The Transportation Lobby Top 10

Big Names like Patton Boggs and Akin Gump, but Boutiques Too

By Matthew Lewis and Aaron Mehta | January 28, 2010, 12:36 pm | | Print This

Congress missed its September deadline to pass a comprehensive new transportation bill, and has resorted to temporary extensions of the previous law — in addition to transportation cash from the stimulus bill — while it tries to figure out the long-term future of America’s roads and rails. Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood joined House Transportation Chairman James Oberstar this week in Minnesota as part of an “outreach tour” for the next multi-year transport bill. But getting Congress in gear may largely depend on the efforts of the more than 2,100 lobbyists that have already shared their concerns with lawmakers. As a result of the current uncertainty, hundreds of groups that build, operate, or rely on the transportation network are growing increasingly restless, including hundreds of municipal governments facing massive budget cuts. So more and more, they’re turning to Washington insiders for help — and to keep the pressure on Congress. Plenty of prominent law firms and independent lobbyists boast a handful of influential clients, but eleven firms (there was a tie for number 10) in particular are the most prolific.

A new analysis of Senate disclosure records by the Center for Public Integrity found the firms that are Washington’s biggest bats in the transportation lineup, judged by their total client list. The more than 400 interests they represent include transit agencies, real estate companies, development authorities, Fortune 500 corporations, and most abundantly, local governments. Here they are:

No. 1: FERGUSON GROUP — 77 clients

(See clients)

The Ferguson Group counts mostly cities and counties among its dozens of transportation clients, from King County, Washington to Rochester, New York. The firm bills itself as the “largest federal representative of local governments in Washington, D.C.,” working on a variety of issues for more than 230 public and private clients in 38 states. One mayor says he already knew of the firm before hiring them because of the local government coalitions that Ferguson helps manage, like Climate Communities, a national group working with the federal government on policies to reduce emissions. Other coalitions Ferguson lobbies for include the National Association of Towns and Townships as well as the Mayors & Municipalities Automotive Coalition. Within the transportation lobby, Ferguson has an especially strong presence in both North Carolina and California, with multiple interests in at least nine other states. The firm’s transportation team boasts a wealth of expertise. Melissa Hyman is a former legislative assistant to retired Representative Joe Hoeffel, a Pennsylvania Democrat, and handled the congressman’s work on the House Transportation Committee. Hyman’s colleague Michael Miller also worked for the late Rep. Robert Matsui, a California Democrat and former member of the transportation committee whose seat was won by his widow, Rep. Doris Matsui. Miller represents mostly California clients, while Hyman works primarily for East Coast governments in locales like Hagerstown, Maryland and Greenville, North Carolina. Other Ferguson lobbyists also served former members of the House Appropriations and Transportation committees. For now, the firm continues to navigate what two of its lobbyists called a “Chinese menu” of federal transportation programs. “The Ferguson Group does a fantastic job,” Cincinnati Mayor Mark Mallory told his hometown paper.

No. 2: ALCALDE & FAY — 64 clients

(See clients)

The Arlington-based firm has a strong presence among Florida cities and counties, but also represents multiple interests in California, New Mexico, and Virginia. Many of Alcalde & Fay’s Florida clients, including Boca Raton and West Palm Beach, are handled by James Davenport, a former aide to the late Rep. Gerald B. Solomon, a New York Republican. Nineteen of Alcalde’s transport-interested Florida clients also pay firm partner L.A. “Skip” Bafalis, a former Republican congressman from Florida. Alcalde & Fay subcontracts a portion of those clients’ lobbying payments to CML Consulting Services, a shop in which Bafalis is listed as sole lobbyist. At least three of the clients include local governments in the district of the ranking Republican member of the House Transportation Committee, John Mica. Other Alcalde & Fay interests include three California transit agencies and the real estate group Silver Companies. Some former aides to Virginia lawmakers are also part of the firm’s team, including Andrew Wahlquist, once chief of staff to retired Republican Senator John Warner. Warner long served on the Senate’s lead committee on highway policy. The two Democrats now chairing Washington’s power transportation committees, House Transportation chairman James Oberstar and Senate Public Works chairwoman Barbara Boxer, were the beneficiaries of a fundraiser hosted by Alcalde & Fay partners in the days leading up to the expiration of the current transportation law last September. Among the projects Alcalde & Fay staff are ultimately seeking funds for in the next transportation bill include a new I-95 interchange in Fredericksburg, Virginia and also roads and trails in Lauderhill, Florida.

