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 as 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 press secretary in Washington, D.C. for a Democrat Congressman from Oregon (Les AuCoin), as an Oregon state government manager in Salem and Portland, as press secretary for Oregon’s last Republican governor (Vic Atiyeh), and as a private sector lobbyist.  This blog also allows me to link another favorite pastime – politics and the art of developing public policy – to what I write.  I could have called this blog “Middle Ground,” for that is what I long for in both politics and golf.  The middle ground is often where the best public policy decisions lie.  And it is where you want to be on a golf course.

The headline in this blog landed in my mind after I had talked to some of my past lobbying colleagues who are contending with one of the toughest legislative sessions ever.

In general, they say “it sucks.”

There are at least two reasons:

• The session is operating in a “virtual” sense – that is, neither citizens nor lobbyists are allowed inside the Capitol building and, thus, everyone uses only phone, e-mail, texts or on-line access (through a contract the state has with Microsoft Teams) to communicate.  The reason, of course, is the pandemic.

• Looking a bit like Congress, which is not a compliment, legislators on the right and left at the Capitol don’t like each much and often would rather loft criticisms than solutions.

Here is how one of my lobby friends put it.

“There are so many process issues and how the lobby participates in a virtual session is beyond challenging.  I could go on and on about how stupid this virtual session is, but the biggest thing for me being locked out of the building, is the energy I no longer get from being inside the marble walls.

“Sessions are always hard.  They are exhausting and intense.  But, this year, everyone just sits and stares at a screen all day long.”

I am not asking for sympathy for lobbyists.  They are doing their job as representatives of the clients who hire them.  They choose that line of work. 

But, what they do need is recognition about how tough the job is when personal interaction does not occur.  Members of the public need it, too.

As I reflect on my 25 years as a state lobbyist, the one task that made me successful was this:  The ability to talk personally with each of the 90 legislators, some more than others, of course, but with all 90 during a six-month legislative session.

The personal contact was designed to achieve two things – first, for me to listen to their perspectives (listening is an important, though often lost, credential in the lobbying business) and, second, for me to impart perspectives from my clients (another important part of lobbying).

When personal interaction is lost, the results are not as solid.

Now, the Oregonian newspaper reports that the Legislature is considering allowing virtual hearings in the future, even with the pandemic in the rear-view mirror.  That will be a good change for citizens if they can figure out how to navigate the on-line system – especially for citizens who would have to travel long distances to get to Salem.

But, for lobbyists, I suspect they yearn for a return to the ability to engage in personal interaction.  If I was there, I would.