K Street just can’t get enough Democrats

Demand for top-flight Democratic lobbyists is outpacing supply, leaving trade groups, associations and firms with holes on their staffs as they try to make inroads to the new majority.

Corporations and other lobbying groups already have shifted their political donations to Democrats, a popular way to make friends on Capitol Hill. But some are finding that the pool of Democratic lobbyists with ties to the key members is running dry.

{mosads}Dan Mica, a former Democratic congressman who now runs the Credit Union National Association, said he’s tried for six months to find a replacement for a Democratic lobbyist who left to run a mid-sized trade group.

“I haven’t found anyone close to what I’m looking for,” Mica said.

Colleagues have told Mica of similar experiences. There is a standing agreement among them that if someone finds “an extra one,” meaning a Democrat, he or she will pass the name along, Mica said.

The changeover in control of Congress has sparked the demand for Democrats after years in which the best jobs on K Street went to Republicans, who until recently controlled the House, Senate and White House.

“Some were a little bit top-heavy with Republicans,” Mica said, “and when Congress changed hands, there was a rush to grab available Democrats.”

Trade associations, firms and corporations usually hire members of Congress or senior aides for their government relations shop, wanting both the relationships they have with people in power and their inside knowledge of how Congress operates.

Ideally, job candidates have experience of both Capitol Hill and lobbying. One lobbyist for the insurance industry said his association hired qualified Democrats. But the demand was such that the association didn’t require previous lobbying expertise in its candidates.

Other groups have had a harder time enticing top Democratic aides off Capitol Hill, where some are enjoying their first-ever opportunity to control the legislative agenda. That is particularly true when the aides come from the House and have suffered in the minority with few chances to influence a debate.

“The feeling is that their time is now, and folks that are in senior leadership positions are staying where they are, to work in the majority and help to pass legislation that they did not have a chance to do before,” said Ivan Adler, a headhunter at the McCormick Group, a search firm.

Adler specializes in placing lobbyists with firms.

“It’s a sellers’ market for Democrats,” he says. “If I had a senior-level Democrat coming off the Hill, I would have a lot of people who would want to talk to him.”

A number of trade groups and companies are hiring. The United States Telecom Association is looking for a person to head its government affairs shop. The Edison Electric Institute is looking for a lobbyist. The Electronic Industries Association is trying to replace former head Dave McCurdy, a former Democratic congressman from Oklahoma who left to run the Alliance of Automobile Manufacturers.

Spokesmen at these groups say they are looking for the best candidate available, not necessarily a Democrat.

But a number of lobbyists said groups are putting a premium on Democrats, believing their party’s hold on the majority will continue at least through the next election.

Adler said firms are also having trouble finding Democrats.

“There is a dearth of qualified talent right now,” said Steve Elmendorf, former chief of staff to Rep. Richard Gephardt (D-Mo.) who started his own firm after the midterm election. Elmendorf Strategies now has three lobbyists, all Democrats, and 14 clients.

Elmendorf has taken to lobbying, but he said the profession isn’t always a natural fit for people in his party, which has served to restrict the supply pool even further.

“More Democrats like government than Republicans,” Elmendorf said.

What’s more, he said a number of Democrats left town after losing the majority in 1994 for the lack of opportunity downtown.

Compounding the problem is that several Democrats have gone back to the Capitol Hill for the opportunity to work in the majority. Dan Turton, a senior Democratic lobbyist at Timmons & Co., left to become staff director to the House Rules Committee. His slot has been filled.

DaimlerChrysler’s Dennis Fitzgibbons went back as staff director to the House Energy and Commerce Committee.

There has also been a considerable flow from Congress to downtown, even if it hasn’t sated the need for Democratic representation. The Securities Industry and Financial Markets Association last month hired Scott DeFife, a former senior policy adviser to House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer (D-Md.), as a senior managing director of lobbying.

One Democratic lobbyist said some staff aides were nervously eyeing new rules, which congressional Democrats are considering as a way to slow the revolving door and make people wait two years instead of one after leaving the Hill before starting on K Street.

The lobbyist said he took several calls a week after the election from trade groups, companies and firms looking for Democratic lobbyists, but those calls have since died down.

For Republicans who are looking to move, the market isn’t nearly as hot. But they are still finding work. Adler said aides who specialize in tax or healthcare policy are sought regardless of party.

The push from Democrats like Rep. Henry Waxman (Calif.) to investigate the administration and certain industries is creating a hot market for people with expertise in managing the oversight and investigations process, be they Democrats or Republicans, Adler said.

The relatively activist agenda from Democrats appears to be driving business on K Street across the board. The Washington Post reported last month that the number of new lobbying registrations has doubled during the first four months of the year compared with the same period a year ago.