affairs. Riddle most recently was the legislative director for Rep. Gregory Meeks, D-N.Y. and before that worked for Democratic Representatives Emanuel Cleaver, D-Mo., Juanita Millender-McDonald, D-Calif., Robert Andrews, D-N.J. and Robert Scott, D-Va.
After searching for more than five months for the right person, Hewlett-Packard has settled on Larry Irving to serve as vice president of global government affairs and effectively act as the new leader of the company's public policy efforts around the world. Irving will report to Michael Holston, HP executive vice president and general counsel.
Irving has been the president and CEO of the Irving Information Group, a consulting firm focused on international telecommunications and technology companies. He served for almost seven years as assistant secretary of Commerce for communications and information and administrator of the National Telecommunications and Information Administration under former President Bill Clinton. Irving was part of the U.S. team that negotiated the World Trade Organization agreement on basic telecommunication services.
When asked if he will be registering as a lobbyist, Irving said: "I will comply with the law."
(Photo courtesy of Creative Commons)
David Goldston, former chief of staff at the House Science and Technology Committee, joined the environmental group Natural Resources Defense Council this week, where he will supervise strategies for working with the White House and Congress as director of government affairs.
The NRDC has been noted for having several of its alumni - members of the "NRDC mafia" as a New York Times source put it in March - move into government jobs this year. But in Goldston's case, it's the other way around: before his six years serving as committee chief of staff under former Chairman Sherwood Boehlert, R-NY, he served as Boehlert's legislative director.
Goldston has also taught at Princeton and Harvard and written monthly columns for the science journal Nature about the intersection of science and politics.
A former Democratic National Committee political director is headed to K Street: Donald R. Sweitzer, who held the DNC position during the Clinton years. He will be a senior strategic advisor and independent consultant for McKenna Long & Aldridge, the firm announced Tuesday.
Sweitzer follows fellow DNC alum and former Vermont Governor Howard Dean to the law firm that touts its large government contracts practice and a roster of Washington insiders, including former Sen. Zell Miller, D-Ga. and a handful of others. The firm has 22 registered lobbyists.
At this point, Sweitzer will be consulting in the politics and technology sectors, and not working as registered lobbyist. He has been active in Democrat campaigns and fundraising efforts since his time at the DNC. In the 2008 election cycle, he donated $23,900 to Democratic candidates and parties, according to the Center for Responsive Politics.
Sweitzer's move comes after he headed business development and public affairs at the gaming technology and services company, GTECH Corporation, where he remains chairman. GTECH is a McKenna Long & Aldridge client.
Gary Fazzino, the long time chief of public policy for Hewlett-Packard, is leaving to join electronics firm Applied Materials as worldwide vice president of government affairs. He starts at the end of July.
"Energy and the environment are top policy priorities for governments around the world, and Applied Materials' technology - from semiconductors to displays to solar - will be an important part of the solution, Mike Splinter, chairman and CEO of Applied Materials, said in a statement. "Expanding relationships and engaging in dialogue with government are important for the long-term success of Applied Materials and Gary's proven ability to help shape public policy will be invaluable as we explore new markets and new lines of business."
Fazzino was named Hewlett-Packard's vice president of government and public affairs in 2000 after service in various roles at the computer company, including Northwest public affairs manager, state government affairs manager, and director of public policy in Washington. He also served as mayor of Palo Alto, Calif. from 1992 to 1993 and again from 1999 to 2000. He also was the first president of tech lobbying group, TechNet.
Fazzino will be based in Applied Material's headquarters in Santa Clara, Calif., but will work closely with Bill Morin, who heads up the company's Washington D.C. lobbying efforts.
Lobbying firm Monument Policy Group hired Jane Alonso, former legislative director to Sen. Susan Collins, R-Maine., as vice president of government relations.
Alonso worked for Collins for seven years, where she handled a range of issues including, health care, energy, defense, foreign policy, trade, and taxes. She also served as a professional staff member for two committees, Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs.
Prior to Collins, Alonso, who is a native of Miami, Fla., worked for Sen. Bob Graham, D-Fla., and Rep. Ileana Ros-Lehtinen, R-Fla. and Rep. John Mica, R-Fla. She also twice served as an Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe election supervisor in Bosnia.
Monument Policy Group stressed Alonso's bipartisan ties, noting that she was co-founder of the Senate Bipartisan Legislative Directors Group, a program that brings together senior Hill aides to foster bipartisanship.
