Oil Patch Insider

Alaska governor's office seeks new D.C. lobbyists

After nearly three decades of working with the same firm in Washington, D.C., the State of Alaska is advertising for new lobbyists to help drive home its messages in Congress.

In a request for proposal issued April 4 on behalf of the governor’s office in D.C., Alaska officials advertised for “LOBBY SERVICES, General, ANWR, and Oil & Gas Development.”

The deadline for responses to the RFP, initially April 25, has been extended until May 7.

Asked if the new lobbyists are being hired to promote oil and gas development in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge, John Katz, director of the governor’s office in D.C, said the RFP is “broader than ANWR.”

So does this hiring effort signal the beginning of a new ANWR lobbying offensive by the state in our nation’s capital?

“Every time I hear that someone said we are looking for a new ANWR lobbyist, I cringe,” said Katz. “We want someone who can help us with other issues besides ANWR, as needed — issues such as energy and the Endangered Species Act.”

The state’s RFP actually calls for groups or at least two individuals with lobbying experience related to Alaska or other Western public lands state governments, and lobbying experience related to oil and gas development or resource development. The winning bidder also must have an office in Washington, D.C.

The state’s new lobbyists will have big shoes to fill in replacing high-powered Wexler, Walker Public Policy Associates. This leading Washington, D.C., lobby firm has quietly worked on behalf of Alaska in Congress since 1979.

“Their contract expires at the end of May,” Katz said, “and by law, we cannot renew it.”

So what else is Alaska seeking in its new congressional lobbyists?

Folks who can expertly promote any energy or resource issue that pops up on the state’s radar, the state’s oil and gas interests, be it ANWR, the Alaska natural gas pipeline or something entirely different.

Moreover, the winning bidder will get bonus points for having at least 5 years experience working both Democratic and Republican sides of the aisle on Capitol Hill.

—Rose Ragsdale