K Street Files: Former Clyburn Aide Shares Fundraising Pain
As most lobbyists know, the minute you head to K Street, Members of Congress start asking for campaign contributions. But Podesta Group’s Jaime Harrison has decided to make his own personal appeal.
Harrison, a former senior aide to House Majority Whip James Clyburn (D-S.C.), recently sent out an e-mail blast with the subject line “Fundraisers with Jaime — June Edition.”
“We are quickly approaching the end of another quarter, but there are several great events that you should consider as you determine your fundraising targets for this month,” Harrison wrote, urging recipients of the e-mail to attend several fundraisers.
Harrison said in an interview with K Street Files that he wanted to have some fun with the e-mail blasts and “share the pain with other friends and colleagues.”
“It was almost part of a way to organize in my own mind what I was obligated to do,” Harrison said. “If Congress decided to prevent lobbyists from contributing, I’d be the first person to sign up, but until then, if you are going to do it, you might as well try to have some levity.”
In addition to shilling for his former boss, Clyburn, who has an upcoming barbecue fundraiser, Harrison also made a pitch for a June 23 fundraiser for Rep. Joe Crowley (D-N.Y.), chief deputy whip and chairman of the New Democrat Coalition.
“Representative Crowley is one of the hardest working members of the House Democratic Caucus,” Harrison wrote in his pitch. “In addition to his roles as Chair of the New Dems and Chief Deputy Whip, Representative Crowley is also a member of the powerful House Ways and Means Committee.”
Of course, attendance comes at a cost. To act as a host for the Crowley fete, political action committees must cough up $2,500 and individuals must contribute $1,000. To attend, PACs are requested to give $1,000 while individuals are asked to contribute $500.
Harrison has ponied up $12,500 to the campaign committees this cycle as of the first quarter of 2010, according to Federal Election Commission records.
Paying for Face Time
A group of Republican lobbyists is cozying up to GOP Senate chiefs of staff by hosting a fundraiser June 23, according to an invitation obtained by Roll Call. The K Streeters underwriting the event include Chad Bradley, former top aide to Sen. James Inhofe (R-Okla.), of Chad Bradley & Associates; Jeff Kimbell of Jeffrey J. Kimbell & Associates; Cesar Conda of Navigators Global; and John Green of Crossroads Strategies.
Republicans Kevin O’Scannlain of DLA Piper, Matt Keelen of the Keelen Group and Pat Raffaniello of Raffaniello & Associates are also listed as hosts.
The price to mix and mingle with Republican senior staffers isn’t cheap: $2,000 to host and $1,000 to attend for political action committees. Individuals are requested to give $500 to host and $250 to attend.
Chiefs of staff Michelle Barlow to Sen. Roger Wicker (Miss.), Tim Glazewski to Senate Minority Whip Jon Kyl (Ariz.), Kerry Feehery to Sen. George LeMieux (Fla.), and Brian Klippenstein to Sen. Kit Bond (Mo.) are among the 24 senior staffers headlining the event at Venable’s Washington, D.C., office.
Blowing in the Wind
The American Wind Energy Association and the United Steelworkers union announced a partnership last week to speed up the development and deployment of wind energy production. The groups, along with Sen. Sherrod Brown (D-Ohio), held a conference call Thursday explaining their Partnership for Progress.
While scant details were released, steelworkers chief Leo Gerard divvied up the framework agreement into four parts — initial assessment, identifying targets, partnership on public policy and periodic assessments. Gerard said the framework would “help advance the promise of green jobs being key to our future.”
AWEA CEO Denise Bode echoed Gerard. “Our partnership recognizes that, at this time of continuing economic uncertainty and while we are still in the early stages of development of the wind energy sector, support in terms of public policy initiatives is vital,” Bode said.
K Street Moves
Alston & Bird has added Paula Stannard, former acting counsel at the Health and Human Services Department, to its health care group. She specializes in electronic health records and privacy issues.
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