An all Democratic boutique lobby shop, Parven Pomper Strategies, has just announced a couple new hires.
Roger Murry, who will serve as a managing director, is a former aide on health care and trade issues to then-Rep. Ellen Tauscher, D-Calif., who is now undersecretary for arms control and international security at the State Department. He's also a former aide to another California Democrat, Rep. Grace Napolitano.
Parven Pomper has also brought in Sarah Crnkovich, a former intern with the firm who recently graduated from Dartmouth College. The firm was founded by Scott Parven and Brian Pomper, who was chief international trade counsel for Senate Finance Committee Chairman Max Baucus, D-Mont.; the firm's senior vice president, Alixandria Lapp, was campaign director under then-Rep. Rahm Emanuel, D-Ill. at the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee during the 2006 Democratic takeover of the House.
(Photo of Scott Parven taken by Liz Lynch)
Lobbying stories in this week's National Journal: (subscription)
Two senior foreign policy hands from the Clinton Administration are joining forces.
Former Secretary of State Madeleine Albright and former National Security Advisor Sandy Berger to former President Clinton are merging their two consulting firms-Stonebridge International and the Albright Group-into one firm called Albright Stonebridge Group. Berger has had some other big names working with him at Stonebridge, such as former Sen. Warren Rudman, R-N.H. and former Citigroup CEO Charles Prince.
Stonebridge, which has also had a strategic partnership with Hogan & Hartson, is not a traditional lobbying firm. Instead, it provides consulting for companies looking to do businesses in China, Brazil, and other countries. The Albright Group has also employed Wendy Sherman, now listed as a vice chair at the newly merged firm. She's a former top State Department official under Albright and an ex-CEO of Fannie Mae Foundation. (For full disclosure, Sherman is also married to a National Journal employee)
(Photos courtesy of the U.S. government)
Just in time for the fight over financial regulatory reform, including a proposed expansion of the Federal Reserve's powers, Deloitte & Touche has hired another former top banking regulator from the Federal Reserve.
Deborah Bailey, the Fed's Deputy Director of Banking Supervision and regulation division , who also did a stint at the Treasury's Office of the Comptroller of the Currency, is joining Deloitte and Touche's Governance, Regulatory and Risk practice. Bailey, who helped shape the Fed's response to the financial crisis, will now help private sector clients on, among other things, "tackling the regulatory reform plan announced last week," said the company's press release.
In 2007, Deloitte hired the Fed's longtime Banking Supervision and Regulation Director, Rich Spillenkothen.
Just who has left the office of Senate Finance Committee chairman Max Baucus, D-Mont. to lobby on health care issues? The question is important as he is playing a leading role in shaping health care reform legislation.
To answer that, the Sunlight Foundation has come up with an interesting way to visualize the revolving door and lobbyists' connections to Baucus. Five former staffers currently work for a total of twenty-seven different organizations that are either in the health care or insurance industry, according to first quarter 2009 lobbying disclosure forms analyzed by the Foundation. The organizations represented include some of the top lobbying organizations in the health sector: Pharmaceutical Manufacturers and Researchers of America (PhRMA), America's Health Insurance Plans (AHIP), Amgen, and GE Health Care.
Click here to see the graphic.
(Photo of Baucus courtesy of Creative Commons)
Corbin Casteel, campaign manager of the Michael Williams campaign for U.S. Senate Committee, told National Journal that "Matt does not have any affiliation with our campaign, nor will he."
Matt Mackowiak responded that "I am proud to be supporting Michael Williams campaign and I hosted a young professionals event for him in Austin in May. I am willing to help in any way that I can." Mackowiak declined to directly address for the record the campaign's statment about him.
Earlier in the week
Matt Mackowiak has launched Potomac Strategy Group, a Republican political consulting and public affairs firm based in Washington, D.C., and Austin, Texas. The firm will provide political consulting to congressional campaigns and communications services to corporations, trade associations, business coalitions and nonprofits. Mackowiak is currently advising the campaigns of Greg Ball of New York for Congress and Michael Williams of Texas for Senate.
Mackowiak recently served as press secretary to Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison, R-Texas. He has been the press secretary for former Sen. Conrad Burns, R-Mont., and worked on the Bush-Cheney 2004 reelection campaign in Iowa. Mackowiak, who hails from Austin, Texas, manages the site http://www.potomacflacks.com.