No. 3: VAN SCOYOC ASSOCIATES — 59 clients

(See clients)

Van Scoyoc calls itself the largest independent lobbying firm in D.C., earning the third-most lobbying revenues of any Washington firm over the first three quarters of 2009. Through those nine months Van Scoyoc’s transport-interested clients have been diverse, ranging from local governments to universities, transit agencies, real estate firms, and builders like Oldcastle Materials and the National Asphalt Pavement Association. FedEx and DuPont are other Van Scoyoc clients that include transportation among their lobbying concerns. The firm has a significant presence in the states of California, Alabama, and Washington, but boasts other local government clients from Baltimore to Glendale, Arizona. Van Scoyoc is not known for hiring former legislators, but rather the members of their staff with specific expertise. The firm’s transport team includes former House and Senate staffers with experience working Congress’ annual appropriations process. Kevin Patrick Kelly, for instance, is a former aide to Senator Barbara Mikulski, a Maryland Democrat who sits on the Appropriations Subcommittee on Transportation. Bryan Blom, who represents multiple Alabama clients, also once worked as an aide to a former chairman of the House Appropriations Committee, Florida Republican C.W. Bill Young. Yet another Van Scoyoc lobbyist, Steven Palmer, came to the firm in 1998, signing Oldcastle as his first client after nearly two decades as a Senate staffer and assistant transportation secretary for governmental affairs under President Clinton. Some of Van Scoyoc’s clients have transportation earmarks headed their way as a result of the 2010 appropriations bill signed by the President in December. The bill, for instance, earmarks $3 million for Baltimore’s Red Line and another $1 million for a study involving the Baltimore-Washington Parkway.

No. 4: PATTON BOGGS — 48 clients

(See clients)

Washington’s largest lobbying firm is also a major player in federal transportation policy. Many of Patton Boggs’ transportation clients, such as Los Angeles, San Antonio, and Jacksonville, are local governments. But Patton also represents Wal-Mart on transportation policy among other issues, as well as developers A.G. Spanos and James Campbell. Universities with prominent transportation research centers, such as Clemson and Minnesota, are also clients. Patton partner Rodney Slater is actually a former U.S. transportation secretary, but he is not registered this year to lobby on transportation on behalf of the firm’s clients. His Patton Boggs colleague and former deputy chief of staff at the Transportation Department, Norma Krayem, is indeed lobbying on transportation on behalf of the Monroe, Louisiana, Chamber of Commerce and Transurban USA, an international toll road developer. Krayem’s staff bio points out that she was heavily involved in the development of the last two federal transportation bills. The chair of Patton’s transportation practice, Carolina Mederos, also served in a variety of senior positions over 13 years at the Transportation Department’s Office of the Secretary. Her colleague Marek Gootman, a former intergovernmental affairs expert in the Health and Human Services Department, represents six of the nation’s 15 largest cities at Patton Boggs, as well as a handful of others in the Top 50. The city of Minneapolis, for instance, hired Gootman and the Patton Boggs team in 2008 to supplement lobbying done by fellow Top 10 transportation firm Lockridge Grindal Nauen. Councilwoman Betsy Hodges told the Minnesota Independent she was particularly impressed by Patton Boggs’ “deep pool of bipartisan talent.” Within the capital beltway, the firm donates heavily through its political action committee, which contributed $379,650 to federal candidates in the 2008 campaign cycle, according to the Center for Responsive Politics. Two-thirds of that money went to Democrats.

No. 5: HOLLAND & KNIGHT — 41 clients

(See clients)

Washington D.C.’s Holland & Knight enjoyed by far its most lucrative lobbying year ever, taking more than $21.2 million in revenues in 2009. More than a quarter of that money came from contracts that included transportation lobbying on behalf of cities, counties, and mass transit agencies, aided by the firm’s January 2009 acquisition of MARC Associates, which brought with it an expanded portfolio of local governments. Among Holland & Knight’s notable transportation clients: freight railroad Genesee & Wyoming, the Hollywood-based Memorial Healthcare System, and cities such as Omaha, Charlotte, San Francisco, and Tulsa. One of the firm’s prominent transportation lobbyists is Richard Gold, who was called one of D.C.’s top “hired guns” by both The Hill and Washingtonian. Gold leads Holland & Knight’s appropriations team and once worked for the late Senator Lloyd Bentsen, a Texas Democrat. Another member of the lobbying team, Jeffrey Boothe, is a nationally recognized expert on the federal funding process for mass transit projects. Boothe, a former aide to retired Senator Mark Hatfield, an Oregon Republican, represents mass transit agencies in municipalities like Atlanta, Sacramento, and Washington DC, and also chairs the New Starts Working Group, a coalition of transit agencies, cities, and private companies that champions mass transit funding. Holland & Knight employees also lobby at the state level, such as former Florida Governor Bob Martinez, who represents Tampa Bay’s conventions and visitors bureau. In Washington, the firm additionally represents that area’s mass transit agency. Holland & Knight has a prolific political action committee that contributed more money to federal candidates than any other law firm in the 2008 campaign cycle. Of the $576,459 given by the PAC, 60 percent went to Democrats, including $8,000 to House Transportation committee chairman James Oberstar.

