By Karen Bufka
If you do a little online search about lobbyists in Vermont, Morris Strategies might come up. Going to their website vtlobbyists.com, you’ll read “Let us help you shape the story and create opportunity. Our mission is to elevate organizations and businesses through impactful communications and sound political strategy.” Further down the page, under the heading “Morris Government Affairs” it states, “Delivering results for our clients by navigating them through Vermont’s legislative process and executive branch.” Click the “Learn More” button. Against a backdrop of Vermont’s flag, you’ll read “Morris Government Affairs” and below, “Lobbying in Vermont. Morris Government Affairs delivers results for our clients by helping them navigate Vermont’s legislative and executive branches. We operate at the highest level of integrity and always protect our client’s reputation. Let us be your eyes, ears and voice in Vermont politics. We will get you where you need to be through: Procurement; Bill Tracking; Grasstops and Advocacy; Coalition Management; Building Relationships”
What does it mean, “shape the story”? Or, “create opportunity”? This lobbying firm and others are active – very active – in our Statehouse. They are the “eyes, ears and voice” for their clients, helping them to navigate Vermont’s legislative and executive branches. They deliver “results”. How do those results impact the rest of us? They get their clients to “where you need to be”. Will where their clients “need to be” serve you, or me?
They list their methods: “Procurement”? I looked it up, yet still don’t know what it means here except that it means obtaining stuff. “Bill Tracking” is self-explanatory. Thecampaignworkshop.com says “grasstops” is “when you focus your outreach efforts narrowly on opinion leaders and folks who have strong connections to elected officials…a top-down strategy that focuses on engaging with the individuals who have the ear of those who make decisions or have some type of sway or influence over public policy…reaching out to folks who have a connection with those in power in the hopes that they can influence policy.” Quorum.us explains that a “grasstop” is “an individual who has extra influence…can mobilize support and has a relationship with politicians of influence…the focus is on getting high-profile individuals to take action in support of your cause…the power behind grasstops advocacy comes from people’s natural inclination to listen to those they perceive to have status.” “Advocacy; Coalition Management; Building Relationships” seem self-explanatory but “Coalition Management” makes me wonder: are these people creating the “coalition” they are managing?
At Monday’s NEK Chamber of Commerce’s Legislative Breakfast in St. Johnsbury I asked, “How can the community make our voices heard over those of lobbyists and what are your personal attitudes towards prioritizing community input over that of lobbyists?”
Sen. Russ Ingalls said that his experience with lobbyists in the Statehouse has been positive, that often they’re the only people he can get information from. They may advocate for a certain position but the information is helpful and there are lobbyists on both sides. “A lobbyist isn’t going to sway me.” He said that hearing from “his people” has often changed his position on something, and “it’s the people who speak the most and the most often that I’m listening to.”
Rep. Marty Feltus said that she certainly pays attention to what individual constituents have to say. However, she wants to make sure that they are coming from a basis of “having the information—the correct information”, asking them to take a broader perspective, pay attention to the issue as a whole, not just one little thing from social media or the newspaper.
Sen. Scott Beck said, “I think there’s a presumption in that question that legislators prioritize lobbyists over the people we represent and I don’t fundamentally think that’s the case…”
A longtime State Representative once told me that the Statehouse is pretty much run by lobbyists. We would be wise to consider that possibility. According to lobbying.vermont.gov, there are 24 lobbying firms and 450 lobbyists registered in Vermont. We have 150 State Representatives and 30 State Senators.
Our legislators seem to genuinely want to prioritize what we, their constituents, express. The thing is, if they rely on professional lobbyists for information and are the focus of lobbyists’ strategies in service to their clients, are they going to succeed in doing so? They are only human.
I suggest that we take a page or two from the lobbyist playbook both to help our legislators do their best on our behalf, and to balance the weight of lobbyist influence in our Statehouse. The lobbyists track bills—we track bills. The lobbyists connect with “grasstops”—we reach out to influential people, too. They build relationships and create coalitions—we can do that. Our legislators are grateful for, and possibly dependent on, the information lobbyists provide. We can provide information, and in a way which Rep. Feltus would approve, having done our research thoroughly and with our eye on the big picture.
Our legislators say they want to hear from us, and that they “listen to the people who speak the most”. Let’s be those people.
The author is a St. Johnsbury resident.