Boyden Global Executive Search has hired Lonnie Taylor as managing director in its Washington, D.C., and Baltimore offices, where he will help clients to recruit government affairs, non-profit and public-affairs staff.
Prior to joining Boyden, Taylor worked for the executive search firm Heidrick & Struggles, which was forced to cut staff earlier this year because of the slumping economy. Before that, he worked at Sprint Nextel Corporation and the Atlanta-based law firm of Powell, Goldstein, Frazer and Murphy.
Taylor also worked at the U.S. Chamber of Commerce were he was senior vice president for congressional and public affairs.
Yahoo! Inc. has just announced officially that it will bring in Margaret Stewart, a former assistant to Vice President Dick Cheney for legislative affairs.
Stewart, who starts on June 15, will serve as director of federal public policy in the Washington office and work under David Hantman. Stewart has also worked as director of legislative affairs at the Office of Management and Budget and she spent six years at the Senate Budget Committee. Stewart grew up on Capitol Hill and earned her degree from Duke University in 1999.
Matt Mackowiak has launched Potomac Strategy Group, a Republican political consulting and public affairs firm based in Washington, D.C., and Austin, Texas. The firm will provide political consulting to congressional campaigns and communications services to corporations, trade associations, business coalitions and nonprofits. Mackowiak is currently advising the campaigns of Greg Ball of New York for Congress and Michael Williams of Texas for Senate.
Mackowiak recently served as press secretary to Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison, R-Texas. He has been the press secretary for former Sen. Conrad Burns, R-Mont., and worked on the Bush-Cheney 2004 reelection campaign in Iowa. Mackowiak, who hails from Austin, Texas, manages the site http://www.potomacflacks.com.
Elizabeth Frazee and Sharon Ringley, two well-known business and high-tech lobbyists are joining forces and launching a new bipartisan lobbying firm, TwinLogic Strategies.
Previously, Frazee was legislative director and counsel to Rep. Bob Goodlatte, R-Va., director of government relations for the Walt Disney Co. and vice president for America Online and AOL-Time Warner. She has operated her own firm, Frazee Associates since 2003.
Ringley was deputy chief of staff to Rep. Rick Boucher, D-Va., director of federal affairs at Amazon.com, vice president at Bockorny Group and most recently ran her own firm, Ringley Policy Group.
"Elizabeth and I share a similar philosophy and approach to lobbying and client representation and our parallel career tracks make working together a natural fit," said Ringley.
See their press release here.
Here's something of note from earlier in the week since it involves President Obama's ethics rules. TechDailyDose reports:
A pair of watchdogs on Wednesday urged the White House to halt the pending appointment of Google's top global public policy executive, Andrew McLaughlin, to the position of deputy chief technology officer under CTO Aneesh Chopra, saying it would violate the intent of Obama's ethics rules.
My colleague Andrew Noyes had the scoop Thursday evening in TechDailyDose:
"On Friday, the National Association of Broadcasters' president and chief executive officer will say goodbye to the trade group he has led for the past four years and on Monday will report for work at communications firm Crosby-Volmer. David Rehr announced his departure last month and will join the advisory council for the PR shop whose clients include NAB and the National Beer Wholesalers Association, where he was previously CEO.
Porter Novelli hired Catherine "Kiki" McLean as partner, global head of public affairs and managing director of the agency's Washington, D.C. office, the public relations firm announced today. A veteran of DC, McLean is leaving her post at Dewey Square Group where she led the group's communications practice.
"I chose [Porter Novelli] because it's a terrific opportunity to expand my experience by working with a global agency," McLean said.
McLean will work under Julie Winskie, president and chief client officer for Porter Novelli Americas. With two decades of political communication experience, McLean has served as a senior adviser to Secretary of State Hillary Clinton's presidential campaign, on-air surrogate for President Obama's campaign and national press secretary and spokesperson for Vice President Al Gore's presidential campaign.
(Photo: Creative Commons)
Caroline Fredrickson, the director of the American Civil Liberties Union's Washington legislative office, is leaving to become executive director of the American Constitution Society -- a center-left rival of the conservative Federalist Society.
