Lobbyists
The N.C. Center for Public Policy Research put out its annual rankings of the 50 most influential lobbyists in Raleigh. (Full disclosure, I was one of those who filled out surveys upon which the rankings were based.)
According to the center’s analysis of the report, video poker and the state lottery were helped drive some people up the list. “(S)ix of the 11 newcomers in the latest rankings of the Most Influential Lobbyists in the N.C. General Assembly worked for or against lotteries and video poker.”
Of course, there was your usual helping of tobacco and alcohol-related lobbyists as well and folks representing various medical fields. And at the top of the list there were a hand full of guys like Don Beason, Zeb Alley and Roger Bone who represent a laundry list of groups. There were also some real estate industry specialists, but they were kind of far down on the rankings.
Theresa Kostrzewa, the only woman in the top 10, represents the video poker, specialty beer and pork industry (pork as in pig not as in legislators bringing home the bacon). Beer and poker were hot issues last session, and in the quote she gave the center Kostrzewa acknowledges their affect on her ranking.
“Rankings are often correlated with issues that are front and center,” she says.
Looking through the rankings I don’t see any real strong Greensboro or Guilford County connection, which is to be expected since most of the lobbyists set up shop down here in Cap City.
Based on the “hot issue drives up the lobbyist’s stock” theory, those with health insurance and other health care industry connections can look for their rankings to rise next session.