Matt Huffman Consultants/Lobbyists Seize Control of Ohio House Republican Alliance
Having lobbyists in control of House Campaign Committee is a recipe for disaster.
Jeremy Pelzer of Cleveland.com has broken the story today that Senate President Matt Huffman’s favorite Consultants/Lobbyists have taken control of the House Campaign Committee. That means that not only will the same consultants be running Senate and House campaigns, but at the same time, this same firm lobbies for a multitude of clients.
In the past that has been a recipe for disaster. Other multi-client lobbyists tend to feel that running the campaigns and then lobbying the same candidates gives that same firm an unfair advantage. And they are probably right. Plus it looks downright greedy.
That’s why former Speaker Larry Householder frowned heavily on this practice. In fact, to serve as a consultant for his political operation and lobby you needed his express permission. I know, because I worked as one of his consultants and lobbied for a single client during his last term before his arrest. And I very specifically refrained from lobbying either the Speaker’s office or the Speaker on behalf of that client. A summary of the story is below along with a link to the whole story:
COLUMBUS, Ohio — Not only is House Speaker Jason Stephens no longer in control over the House GOP’s campaign arm, but the organization is now in the hands of top political consultants to Senate President Matt Huffman, who’s hoping to soon unseat Stephens as speaker.
Following a court injunction last Friday stripping Stephens of control over the Ohio House Republican Alliance, the campaign organization has been turned over to High Bridge Consulting, a Columbus-based GOP firm with close ties to Huffman.
That’s according to Jared Borg, who until now has been OHRA’s executive director. Borg declined further comment on the record.
The move gives another boost to Huffman, a term-limited Lima Republican, as he works to help get enough House GOP votes to be elected House speaker next January over Stephens, a Lawrence County Republican elected speaker last year thanks to the votes of House Democrats. The results of the legislative elections in November will help decide which candidate might end up emerging as the victor.