"Caroline will provide us with the vision and energy to deepen ACS's influence on legal and policy issues and to strengthen a diverse and dynamic progressive legal network," Goodwin Liu, chair of the ACS board and associate dean and professor of law at the University of California, Berkeley School of Law, said in a statement.
Frederickson, who has been director of the ACLU's DC leg office since 2005, is replacing Lisa Brown, who joined the Obama administration as White House staff secretary. Before the ACLU, Frederickson was general counsel and legal director of NARAL-Pro Choice America, and prior to that worked for Sen. Maria Cantwell, D-Wash., and former Senate Democratic leader Tom Daschle, D-S.D. She also worked in the Clinton White House as special assistant for legislative affairs.
Christopher Brown recently joined Manatt, Phelps & Phillips as senior counsel in the firm's government and regulatory affairs practice. He most recently was assistant administrator for government and industry affairs at the Federal Aviation Administration, where he worked on a number of legislative issues, including the reauthorization of the FAA and an effort to overhaul the nation's air traffic control system.
Before that, Brown served as counsel to the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee. He was also an associate in the public law and policy section of Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld.
-- Bara Vaida
Democratic Leadership Council Founder and former CEO Al From is joining the lobbying firm Parven Pomper Strategies as a senior adviser.
From will also continue to head up the From Company, a firm he created to provide strategic advice to private clients and non-profits. In addition, From is working on a book about political change, and serves on the boards of the Center for American Politics, the University of Maryland, and the Annapolis Symphony.
Parven Pomper posted $630,000 in lobbying fees in the first quarter of 2009, according to the Center for Responsive Politics.
General Electric has hired Joshua Raymond, chief of staff to Rep. Christopher Murphy, D-Conn., as senior manager of government relations. Raymond will report to Nancy Dorn, head of GE's DC office.
"Josh spent the bulk of his career working on banking and financial services in the Office of Management and Budget, in the Congress and as a lawyer at a leading DC law firm, where he represented major lenders, investment banks and insurance companies," according to an e-mail circulated within GE's office today.
Update @ 3:16 PM. Here is NAB's press release.
David Rehr, president and CEO of the National Association of Broadcasters, is stepping down after three years on the job, a source confirmed. Other news outlets are also reporting on his departure. NAB spokesman Dennis Wharton declined to comment.
Rehr joined the NAB in December 2005 from the National Beer Wholesalers Association, where he had been CEO.
He is departing as the industry faces a number of critical and thorny public policy issues, including the digital television transition and a battle with the music industry over royalty fees.
We'll update this story as we have more information.
(Photo by Liz Lynch)
Richard Hunt has landed on his feet, as the new president of the Consumer Bankers Association.
The one-time aide to former Rep. Jim McCrery, R-La, is filling a vacancy left by the death of Joe Belew in January. Hunt was let go by the Securities Industry and Financial Markets Association late last year, amidst downsizing and some questions about the future for Republicans on K Street.
Hunt arrives as the Association gears up to oppose the Obama Administration's proposal to end private lender's involvement in the federal student loan programs. See the association press release here.
Hunt release.pdf
Law firm Foley Hoag has hired Lindsey Toohey to work in its government strategies group and represent clients in the biotechnology, pharmaceutical, and medical device industries.
Toohey is a former senior health policy adviser to Sen. Kent Conrad, D-N.D. She dealt with Medicare, Medicaid, Food and Drug Administration regulations, and other issues for the Senate Budget Committee chairman.
A Boston, Mass.-based firm, Foley Hoag's Washington office includes Barrett Thornhill, a former aide to Sen. Mike Crapo, R-Idaho and director of federal government relations for the Biotechnology Industry Organization; and Susie Ahn, who also worked in federal government relations for BIO.
According to the Center for Responsive Politics, Foley Hoag has lobbied for BIO and pharmaceutical companies such as AstraZeneca, Pfizer and Eli Lilly.
Tim Sparapani has joined social networking Web site Facebook as its new director of public policy.
Sparapani is a former senior legislative counsel at the American Civil Liberties Union and associate at Dickstein Shapiro Morin & Oshinsky. He has also served as a legal intern for the Senate Judiciary Constitution Subcommittee, where he assisted Sen. Russ Feingold, D-Wis., and volunteered for the ill-fated presidential campaigns of Sen. John Kerry, D-Mass., and former Sen. John Edwards, D-N.C. Sparapani has degrees from the University of Michigan Law School and Georgetown University.