No. 6: DAVID TURCH AND ASSOCIATES — 29 clients

(See clients)

This boutique Washington lobbying firm places a heavy emphasis on its transportation expertise for an expansive list of Southern California and Minnesota clients; among them are city and county governments, the planning agency in St. Cloud, Minnesota, and the Southern California Regional Rail Authority. Founding partner David Turch served 15 years as a House and Senate staffer before going on to found the firm in 1987, and his lobbying team features additional former congressional staff. Kodiak Hill-Davis worked for former Republican congresswoman Nancy Johnson of Connecticut, a member of the Ways and Means committee. Jamie Jones, meanwhile, served as senior staff to former southern California congressman Marty Martinez and now represents more than a dozen southern California municipalities, including the neighboring governments of Chino and Ontario. The firm says its knowledge of the “authorization and appropriations process has allowed us to secure hundreds of millions of dollars for our clients,” including tens of millions from the 2005 transportation bill for projects such as major interchanges and a streetcar system. Many of those long-time clients — such as California towns Rancho Cucamonga and Temecula — received highway and transit earmarks in the 2005 transportation bill after contracting with David Turch. The 2010 appropriations bill signed by the President in December earmarks $550,000 for a regional transportation center in Burbank, a David Turch client. Another, the city of Beaumont, California, was awarded $750,000 for an interchange project.

No. 7: LOCKRIDGE GRINDAL NAUEN — 26 clients

(See clients)

A Minneapolis-based law firm with a lobbying office in Washington, Lockridge Grindal Nauen is uniquely situated to serve its client list of mostly Minnesota local governments — including the cities of St. Paul and Duluth. In 2008, Lockridge received the third most local government money of any firm lobbying Minnesota’s state capital, but unlike the firms ranked ahead of it, Lockridge also took many of its clients’ concerns to Washington by lobbying the U.S. Congress. Notably, the most transport-focused member of Congress, Democratic House Transportation chairman James Oberstar, hails from the northeastern part of the state. And Lockridge’s lobbyists, many of them former staff to Minnesotan politicians, are busy pitching Oberstar and his colleagues for a slice of the transport pie. They include Hannah Bernhardt and Johanna White, who both worked for another Minnesotan, Rep. Betty McCollum, a Democratic member of the House Appropriations and Budget Committees. Lockridge also played a role in this year’s high-profile U.S. Senate recount battle, as the firm received over half a million dollars in legal fees from now-freshman Democratic Senator Al Franken. The firm also represents the I-94 West Coalition, a group of local governments, businesses, and chambers of commerce with interest in the suburban stretch of interstate, as well as the Minneapolis-Duluth/Superior Passenger Rail Alliance. The recently signed 2010 appropriations bill earmarks $1,000,000 for at least one Lockridge client, the Minnesota Valley Regional Rail Authority. Rep. Oberstar also requested a $2,750,000 earmark in for the Northern Lights high speed rail project between Minneapolis and Duluth, of interest to the passenger rail alliance, among others. The congressman ultimately managed $500,000 for the Northern Lights earmark in this appropriations bill, but his six-year transportation draft legislation would dedicate $50 billion to high speed rail projects nationwide.

No. 8: DELTA DEVELOPMENT GROUP — 24 clients

(See clients)

This real-estate focused consulting firm headquartered in Mechanicsburg, Pennsylvania has lately found itself embroiled in a local political scandal surrounding former state representative Mike Veon, a Pennsylvania Democrat whose brother was hired by Delta in 2004. Neither the firm nor Veon’s brother were accused of a crime, but Mike Veon was charged with theft for funneling money to a nonprofit that was a Delta client. Testimony in his trial is expected to begin in February. The state’s House Democratic Caucus was another Delta client. But in addition to its business at the state legislature in Harrisburg, Delta Development is active at the federal level on behalf of mostly Pennsylvania towns and private real estate firms. All of Delta’s federal clients employ former Senate aide Mark Carmel, who focused on transportation and labor issues in the office of Pennsylvania Senator Arlen Specter. The firm’s staff has long contributed to both political parties, including to Senator Specter, a former Republican turned Democrat. Most of Delta’s developer clients, such as Mechanicsburg, Pennsylvania’s LDI Associates, are lobbying Washington exclusively on the federal transportation bill and annual transportation appropriations, according to disclosures filed by the firm. And some of those clients have their eye on specific projects already written into the 2010 appropriations bill. The Erie, Pennsylvania, Metropolitan Transit Authority, for instance, received a $1.4 million earmark thanks to a request from both Senators Specter and Bob Casey. Centre County, Pennsylvania, another Delta client, was awarded a $750,000 earmark for safety improvements along U.S. Route 322 that was also co-sponsored by both Senators. Nearly a decade ago, the Centre Daily-Times examined how Delta helped secure a transportation earmark for a privately developed shopping center from another prominent Pennsylvanian — then-House Transportation chairman Bud Shuster, who was succeeded in Congress by his son Bill in 2001.

