Former Speaker of the Kentucky House of Representatives Don Blandford sometimes shared this bit of wisdom with young colleagues: “The issues stay the same; only the people and priorities change.”
A lobbyist’s job calls for monitoring the issues before they become bills, and keeping up with how legislators and the public feel about them.
It’s easy to track issues once they end up as bills and are printed in the daily Legislative Record, a public document. The hard part is monitoring what lawmakers have on their minds on a given day. It’s a difficult task, because issues are more than mere ink on paper — issues are philosophies, sentiments and beliefs competing for approval, and they are always in transition, resulting in perpetual conflict and confrontation.
So how do you keep up with these ever-shifting moods and what issues are priorities with legislators? There are a variety of ways to go about it. Subscribe to the Legislative Record, read the newspapers, watch the 6 o'clock news, conduct a poll. Best of all, become part of the legislative grapevine. ...
Try to widen your circle of contacts and be willing to share at least bits of information with them. There's an unspoken expectation among lobbyists. You exchange information — give tidbits to get tidbits, all the while doing it with discretion. Swapping information is one of the lubricants that keep the legislative system running smoothly.
Don’t be a blabbermouth
A strong word of caution: You want to avoid being branded as a rumormonger or blabbermouth, the other end of the discretion stick. It is possible to share useful information with friends without becoming a gossip. Just be tactful, truthful and don‚t embellish. Stay credible even when exchanging small bits of information.
Chin-wagging in the hallways is okay
There’s no book on the art of small talk for lobbyists, and how you engage in it reflects who you are. But just know that it’s okay to share tidbits in the hallways with other lobbyists; it’s how lobbyists help each other stay informed.
[More in the book.]