Meanwhile, Facebook Chief Privacy Officer Chris Kelly announced he is running for California attorney general. Kelly, a Democrat, touted his work across the country to make the Internet safer for youth.
From this week's National Journal: (subscription)
The Entertainment Software Association's head of government relations, Jennifer Manner, is out the door after just a month. ESA announced on Feb. 18, 2009, that Manner would be the group's new senior vice president for government affairs and would head the association's federal and state government relations team.
Manner, a long-time Democrat, didn't appear to have extensive Capitol Hill or administration experience. Her background included stints as a vice president of regulatory affairs at Skyterra Communications, chair of the Satellite Industry Association, and senior counsel to former FCC Commissioner Kathleen Abernathy. She has also worked for Worldcom, Akin, Gump, Strauss, Hauer & Feld, and taught as an adjust professor of law. ESA is not advertising any new job openings on its Web site.
An association spokesman confirmed that Manner had departed but gave no further information.
-- Winter Casey
Former Rep. Ron Klink, D-PA, and former Rep. Thomas Reynolds, R-NY, are making their moves around K Street.
Klink who has been leading Ron Klink and Associates since 2001 when he left Congress, joined Nelson Mullins Riley & Scarborough's government relations team.
"While in Congress, Klink served on the Financial Services Committee, the Education and Workforce Committee, the Small Business Committee, the Commerce Committee, and was assigned a seat on the influential Telecommunications Subcommittee and helped draft the Telecommunications Act of 1996," according to the firm.
Nelson Mullins also announced Thursday that it has hired eight others to fill in its government relations and administrative law team including: Robert Crowe, Craig Huseman Metz, Christopher Cushing, Joseph Donovan, Christopher Greeley, Michael Murphy, and Mick Nardelli, Jennifer Pharaoh.
Reynolds is joining Nixon Peabody as a senior strategic policy adviser and his former chief of staff Sally Vastola is joining as a strategic policy adviser, Legal Times reports. The hire adds a high-profile name to Nixon Peabody's new government relations and public policy practice.
- Winter Casey
Jason Matthews, a former chief of staff to Sen. Mary Landrieu, D-La., is now working as a director in the congressional and public affairs division of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce. Matthews was deputy issues director of Landrieu's successful 1996 Senate campaign and worked his way up in her Washington office.
Also working as a director in congressional and public affairs at the Chamber is Scott Eckart, a former vice president of federal affairs at the Democratic Leadership Council. At the DLC, he was a liaison between the organization and members of Congress. He's also worked at the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee and on a House re-election campaign for then-Rep. Harold Ford Jr., D-Tenn. Matthews is expected to focus on financial services issues, while Eckart will deal with trade matters.
--Gregg Sangillo
UPDATE @ 5:15 PM: An Obama administration source said a waiver won't be required for Kimmelman. He will be recusing himself from working on any policy that involves the Consumers Union.
Gene Kimmelman, one of the best known consumer advocates in Washington, is expected to join the Justice department this week as chief counsel for competition policy and intergovernmental relations, according to sources familiar with his plans.
Kimmelman is currently vice president of federal and international affairs at the Consumers Union. The news of his move was first reported in The Deal. (subscription) The appointment is likely to cause a stir in the business world because Kimmelman has long been known for fighting against mergers and monopolies.
For more on Kimmelman, see this 2002 story in Cable World.
There's also a question about whether or not Kimmelman received a waiver from the Obama administration's tough lobbyist and revolving door rules. A White House spokesman couldn't immediately be reached for comment.
Kimmelman was a registered lobbyist up until the third quarter of 2008, working on two mergers in the telecom and broadcast industries. In the fourth quarter of 2008, Consumers Union filed documentation with the Senate stating that Kimmelman was no longer a lobbyist for the organization.
Under the administration's lobbying rules, no lobbyist is permitted to work in an area on which he or she lobbied for two years when they join the administration. We will update this story when we hear back from the White House.
--Bara Vaida
There are shifts underway in the lobbying ranks of several financial service giants including Goldman Sachs and JP Morgan Chase, two of the apparently healthier ones. JP Morgan Chase recently recruited two new lobbyists, Democrat Kate Childress and Republican Nate Gatten, both of whom had previously done outside advocacy work for the bank. In recent months JP Morgan has also dropped a few outside lobbying shops, including BKSH & Associates, Equale & Associates and the OB-C Group, and retained some new ones such as McBee Strategic Consulting and Lawrence Romans & Associates.
