Ford gets lobbying chief from Chamber

Ford Motor Co. announced Pete Lawson as its new vice president of government relations.

Lawson, a Democrat, replaces Bruce Andrews, another Democrat who returned to Capitol Hill to take a job as counsel on the Senate Commerce, Science and Transportation Committee under Chairman Jay Rockefeller (D-W.Va.).

Lawson was vice president of congressional and public affairs at the U.S. Chamber of Commerce before joining Ford. He served as the business group’s chief lobbyist on legal reform, corporate governance and financial services issues.

Before joining the Chamber in 2004, Lawson was senior counsel to Rep. Jim Moran (D-Va.), where he worked with members of the New Democrat Coalition to develop and implement their legislative agenda, according to a news release. He also worked as a consumer protection specialist in the North Carolina Attorney General’s Office from 1989 to 1993.