As a Manager of Compliance Services, Carlo Aguja, Esq., has been providing his expertise and helping our clients for six years. He first began as a Manager of Research Services at State and Federal Communications, Inc. in 2018.

Carlo came to Ohio from the East Coast. He received an undergraduate degree from the University of Delaware, majoring in Business Administration and minoring in Economics. It wasn’t until he attended law school at the University of Detroit Mercy that he found an affinity for law, with a particular interest in criminal and immigration law.

In a previous role, Carlo worked at an IT company as the company’s legal corporate counsel, as well as helping with HR and managing immigration processes for employees moving to the United States. In this role, he became comfortable with work related to regulations and following standards set by the United States government.

As family members made the move to Northeast Ohio, Carlo felt it was time for a change, so he followed them. He found that State and Federal Communications, Inc. included work that was already in his wheelhouse.

“In my previous job. I had to make sure I was up to date in the laws that would affect the company, research it, interpret it, and then disperse it companywide. It was different law, but the same skill set,” he explained.

While understanding compliance laws is a major part of the job, Carlo says that not only is it important to answer what the client is asking, but it’s critical to anticipate the questions they may not think to ask.

“Issues may arise from innocuous questions,” he pointed out. “A client may ask me about getting coffee with a legislator in Connecticut, but he’s not registered in Connecticut, or he’s never even mentioned Connecticut before in his areas of responsibility. You’re always trying to do what’s in front of you and then anticipate.”

Carlo also says it’s important to understand the culture of different jurisdictions when working with lobbyists and legislators in different parts of the country.

“For example, states that are predominantly in the Northeast may have dealt with a specific issue over the last hundred years and will treat it differently than somewhere else that maybe never experienced that issue. These differences can affect how they choose to regulate the same issue. So, the Northeast might handle things a certain way, whereas the South is different,” Carlo explained.

Not only are the cultures of those states completely different, but their state legislatures may also operate very differently.

“In some places, a lobbyist can give a political contribution. In other places, they restrict it completely,” he explained.

The State and Federal Communications, Inc. team is full of experts you can trust. Learn more about what they can do for you at https://stateandfed.com/services/.

Without the contributions and activism of women throughout history, our lives would not look the same today. Social and political milestones helped give women autonomy and more opportunities, including winning the right to vote, access to reproductive healthcare, and women holding leadership positions traditionally reserved for men. Life changing and lifesaving inventions, such as the car heater, feeding tube, and the home security system came from the minds of brilliant women, and who wouldn’t want to live in a world where Taylor Swift is smashing every record in the music industry?

Every March, we celebrate the accomplishments of these women and all the amazing women who came before us with Women’s History Month. The annual observance began as a week-long celebration in Santa Rosa, California. In 1978, the Education Task Force of Sonoma County Commission on the Status of Women planned the first Women’s History Week, choosing the week of March 8 to coincide with International Women’s Day. Women’s History Week soon spread across the country as other communities and groups began hosting their own celebrations.

By February 1980, the week of March 8 was officially declared National Women’s History Week after the National Women’s History Project (now the National Women’s History Alliance) advocated for the week’s national recognition. In 1987, Congress passed Public Law 100-9, officially designating March as Women’s History Month.

Since then, women have continued to make strides and history in all fields, including politics and government affairs.

According to the Center for American Women in Politics, in 2024:

• 25% of United States Senators are women.
• 126 out of 435 seats are held by women in the United States House of Representatives.
• 12 women are serving as governors.
• 8% of mayors in United States cities are women.
• 99 Statewide Elective Executives are women.
• 2,424 women hold positions in statewide legislatures.

Women have always taken an active role in politics and advocacy, whether they were welcomed and recognized, or not. Some notable women in this arena include:

• Elizabeth Cady Stanton – A women’s rights activist and abolitionist, Stanton, along with several other women, convened the first women’s rights convention in Seneca, New York. At this convention, Stanton shared the Declaration of Sentiments, which called for major reforms to laws and practices that were oppressive to women. She also led the Women’s National Loyal League, which called for immediate emancipation during the Civil War. Additionally, Stanton fought for women’s suffrage through the National American Woman Suffrage Association.
• Sojourner Truth – In 1851 at the Ohio Women’s Convention in Akron, Sojourner Truth gave her famous speech, “Ain’t I a Woman?”, where she demanded equal rights and suffrage for all women, not just white women, and called for intersectionality between abolitionism and women’s suffrage. She spent her life fighting for Civil Rights, continuing to call for abolition, women’s suffrage, and other causes around the country. The bronze bust of Sojourner Truth lies in the United States Capitol Visitor Center, and is the first sculpture there to honor an African American.
• Anne Wexler – Anne Wexler was the first woman to own a lobbying firm. Wexler started her political career in the 1960s when she served on the Westport Zoning Board of Appeals and worked on the campaigns of John Fitzgerald, Eugene McCarthy, Joseph Duffy, and Jimmy Carter. She also worked in President Carter’s administration. In 1980, she established Wexler & Walker Public Policy Associates, which took on clients such as General Motors and worked with the Australian government.