Meanwhile, Goldman, which has seen a couple of senior lobbyists depart this year, is about to lose Ann Costello, a veteran Republican who's moving to Bank of New York Mellon to lead their D.C. lobbying efforts, according to several sources. Earlier this year, Marti Thomas, a Democrat at Goldman, jumped ship to join the Duberstein Group, and Mark Patterson decamped to Treasury where he is chief of staff to Secretary Tim Geithner.
--Peter H. Stone
The Center for Responsive Politics' Massie Ritsch is joining the Department of Education's Office of Communications & Outreach as a deputy assistant secretary. Ritsch spent the last three years following money and lobbying trends as the communications director for CRP.
"I'll be overseeing outreach to education associations, foundations and think-tanks, returning to a policy area I worked on as a reporter at the Los Angeles Times and as a communications strategist for schools, districts and education advocates. I'm looking forward to working with Secretary Arne Duncan and his team at this historic moment to improve educational opportunities for America's students," said Ritsch in an email he sent out Thursday morning.
-- Winter Casey
The Salt Lake Tribune adds a local angle at the issue of the revolving door, with an up close and personal look at some of the more than 30 former staffers for Utah's delegation that have registered as federal lobbyists.
Among its findings: eight former aides to Republican Senator Robert Bennett--a senior member of the Senate Banking Committee-- have registered to lobby, half of them for financial firms or corporate giants. Three former Bennett aides, including two former chiefs of staff, lobbied for Freddie Mac or Fannie Mae.
Over the past 20 years, the story says, Bennett has received nearly $108,000 from Freddie and Fannie--more than any other Republican, noting that the donations and lobbying by the two companies ended with their takeover by the federal government last year. But the story also lets members of the delegation and the aides-turned-lobbyists explain and defend the Capitol Hill-to-K Street migration.
--Julie Kosterlitz
Ford Motor Company's D.C. office signed on Pete Lawson as vice president of government relations.
Lawson recently lobbied on financial services, corporate governance, and legal reform issues for the U.S. Chamber of Commerce. He's also a former senior counsel to Rep. Jim Moran, D-Va. Earlier in his career, Lawson worked in the North Carolina Attorney General's office. At Ford, Lawson replaces Bruce Andrews, who's now working for Senate Commerce, Science and Transportation Chairman Jay Rockefeller, D-W.Va.
--Gregg Sangillo
Jon Haber, CEO of the American Association for Justice, announced he is leaving in May to pursue other interests.
During four years as head of the trial lawyer group, Haber oversaw a name change (from the Association of Trial Lawyers of America) as well as efforts to reposition the organization in a positive light.
"Because we are in such a strong position, I have decided this is the best time for me to step down to take on new challenges," said Haber in a statement.
Before joining the group, Haber was a senior executive with the public relations firm Fleishman-Hillard.
An AAJ spokesman said Haber will stay until the group's board meeting next month. A search committee is also being created by the board, the spokesman added.
--Bara Vaida
Top Capitol Hill staffer Dennis Fitzgibbons, is joining First Solar, a company that is focused on developing technologies that could drive down the cost of solar energy.
Fitzgibbons, who recently served as chief of staff for the House Energy and Commerce Committee, will be Solar's vice president for federal affairs. In that position, he will oversee legislative, regulatory, and public policy activities, as well as the company's relationships with think tanks. He will be looking to broaden support for solar energy producers in climate, energy and environmental discussions in Washington.
First Solar manufactures solar modules with an advanced semiconductor technology. The company claims that its power plants operate with no water, air emissions or waste stream. Before his most recent position on the Hill, Fitzgibbons was director of public policy for Daimler Chrysler.
-- Winter Casey
TechNet CEO Lezlee Westine is leaving the high-tech group to head up the Personal Care Products Council, according to a number of industry sources.
Before joining TechNet in 2005, Westine was director of the White House Office of Public Liaison under President George W. Bush. She will be replacing Pamela Bailey, who left the Council to lead the Grocery Manufacturers Association last year. The Personal Care Products Council position is one the top paying jobs in Washington. Bailey received total compensation of $1.5 million, according to National Journal's 2008 salary survey.
