Perspective from the 19^th Hole 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 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.

One of my friends here in the California desert asked me a good question as we set down for dinner the other evening.

As a long-time resident of New York City, he said most of his perceptions about lobbying were negative.  So, knowing that I made my living as a lobbyist in Oregon, he wondered how I practiced my craft to avoid the negative perceptions.

Well, I was happy to answer.  I had no difficulty commenting and did not take any offense to his questions.  In fact, I enjoyed trying to provide answers.

First, what I said is that, as a lobbyist, I functioned much like an attorney.  I had a client.  I had a contract to represent that client.  My courtroom was the State Capitol.  So, in the end, to keep a contract, I had to perform – not perfectly all the time, but with a high sense of ethics.

So, that said, what follows is a summary of some of the points I used to answer my friend.

ABIDE BY A PERSONAL CODE OF ETHICAL CONDUCT:  Which is an appropriate combination of (a) who you are as a PERSON who lobbies, and (b) how you comply with regulatory requirements.

COMPLY WITH PUBLIC REGISTRATION:  One of which in Oregon is that you, if you are going to lobby, you have register in a public process, as well as file quarterly reports showing how much you spent as a lobbyist.  Your clients face the same requirements.  Plus, if you have several clients and land a new one, you have three days to complete the registration process, which is designed to make there sure are no surprises or distraction.

REPRESENT CLIENTS WHO DON’T TURN YOUR STOMACH:  For 25 years as a lobbyist, I had the good fortune for this to be true.  If I and colleagues in my firm could not keep a straight face representing clients, then we didn’t take those clients.  For instance, we never represented pro-tobacco companies.  We also had a policy in our firm that, if an associate was not comfortable working for one of our clients, then we gave that associate a pass on that client.

CONFIRM THAT DOLING OUT MONEY DOESN’T RESULT IN SUCCESS:  I never believed that I could or should try to buy a vote, so I didn’t try.  At the same time, I often helped clients decide where to place political contribution money, but I kept that process separate from lobbying.  Plus, I also complied with political contribution reporting requirements, which were separate from lobbying reporting requirements.  [Political contributions are allowed in Oregon because many of those who run for office are not rich enough to run on their own.]

PRACTICE THE ETHIC THAT “YOUR WORD IS YOUR BOND:”  This was a key tenet for me in my 25 years as a lobbyist.  If I said something to a legislator, I would stick with it.  Then, if something changed, I would report that change – and doing so often had the effect of increasing my credibility, a critical component of any lobbyist.  Without it, you won’t survive.

STRIVE TO REACH THE “SMART MIDDLE,” NOT THE EXTREMES:  I often advised clients that, if it looked like they could not find a way to win, then they consider a compromise.  Call it the smart middle if you don’t like the word compromise.  And the smart middle can avoid the extremes of just the “yes” or “no” answer to many public policy issues.

RECOGNIZE THAT LEGISLATORS AND OTHER PUBLIC OFFICIALS HAVE THEIR OWN VIEWS – RESPECT THEM:  It is important to remember that those a lobbyist lobbies – elected or appointed state government officials – have their own private lives beyond their public ones.  So, in your sales job – that’s what lobbying is, selling your clients’ perspectives on issues – strive to know the background of the public officials.  Where they come from and what they think matters.

RECOGNIZE THAT YOUR WORK AS A LOBBYIST WILL REFLECT ON YOUR CLIENTS:  As a lobbyist, you are a sales agent for your clients, so recognize that what you do and how you act as a lobbyist will reflect on your clients.  Always keep that top of mind.

Is this a set of magic answers?  No.

It connotes hard work I tried to express in 25 years as a lobbyists to stay on the right side — with credibility, honesty and goodwill.  I hope I stayed true to that goal.