Lobbyists ponder power shift in D.C.

WASHINGTON — Lobbyist election briefings are a biennial Capitol Hill ritual in which influence brokers dispense equal parts wisdom and emotional Pepto-Bismol to nervous clients.

Businesses are begging for reassurance about the shelf life of their agendas if the Democrats win the House next week. The largest lobbying firms have hosted a stream of briefing breakfasts and lunches for blue-chip customers. Some industries are worried about the Democrats' alleged hit list; Big Tobacco lobbyists are said to be trying to talk their clients off the ledge.

Though Puget Sound firms' lobbyists — T. J. Petrizzo, Steve McBee and Denny Miller — are doing many briefings on demand and weekly client updates, they aren't fazed by doomsday chatter.

"We have seen many changes of political power in Congress during our 22 years of existence," said Miller of Denny Miller Associates.

Like the Seattle-based firm Preston Gates Ellis, which is holding a major briefing after the election, these three have hedged their bets over the years by reaching out to both political parties.

They have encouraged their clients, like kids, to share their contributions with Democrats and Republicans.

"If lobbyists are doing their job correctly, I don't think the election has an impact," said Petrizzo, a Republican with the eponymous Petrizzo Strategic Group.

He added: "In the Northwest, the lobby firms have mostly had a bipartisan roster of employees."

They have to.

Washington state is so dependent on the federal government for money and policy decisions — including energy, the environment, fisheries, trade, the border, ports and defense — that it has more home-grown lobbying firms than almost any other state except California and New York.

These lobbyists' clients include Boeing, Microsoft, Starbucks, Safeco, Vulcan and the ports of Tacoma and Seattle.

"We've deliberately built a balanced company, so I don't sit up on election night holding my breath for a specific outcome," said McBee, a Democrat who heads McBee Strategic Consulting.

One reason to sleep soundly is that several Puget Sound clients who have federal Homeland Security contracts could be winners in a Democratic Congress.

Democrats have been quietly drafting a new security initiative on Capitol Hill and want to revisit the Port Security bill that passed in September with no money attached. "This time, they want a security package with money in it," perhaps $1 billion, McBee said.

But Democrats' vow to limit corporate tax breaks could cause a little insomnia at Preston Gates Ellis, which does taxation work for major industries before Congress.

As Bette Davis once said, "Fasten your seat belts, it's going to be a bumpy night."

And lobbyists are scouting for soft landings.

Letter from Washington is an examination of the culture of politics and power in the nation's capital. Alicia Mundy can be reached at 202-622-7457 or at amundy@seattletimes.com.