Jim Hawley, general counsel at TechNet will be acting CEO of the organization until a replacement is found. Though there has been speculation that Westine's departure may result in the group merging with other high tech associations, a person familiar with the organization said the executive board isn't interested in a merger and will be looking for a new leader.
--Bara Vaida
Microsoft has hired David Pryor Jr. as director of government affairs, where he will lobby the Senate.
The company's newest lobbyist has family ties to the Senate. His father, is former Sen. David Pryor, D-Ark. and his younger brother is Sen. Mark Pryor, D-Ark. who was elected in 2002.
Previously, Pryor was senior federal affairs representative for FedEx, where he worked on transportation and aviation issues. Pryor says Microsoft and FedEx share policy interests such as free trade and innovation in the workplace.
Before FedEx, Pryor was deputy chief of protocol at the State Department between 1997 and 2000. Pryor has also served as principal of Pryor and Associates, a boutique consulting firm, and as a senior account executive with Hill & Knowlton Public Affairs. He earned his undergraduate degree in speech communications from George Washington University.
Pryor says he has never lobbied his father or brother, nor will he in the future.
-- Winter Casey
The word on K Street is that former Under Secretary of Commerce for International Trade Christopher Padilla will soon be heading up IBM's government affairs office in Washington. Padilla spent three years at the U.S. Trade Representative under President George W. Bush.
Padilla has previously lobbied for AT&T. He has also served as vice president for international affairs at Lucent Technologies and director of international trade at Eastman Kodak.
Padilla is expected to replace Christopher Caine, who we previously reported would be stepping down to start his own company, Mercator XXI. Caine spent 25 years working for IBM.
IBM spokesman Chris Andrews said the company does not comment on rumor or speculation about executive hiring decisions. Andrews said no announcement has been made regarding the company's government relations executive position in Washington.
(Photo: U.S. Department of State)
-- Winter Casey
Our annual State of Lobbying package can be found in this week's National Journal:
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Tora, Tora, Tora...
Lobbying and public affairs firm the Raben Group is bringing in Michael J. Torra, an ex-chief of staff to Rep. Linda Sanchez, D-Calif. Torra will serve as a principal at the D.C. firm. Torra has also worked at the Congressional Hispanic Caucus, and in addition to Sanchez, he was an aide to two other Caucus members, Texas Democratic Reps. Silvestre Reyes and Charles Gonzalez.
Robert Raben, who founded the Raben Group, is a former counsel to Rep. Barney Frank, D-Mass. and he also served as Democratic counsel on the House Judiciary Constitution Subcommittee. The firm represents a number of traditional liberal interest groups like the Human Rights Campaign and the Leadership Conference on Civil Rights, but it also has corporate clients such as Microsoft and Pfizer.
--Gregg Sangillo
The National Football League Players Association chose Patton Boggs lawyer DeMaurice Smith as its new executive director, replacing Eugene Upshaw, who died in August 2008.
Smith beat out three others, including former NFL Players Association presidents Trace Armstrong and Troy Vincent and sports attorney David Cornwell for the job, according to the group's press release. The Washington Post had an interesting profile of Smith on March 4.
The NFL Players Association job is one of the top paying positions in Washington. Upshaw received total compensation of $1.86 million, according to National Journal's 2008 annual salary survey.
--Bara Vaida
From this week's National Journal (subscription required)
Note to readers: Don't miss our annual lobbying package in next week's National Journal. We take a comprehensive look at the impact the economy and President Obama are having on K Street. Our Insider's Poll also provides insight on who the big winners and losers will be in the lobby sector over the next four years.
A. Barry Rand was named as the new CEO of AARP, the nation's largest lobbying group for senior citizens. Rand will replace Bill Novelli on April 6. Novelli has been CEO of AARP since 2001.
Rand is currently chairman of the Board of Trustees of Howard University. Prior to Howard, he was executive vice president for worldwide operations at Xerox, where, according to AARP, Xerox became "the most diverse company in the Fortune 500." Rand left Xerox in 1999 to become chairman and CEO of Avis. Here's Howard University's bio of Rand.
AARP began looking for a new leader more than year ago, according to a January 8, 2008 National Journal item. See story here. Heidrick & Struggles conducted the search for Rand, according to news reports.
