Don’t wait for a crisis to get engaged in the state political process, some of Olympia’s top contract lobbyists told a group of business leaders earlier this week at a program sponsored by the Washington Business Alliance (WaBA). Panelists Lew McMurran, Amber Lewis and Brad Tower, with WaBA Government Affairs Director Isaac Kastama discussed “How To Survive a Political Heart Attack,” and agreed a little bit of prevention goes a long way.
- Brad Tower is former President and Executive Director of Community Bankers of Washington.
Relationships matter
All emphasized the importance of networking for effective political engagement. Tower said “I rely on my relationships – my friends who are legislators or lobbyists. I have on regular occasions gotten calls from the head of a particular agency that regulates one of my clients. Your network is going to provide you with the info you’re looking for, not combing through the Seattle Times like the regular public would.”
It takes two
Lewis described a successful government affairs relationship as the convergence of the lobbyist’s connections and political know-how with the business person’s knowledge of their own industry. “Together,” Lewis said, “a lobbyist with the relationships and the business person with the knowledge of the issue is a powerful thing.
Lewis detailed the skills a lobbyist brings to the partnership. “Lobbyists understand the legislative process which is really cumbersome and not meant to be successful… It’s not meant to pass legislation it’s meant to stop legislation…we have found tools to make it happen and to get it around the stoppage points into the governor’s hands.”
However, Lewis noted that as a lobbyist she can only accomplish so much without the active involvement of the business which she represents.
“You [as a business leader] are the best spokesperson for your interests,” Lewis said. “You are the expert on your situation. When I testify, I can barely get legislators to look up from their laptop… But when a real person with a real story from a real community gets up and shares why a bill matters and how it will help or hurt them, [legislators] are so quick to understand and relate.”
- Amber Lewis is President of Lewis Consulting LLC. She was formerly Director of Government Relations for Providence Health Systems, Legislative Aide to Senate Majority Leader Lisa Brown, and fiscal analyst for the state senate.
McMurran emphasized that business people have experience and know-how that is needed in Washington’s state capitol. “The folks in Olympia are great folks but.. most of them have never signed the back of a private sector paycheck, much less the front… Our job and your job is to educate them about what you do and how it works in the real world… the difficulties you face in making payroll and complying with regulations.”
Healthy engagement is a wise investment
Brad Tower, Principal of Tower Limited Governmental Affairs since 2000, presented political engagement as a prudent long term investment, which could potentially be expensive to neglect. “Things that you don’t budget for don’t happen.”
Political engagement, Tower said, is no different. “Consider political and civic engagement to be as important as your advertising budget or your other operational items,” Tower recommended. “Budget time and budget money. It doesn’t have to be huge but put it in your plan and expect to engage to a certain level.”
Similarly, McMurran argued that preventing a “political heart attack” was similar to preventing an actual heart attack. Prevention requires regularly exercising opportunities to engage, a healthy diet of timely information, and the occasional check-up with an expert professional. Tower argued that “waiting for a public hearing is a recipe for disaster.” Engagement should begin long before the chest pain might begin, by building relationships with the relevant actors in Olympia including agency staff, not just lawmakers.
Opportunities exist for businesses and business leaders to participate more directly in the political process. Lewis noted some community institutions such as hospitals have begun putting legislators on their boards.Tower recalled an exchange he once had with a petroleum company whom he encouraged to consider running a candidate for the legislature: “I said, ‘You ought find a spot and encourage someone to run.’ They said, ‘I can’t afford to let that person go.’ That is such short-sighted thinking to me.”
- McMurran spent 13 years as Vice President of Government and External Affairs for the Washington Technology Industry Association
The discussants agreed that money could help move the needle in Olympia, but not that it was the only way to gain influence. According to Tower, elected officials are “fundamentally” driven by the desire for votes. “Whether you bring a single vote, contribute money, bring a set of votes, provide air time… It’s all product to them.”
Lewis highlighted non-monetary ways to gain influence in Olympia. “There are other ways to engage besides money,” Lewis said. “I have one small business owner who owns a very large truck and swings a great hammer.” Lewis said the man goes out every election with certain legislators nails signs for a day across 5 districts. Without a dime changing hands, the man has built important relationships that may well pay off for years to come.
McMurran told the audience: “Money talks. It really does.” He described influence in Olympia as a “three-legged stool.” One need is for a good lobbyist that has relationships, the second is a political action committee, and the third is a grassroots network. “You’ve got to have at least two out of the three if you are going to be effective these days.”