While once considered a “good old boys club”, the tides are changing in the field of government relations. In 2023, women made up almost 40% of registered lobbyists. Professional networks such as Black Girl Magic Network, Women in Government Relations (WGR), and Women in Government (WIG) are working to ensure that all women have a seat at the table.

As a proud woman-owned company, State and Federal Communications, Inc. also works to celebrate and elevate women in the government relations industry and in our community. We are long-time supporters of Women in Government, Women in Government Relations, ATHENA Akron, Akron Community Foundation’s Women’s Endowment Fund, and the Sojourner Truth Legacy Plaza in downtown Akron.

In our own company, led by President and CEO Elizabeth Bartz, 41% of our team members are women and hold positions in each department. Three of our top leadership positions are held by women: President and CEO Elizabeth Bartz, Vice President Amber Fish Linke, Esq., and Senior Advisor Jean Cantrell. Additionally, our Compliance Department is made up of 50% women and our Research Department is 33% women, taking on roles that have traditionally been done by men.

As we observe Women’s History Month, we continue to celebrate the contributions of women before us while making space for all women to succeed in the face of adversity. March may be over soon, but the achievements of powerful and trailblazing women will continue to live on.

Center for American Women and Politics (CAWP). 2024. “Women in Elective Office 2024.” New Brunswick, NJ: Center for American Women and Politics, Eagleton Institute of Politics, Rutgers University-New Brunswick. https://cawp.rutgers.edu/facts/current-numbers/women-elective-office-2024 (Accessed March 13, 2024)

As a seasoned government relations professional, State and Federal Communications, Inc., was thrilled to bring on Jean Cantrell as the company’s first senior advisor in January, 2022, with a particular focus on stakeholder management

Because of her vast experience in the industry, President and CEO Elizbeth Bartz felt Jean’s insights and expertise would be valuable when it came to stakeholder outreach and management.

“I like to think I provide a bit of a fresh perspective. As a former State and Federal client, I had the opportunity to walk in our clients’ shoes,” Jean explained.

Jean was a former client when she worked at Dun & Bradstreet, a commercial data and analytics business. This was Jean’s first job in the government relations industry, where she began as the Administrator of the company’s political action committee. Twenty years later, Jean assumed the role as leader/head of government relations at Dun & Bradstreet.

“The bottom line is I had a spectacular mentor. I started in the proverbial mail room at the lowest rung of the ladder and worked my way up,” she said.

She leveraged her experience and moved to other GR positions for companies, like Circuit City, EDS (now HP), and Philips, where she started its first state government relations program.

Jean’s expertise extends beyond the workplace, too. She has been a volunteer with the Commission on Presidential Debates since 1988 and worked with the Commission to set up presidential debate watches on more than 500 college campuses. She has served in a number of leadership positions:  President of both the Washington Area State Relations Group and the State Government Affairs Council, was Vice President of the NCSL Foundation, and co-chair of the U.S. Conference of Mayors Business Council.

Jean has two guiding philosophies when it comes to work and life: meet people “where they live” and leverage your knowledge and experience.

“If you’re working with a potential client, you want to understand what their pain points are, and avoid assuming they’re at Point A when they may be at Point B,” she explains.

She also suggests, “The other thing is use every resource at your disposal to be the best you can be in your job.”

Mentorship is also incredibly important to Jean. Because her mentor had so much to do with her success, Jean strives to intentionally pay it forward and enjoys sharing her knowledge and experience with others.

A bill to be introduced by Representative Matt Simpson would transfer oversight of public officials from the Ethics Commission to district attorneys and the attorney general.

The bill also allows for unlimited gifts from friends; allows officials to solicit gifts from subordinates; and greatly broadens the definition of family member.

The bill gives the Legislature control of the Ethics Commission, potentially impairing the commission’s ability to act impartially.