-- Bara Vaida
President Obama today nominated Richard Verma for the post of assistant secretary for legislative affairs at the State Department. Verma has a lengthy lobbying pedigree at the law firm of Steptoe & Johnson, which he rejoined in 2007 after serving for more than five years as a senior policy adviser to Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., according to the firm.
While at Steptoe, Verma was a member of the government relations and public policy practice. He registered to lobby on behalf of a variety of clients including: Williamsport Wirerope Works; U.S.-India Business Council; The Humane Society Legislative Fund; TD Bank Financial Group; Sterling International Consultants; Society of Independent Gasoline Marketers of America; MyRichUncle; National Association of Convenience Stores; Manufactured Housing Institute; Liberty Media Corporation; InterAction; EchoStar Corporation; Dish Network; and CIGNA Corporation.
Continue reading Another K Streeter Joins the Administration.
Former Rep. Matt Salmon, R-Ariz. and president of high-tech trade association COMPTEL announced Wednesday has resigned and will join lobbying firm Policy Impact Communications, Congress Daily's Andrew Noyes reports in Tech Daily Dose.
COMPTEL CEO Jerry James will continue to provide leadership over the group's public policy initiatives and will assume the day-to-day responsibilities.
UPDATE @ 3:00 PM: UPDATE: Sen. John Warner speaks about new job at old firm with National Journal's Jeannette Lee:
Warner said he will draw on his expertise on national security and international trade and "put a good deal of time into environmental issues related to global climate change." In 2007, he co-sponsored a bipartisan bill with Sen. Joe Lieberman, D-Conn., that would have reduced greenhouse gas emissions in the U.S.
He said he has started "quietly working" with Hogan & Hartson, however, his official start date isn't until April.
Warner will not be allowed to lobby his former colleagues, and said he intends to "adhere strictly" to the relevant ethics laws and Senate rules. "I do not foresee my activities, which will be unrestricted with respect to the executive branch, will constitute lobbying," he said.
Since leaving Congress, Warner has been working with archivists at the University of Virginia, where he earned his J.D., to organize personal documents spanning his 40 years in government service. The photos and papers will be made publicly accessible "as soon as they are collated," Warner said.
He said the knighthood recently bestowed upon him by Queen Elizabeth II had "no connection" with Hogan's decision to recruit him.
--- (Original posted this morning)
Former Senator John Warner, R-Va., is rejoining his old law firm, Hogan & Hartson as a partner.
Continue reading Former Sen. Warner Rejoining Hogan & Hartson.
Former congressional candidate Siobhan "Sam" Bennett has a new job. Bennett has been named president of the the Women's Campaign Forum, a non-partisan group that aims to elect pro-choice women to office. In 2008 Bennett unsuccessfully challenged Rep. Charles Dent, R-Pa. for Allentown, Pa.'s congressional seat.
Prior to her candidacy, Bennett was a small business owner, founded a statewide non-profit community and economic revitalization organization, and served as a successful telecommunications corporate executive, according to the forum.
-- Winter Casey
Some people are still landing jobs in the beleaguered auto industry.
Toyota Motor North America, which has not had quite as many problems as American counterparts like General Motors, has hired Thomas J. Lehner in its Washington office, CongressDaily AM reports. In a statement, Toyota's Lehner didn't dance around the topic: "The current economic crisis has severely impacted Toyota's operations in the U.S. market and we are responsible for protecting the interests of our employees, customers, dealers and suppliers."
From 1993 through early 2001, Lehner was chief of staff to then-Sen. Charles Robb, D-Va. Lehner, a graduate of San Francisco State University, is also a former treasurer of the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee. He most recently served as director of public policy at the Business Roundtable. Lehner will serve as vice president of government and industry affairs for Toyota.
--Gregg SangilloMcBee Strategic Consulting just announced it's bringing in Alisa Ferguson, currently legislative director for Democrats on the House Science and Technology Committee.
Rep. Bart Gordon, D-Tenn. chairs the committee, and Ferguson had previously worked in his personal office as a legislative assistant dealing with Energy and Commerce issues. She's also a former aide to Rep. Brian Baird, D-Wash. Ferguson, who starts in late March, is expected to be involved in McBee's clean energy technology practice. McBee's clients with energy interests include the Alliance of Automobile Manufacturers, American Airlines, and SolarCity Inc. McBee also recently snagged Mike Sheehy, former national security adviser to House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif.
--Gregg Sangillo
