Looking for a few (more) good lobbyists.
Now that almost all of our elections have been decided, the people we elected have to get down to the real business of governing the country.
Staff within The Public Interest Network, including Environment America and U.S. PIRG, are thinking about how to make sure that newly elected members of Congress and state legislatures hear our concerns about climate change, environmental preservation and consumer protection. We primarily do this through education and organizing to shape public opinion and inspire public involvement in civic affairs. But some folks on our team serve as our direct representatives to these elected officials. They lobby. Some great ones including Ed Mierzwinski and Katie Murtha, who were just recognized as top lobbyists in the Hill, https://thehill.com/business-a-lobbying/top-lobbyists/421128-top-lobbyists-2018 which covers federal politics, work for our network. But, we need a few more.
These aren’t lobbyists in smoke-filled rooms cutting deals. These are folks who work in the Congress and in state capitals building relationships, providing expertise to elected officials, and helping shore up the votes necessary to pass a bill. A good lobbyist is equal parts “schmoozer,” policy expert and campaign manager. These lobbyists carry our messages about 100% renewable energy, saving antibiotics, protecting consumers from every kind of harm, and protecting our public lands.
The perfect lobbyist is someone who understands that while they get a lot of the glory they also get a lot of the heat. They understand that their job is to be a good organizer, organizing the legislative body in which they work, behind our agenda. They are good at seeking out and identifying policy opportunities, able to develop strong and collaborative relationships with legislators, their staff, coalition allies and other stakeholders. They must be experienced communicators with excellent written and verbal skills so they can quickly whip out a news release praising a legislator or exposing a bad loophole in a bill. In short, the best lobbyists are the best all-round advocates. They should be like the people I’ll describe below:
ABE SCARR, ILLINOIS PIRG STATE DIRECTOR. Abe became the Illinois PIRG Director in 2014. He worked with colleagues in the Just Democracy Illinois coalition to help pass a voting modernization bill that included election day voter registration. Next, Abe led the coalition on a more ambitious campaign to pass automatic voter registration (AVR). To do so, he expanded the coalition and maneuvered to let it, rather than legislative leaders, draft the bill and drive the strategy to pass it. Abe studied up on national and state election law, sought out and considered the concerns of competing state government stakeholders and coalition partners. The result: a unanimous bipartisan vote in the Legislature. Gov. Bruce Rauner became the first Republican governor in the nation to sign AVR in to law.
DEIRDRE CUMMINGS: MASSACHUSETTS PIRG LEGISLATIVE DIRECTOR. Having worked as a campus organizer, a canvass director and director of MASSPIRG’s citizen lobby network, Deirdre Cummings draws on all of her experiences and skills in designing and implementing MASSPIRG’s legislative agenda, including scorecards to better inform the public how lawmakers are voting on key public interest votes. This past summer, Deirdre helped defeat an anti-consumer bill, which, if passed, would have allowed auto dealers in the state to sell unrepaired recalled cars. The car dealers got the bill on the state Senate floor, without notice and despite a negative committee report — usually a sign that legislators and lobbyists have struck a backroom deal. In two days, Deirdre mobilized the leading consumer groups in Massachusetts and across the country, reached out to every senator, and enlisted a key senator in using a parliamentary move to send the bill back to another committee, sealing its fate for the session.
DAN JACOBSON, ENVIRONMENT CALIFORNIA STATE DIRECTOR. Dan has been the campaign manager for many a public interest bill in Sacramento, including quarterbacking the passage of SB 100, California’s 100% Clean Energy Law, in 2018. With his understanding of how the California Legislature works, he team=ed up with Sen. Kevin de Leon to introduce the bill, developed the strategy for passing it, and implemented the tactics that led to Gov. Jerry Brown signing the bill into law on Sept 10.
Dan helped line up support from former Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger as well as faith, justice and consumer groups; leaders from Silicon Valley to Hollywood; and the renewable energy industry. Dan built a coalition of over 200 groups behind the bill and ran weekly calls to plot the strategy. Dan worked with the media and the organizing staff of Environment California and CALPIRG to hold 10 news conferences and met with the Los Angeles Times editorial board to gain their support
On the inside, he explained the bill hundreds of times before committee and floor votes. He consulted with other experts to tweak provisions that caused concern with members of the Assembly and Senate. He did the vote count to make sure we would win in committee and on the floor. He was Mr. 100%, and he has the ballcaps to prove it.
Now we’re looking for another Abe, another Deirdre or another Dan in Washington, D.C., someone to work with the dozens of new and old members of Congress to advance our agenda.
We know we will be outnumbered by lobbyists for special interests. At the federal level, the oil and gas industry spent $126 million in 2017. DowDupont alone spent $16 million. We need all the public interest lobbyists we can get.
There’s no substitute for winning the hearts and minds of the public. But our public education, media outreach and grassroots action are more powerful when we have someone “in the building,” translating our power into public policy, and right now our top need is in Washington, D.C..
Maybe that person is you. Maybe not today or this month, but maybe in a year or two. Or maybe you know someone who might be that person. Whether it’s you or someone you know, we need a few more good lobbyists.
This is serious! We need someone to fill this job! Join Courtney Abrams, Katie Murtha, Mike Litt, Evan Preston, Lisa Frank, Drema Khraibani and others in the D.C. office and make sure the public’s interest is well represented as we move into the 116th Congress. Please share the link far and wide.
