[PERSPECTIVE FROM THE 19^TH HOLE: This is the title I chose for my personal blog, which is meant to give me an outlet for one of my favorite crafts – writing – plus to use an image from my favorite sport, golf. Out of college, my first job was a reporter for the Daily Astorian (in Astoria, Oregon) and I went on from there to practice writing in all of my professional positions, including as an Oregon state government manager and a private sector lobbyist. This blog also allows me to link another favorite pastime – politics and the art of developing pubic policy – to what I write. If you are reading this, thanks for doing so and please don’t hesitate to respond so we can engage in a dialogue, not just a monologue.]

One of my old teachers used the phrase “best fact first” when it came to writing. So, it may not be wise to start with the bad news because the approach can leave that news intact before getting to the better news. But so be it. In this post, I start with the negative.

The title lobbyist often conjures up negative images these days and I have nearly 40 years of experience hearing all of the bad stuff, not to mention media coverage that suggests all lobbyists are out to fleece the public.

Here are some fables about what all lobbyists do:

• They carry around a bag of money and use the paper to buy results.

• They have no respect for accuracy and resort only to overstatement and threats.

• They plays fast and loose with facts to get their way on matters that should be related to the public interest, not private gain.

Well, that is not my experience. I functioned as a private sector lobbyist for almost 25 years and that experience came on top of another 15 years for government agencies where one of the my responsibilities was to relate to elected officials.

I was able to do this job, not perfectly of course, but with fealty to honesty and integrity. To get my way, I never lied or created false information.

I represented my clients, keeping their best interests in mind, with an eye, at the same time, to the public interest.

One credential was patently clear to me after 40 years in the business: Your word is your bond. If that was not true, you were in trouble, your credibility was at stake and so was the reputation of your clients.

When I told my mother about what I did for a living, I often resorted to three descriptions. First, I said, I was like an attorney; I had a client, had a contract to represent that client and my “courtroom” was the Capitol where I would meet with legislators.

Second, I said I was like a trader on a busy commodity-trading floor. Figuratively speaking, I had to yell to get an elected official’s attention with a lot of competitors.

Third, I was like a salesperson. I was not selling a car, a home or a widget. I was selling ideas – a perspective from client that would be affected by passage or failure of a specific piece of legislation.

So, take it from me, even with my bias, lobbying is an honorable profession. F course, there are those who don’t act in an honest and forthright fashion. But, most lobbyists act with a “your word is your bond” ethic and, thus, deserve respect as key players in the process of making public policy.