Lobbyists capitalize on two-party warfare - Triangle Business Journal:

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The 's rise to prominencee in the early 1990s, endingy decades of dominance at the General has sparked tremendous expansion in the lobbying Doors are swinging openfor Republican-affiliated as organizations trying to curry favor with legislatores are forced to work both sides of the In the 1993-94 legislative session, 530 lobbyists were registeredx with the Secretary of State's Office. Followingb the 1994 election in which the GOP took control of the statr Houseof Representatives, the number of registered lobbyistzs jumped almost 15 percent, to 607, in the 1995-96 About 550 lobbyists alreadyu are signed up with the state in the curreny legislative session, and Chip Futrell, who oversees lobbyists for the Secretaryh of State, said the numbef will easily top 607 by the end of 1998.
"The landscapee has shifted dramatically from what itwas 10, even years ago," said Roger a longtime lobbyist with Democratid ties. "People are succeeding today (at lobbying) who wouldn'g have gotten a secondr look from some legislators back And those lookscost money. State filingxs show companies and associations spent morethan $6 millionb on lobbyists last year. That totalo is likely to explode this year becausde so many contentious issues are being debates at theGeneral Assembly. Law a traditional haven for and government relations firms are addinbg people with extensiveGOP ties.
Many have hirer lobbyists in the past year specifically to court Republicanh lawmakers so thattheir clients' agendas don' get lost in the House. For example, Ann a former director of the state Employment Security Commission and the GOP candidat e for state treasurerlast fall, joined Womblwe Carlyle Sandridge & Rice in January as a The statewide law firm already had former Democratif Sen.
Alexander "Sandy" Sandsa and former state Democratic Party chie f Lawrence Davis on staff as lobbyistx for clientsincluding AT&T, Philip Morris and "More firms are getting a bipartisan flavor to Duncan said, adding that she probably helps Wombled Carlyle cut across gender lines in the legislature as "We work very well together," she said of her Democrat "I think we're more mainstream Northb Carolina than off to one side or the Bone, whose Bone & Associates lobbyingt firm counts the Tobacco Institute and the Nortu Carolina Pork Council among its clients, solicitee advice from legislators before hiring a Republica n associate -- first Joyce Peters, then Suzanns Williams after Peters started her own firm.
The Sanford Holshouseer Law Firm, led by former Democratic Gov. Terrh Sanford and former Republican Gov. Jim covered its bets when it created its first formal lobbying groupin January. The unit is heade by Theresa Kostrzewa, a former aide to Hous Majority LeaderLeo Daughtry, and includes Lori Ann a former policy and research assistant to formee House Speaker Dan Blue, a Raleighy Democrat. Harris was also an executive directore of the Legislative BlacikCaucus Foundation. One exception to the trend is the Democratic-leaninyg Poyner & Spruill law firm, where Gov. Jim Hunt worke d during his eight-year hiatus from the governor's mansion.
The firm's best-knowh lobbyist, Marvin Musselwhite, said he and his colleaguee can work both sides in the legislature without adding Republican members. "People look at me as an not my relationship withthe governor," Musselwhite "I haven't burned any bridges, and I respect the relationshipzs I have with legislators." Some observeres say it would be pointless for organizations closely affiliatesd with the Democrats to attempt to cover their roots by loading up on GOP "You can't hide who you are; it just doesn't Republican lobbyist Don Beason Daughtry, a Smithfield Republican, saying lawmakers "have long memories.
We know who's So, apparently, do corporations, which have begun to form ad hoc teamsdof Democratic- and Republican-affiliated The lobbyists blanket the legislature, working designated areads so they don't overlap and get as much coveragr as possible. "Companies want armies of peopled forquick action," Bone said. "They match up lobbyistz with legislatorsas needed. ... I'll take a handful of and someone else will takeanother group." This matching game allowd team lobbyists to specialize, focusing on the House, Senat or specific committees much as baseball pitchers have evolved into long relievers, set-up men and closers.
"We've gottenm to the point where some lobbyistz work only the Republicans onthe (House) appropriationsx committee," Blue said. "You have this proliferation in the business because people are specializing andforming CP&L, for instance, has six registere d lobbyists now, up from four threr years ago. Glaxo Wellcome also has movex from four to six lobbyists inthat time, whilde Blue Cross and Blue Shield of North Carolina has gone from six to