State and Federal Communications, Inc. is home to the one-and-only News You Can Use digest and its accompanying daily newsletter, LobbyComply News Roundup. For 23 years, Jim Sedor, Manager of News Services, has been providing this award-winning news service to clients and followers.

Jim started his career by earning a Bachelor’s degree in Social Sciences at Edinboro University and later attending graduate school for Library Information Science at Kent State University. In 2000, Jim came across an ad in the Akron Beacon Journal to be the first Manager of News Services at State and Federal Communications, Inc. He has been here ever since.

“This job had just been created when I applied for it and got it, so I’ve been able to sort of shape how it’s done, which has been satisfying. It started out as an in-house report so we could show our seven or eight employees at the time what was going on,” Jim explained.

What began in-house evolved into daily newsletters and a weekly e-mail digest that gets sent to hundreds of recipients. Additionally, State and Federal Communications, Inc. received the Outstanding Service Award from the Council of Governmental Ethics Laws in 2020 primarily because of News You Can Use.

“We couldn’t have done this before the internet because that’s where I do all the research. Then we saw there was so much information that our clients and others would need to know or would want to know about. So it’s just grown as the company has grown,” he said.

Jim’s contributions have been invaluable to our Research and Compliance departments, as well as the Marketing and Sales teams.

“If a court decision comes up or if a governor signs a new law that we need to know about because it affects lobbying or campaign finance, I’m able to alert them, send out information, so that we keep up-to-date,  don’t miss anything, and everything is updated  in a timely manner.”

When it comes to helping our clients, Jim provides a unique and invaluable product. When he meets clients and industry experts at events like the Annual COGEL Conference, he’s able to hear from them about what issues they are seeing, problems they may be having, and solutions that are being considered.

“And after 23 years, I think that’s given me some gravitas,” he said.

Jim’s contributions don’t only provide up-to-date information and the latest news, however. Through the LobbyComply News Roundup and News You Can Use, government affairs professionals can also understand why compliance is so important.

“Big companies realize they need to know the law before they act, and that’s where State and Federal comes in, because we know the fine points of the law and we can alert them when they’re running into problems and how to avoid having their company name in a headline,” he explained.

Texas lobbying and campaign finance thresholds have increased to reflect changes in the consumer price index.

The thresholds for lobbyist compensation and reimbursement increased from $1,760 to $1,870.

Lobbyist expenditures increased from $810 to $820 per calendar quarter, not including expenditures for an individual’s travel, food, lodging, or membership dues.

If a lobbyist does not intend to exceed $2,150 during a calendar year in expenditures, the lobbyist may file an annual report due on January 10.

Salary reporting thresholds have also increased.

Compensation or reimbursement required to be reported must be reported as an exact amount if the compensation or reimbursement received exceeds $1,076,130.

Regarding campaign finance, a general-purpose and specific-purpose committee may not accept political contributions or expenditures totaling more than $1,050 without filing a campaign treasurer appointment.

Other changes include PAC contribution and expenditure report increases for the amount of political contributions from each person in the aggregate exceeding $110 during the reporting period; the amount of loans that exceed in the aggregate $140; and the amount of political expenditures that exceed in the aggregate $220.

In 2023, State and Federal Communications, Inc. was recognized as a Healthy Worksite by the Healthy Business Council of Ohio.  Our workplace’s commitment to employee wellness wouldn’t be possible without the hard work of our Human Resources department, including HR Generalist, Anastasia Drescher.

Anastasia began her career in Human Resources as a student at Cuyahoga Community College and then transferred to Youngstown State University. As a student, she interned with AVI Foodsystems in their Human Resources department for two years.

Upon returning home in 2018, Anastasia joined the State and Federal Communications, Inc. team as an HR Generalist. In her role, she handles a variety of responsibilities, including hiring, onboarding, managing benefits, and encouraging worksite wellness.

With a little more than 40 employees, Anastasia finds that a personal touch and the opportunities for one-on-one support go a long way.

“I could just walk down the hall and talk to you about benefits and answer any questions that you have, or if you have any questions, you can stop on down to see me. I found that having that, being in a smaller organization, does have its positives and that’s definitely one of them,” she explains.

While Anastasia does not work directly with clients in the HR Generalist role, her work is indispensable in supporting our staff.

“It’s all about being a support for the staff, for everyone here. And you’re making sure that the departments are set up how they need to be to be able to function to take care of our clients, so it’s all kind of a domino effect,” she explains.

The State and Federal Communications, Inc. team is full of experts you can trust. Learn more about what they can do for you at https://stateandfed.com/services/.