No. 9: BALL JANIK LLP — 23 clients

(See clients)

This Northwest-oriented firm represents one of the most visible players in today’s transportation debate, Transportation for America. The public-interest coalition is seeking to align transportation policy in the next long-term bill to issues such as climate change, public health, and economic development, and its 400 members include local officials, smart growth and health groups, the AARP, and the National Association of Realtors. But Ball Janik also represents a stable of clients with local transportation concerns in states like Oregon and Washington, where the firm, best known for its real estate practice, operates multiple law offices. Ball Janik’s Beltway lobbying team includes respected expert Victoria Cram, a former congressional aide and long-time lobbyist for the City of Portland. In the past Cram helped secure funding for projects like Portland’s Capitol Highway and the Kyle Canyon interchange, a Las Vegas development site of more than 1,700 acres. “I see us not only as an extension of the city staff but almost as an extension of congressional staff,” Cram once told The Oregonian. Other Ball Janik clients include Las Vegas; Bellevue, Washington; Dayton, Ohio; and Boise, Idaho, which is seeking money from the administration for a downtown streetcar system. Multiple northwestern ports are also signed up wth Ball Janik, as well as Oregon Iron Works, which manufactures streetcars. Ball Janik lobbyists Mark Dedrick and Nora Khalil are also among the firm’s former congressional staffers. Khalil worked for Texas Rep. Kay Granger and retired Caifornia Rep. Ron Packard, both Republican members of the House Appropriations committee.

No. 10 (tie): AKIN GUMP STRAUSS HAUER & FELD LLP — 20 clients

(See clients)

Akin Gump, which boasts it is “one of the world’s largest law firms,” was also Washington’s second-largest lobbying practice in 2009. Akin Gump’s diverse client base in the transportation lobby includes the city of Houston, construction company Fluor, Los Angeles home builder Pardee Homes, four metro development authorities, and a handful of transit agencies from Rochester, New York, to San Jose. Lobbyist Susan Lent, who represents most of Akin Gump’s transport-interested clients, is a former counsel to the House Surface Transportation subcommittee, now known as Highways and Transit. She also served as counsel for investigations and oversight to the House Transportation Committee at large. In addition, former House Democratic Caucus chairman Victor Fazio of California is part of the Akin Gump stable, and lobbies on behalf of clients such as Pardee and the city of Woodland, California. Another Akin Gump staffer and former congressman, Bill Paxon, who served as National Republican Congressional Committee chair during the 1994 takeover of Congress, represents the Niagara Frontier Transportation Authority of Buffalo. Paxon co-hosted a December fundraising dinner for Delaware Republican Michael Castle at Akin Gump client Fluor’s Capitol Hill townhouse, the site of more than a dozen such fundraisers in 2009 including a December breakfast for Texas Democrat Chet Edwards that was also co-hosted by Akin Gump. Like many of its Washington competitors, Akin Gump’s political action committee also gave large sums to federal candidates in the 2008 election cycle. Two-thirds of its $479,472 went to Democrats, including House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, who received $10,000 from the firm.

No. 10 (tie): SIMON AND COMPANY — 20 clients

(See clients)

Founder Len Simon spent a decade on staff at the U.S. Conference of Mayors before opening a small firm in 1987 to cater to cities and public authorities. Today he is a veteran of multiple transportation bills and part of a three-person lobbying team primarily responsible for local governments from Madison, Wisconsin, to Fresno, California. Carmel, Indiana, mayor Jim Brainard hired Simon more than a decade ago shortly after coming into office and indicated he has not looked back. “I just see myself as an extension of the mayor’s staff,” Simon once told The Indianapolis Star of his clients. One such client, Salt Lake City, is especially enamored with the administration’s support for funding streetcar systems, an idea the city is looking to Simon to help secure funding for. The city’s officials recently traveled to Oregon and Washington state to survey systems. In Tacoma, Washington, Simon helped the city prepare earmark requests for projects including downtown streetscape improvements. Another Simon client, Elkhart, Indiana just received a $700,000 earmark in the 2010 appropriations bill for grade separation along a local street. Like many other active lobbyists, Simon contributes small amounts — generally $250 to $500 — to Congressional representatives from his clients’ districts. According to data from the Center for Responsive Politics and the Sunlight Foundation, many of these donations occur on the days of members’ Capitol Hill fundraising events.

Deputy data editor M.B. Pell conducted the analysis for this report; reporting fellow Naseem Miller also contributed.