January 31, 2013 •
Alabama Runoff Election Scheduled for March 12
Candidates vying for Senate District 35 seat
A runoff election is scheduled for Alabama’s 35th Senate District.
Businessman Bill Hightower, who received 47 percent of the votes in the primary election, will face Rep. Jim Barton on March 12.
January 30, 2013 •
Wednesday Government Relations News
Keep up with the latest articles on campaign finance, lobbying, ethics, and more!
Lobbying
“K Street Files: Defense, Tax Aides Join McBee” by Kate Ackley in Roll Call.
“Lobbying World” in The Hill.
California: “Former assemblyman registers as a lobbyist” by Laurel Rosenhall in the Sacramento Bee.
Georgia: “Georgia speaker unveils sweeping ethics legislation” by Chris Joyner in the Atlanta Journal Constitution.
Missouri: “Lawmaker: Legislators should never become lobbyists” by Bob Watson in the News Tribune.
Campaign Finance
“FEC Increases Contribution Limits for 2014” by Kyle Trygstad in Roll Call.
Montana: “Montana legislators, groups at odds on campaign donation limits” by Mike Dennison in the Missoulian.
New York: “On Campaign Finance Reform, Senate Republicans Stand in Gov. Cuomo’s Way” opinion piece by John Petro in the Huffington Post.
Ethics
“Ethics Office Opened 32 Cases During 112th Congress” by Amanda Becker in Roll Call.
Hawaii: “Honolulu Ethics Commission Wants to Double Its Resources to Fight Public Corruption” in the Hawaii Reporter.
Illinois: “Former state ethics commissioner hit with $2,500 ethics violation” by Rafael Guerrero in the Chicago Tribune.
Maine: “Bill would bar state officials from quitting to immediately work for industries they regulated” by Naomi Schalit and John Christie in the Bangor Daily News.
New York: “NY ethics board talks conflicts in secret session” by The Associated Press in the Albany Times Union.
New York: “Ex-aide to City Controller John Liu snared in campaign finance fraud probe is granted immunity to testify in former treasurer’s trial” by Robert Gearty in the New York Daily News.
South Carolina: “SC Supreme Court to hear Nikki Haley ethics case” by Andrew Shain in The State.
Elections
Michigan: “Snyder nixes plan to split Michigan electoral votes” by Alexander Burns in Politico.
Ohio: “State Sen. Turner proposes election reform package” by Joe Hallett in the Columbus Dispatch.
Ohio: “Secretary of State Jon Husted and other Republicans say Electoral College changes not in store for Ohio” by Henry J. Gomez in the Plain Dealer.
Open Government
Mississippi: “Mississippi gets low grades for transparency on state, local websites” by Donna Harris in the Sun Herald.
South Dakota: “Legislature: Public records plan falls short” by David Montgomery in the Argus Leader.
January 29, 2013 •
Massachusetts U.S. Senate Seat Election to Be Scheduled for June 25
U.S. Senator Kerry Resignation Expected Today
A special election for U.S. Senator John Kerry’s seat will be held on June 25, 2013, assuming receipt of his resignation today. This morning, Senator Kerry’s nomination as secretary of state was unanimously approved by the Senate Foreign Relations Committee. He is expected to be confirmed by the full Senate this afternoon and subsequently tender his Senate resignation. Governor Deval Patrick expects to appoint a temporary replacement tomorrow, according to the Boston Globe. The primary election will be held on April 30.
January 29, 2013 •
Mississippi Special Election Set for March 12
Election will fill House District 36 seat
Governor Phil Bryant has set a special election to fill the House District 36 seat on March 12, 2013.
A runoff will be held April 2, 2013, if no candidate receives a majority of the votes.
The seat was held by Representative David Gibbs until his death from cancer on January 13.
January 28, 2013 •
Monday News Roundup
Let’s start off the week with these lobbying, campaign finance, and ethics news articles:
Lobbying
“D.C. Circuit Upholds Conviction of Former Abramoff Lobbying Associate” by Tom Ruger in the Blog of the Legal Times.
Arizona: “Inquiry of Fiesta Bowl lobbyist drags on” by Craig Harris in the Arizona Republic.
Georgia: “Lobbyist gifts decline amid citizen outcry” by Chris Joyner in the Atlanta Journal-Constitution.
Hawaii: “Hawaii legislators push reforming ethics rules for lobbyists and public officials” by Anita Hofschneider (Associated Press) in The Republic.
Kentucky: “Some notes on 2012 lobbying spending” by Tom Loftus in the Courier-Journal.
New Mexico: “Lobbyists haven’t reported all event expenses” by Steve Terrell in the Santa Fe New Mexican.
North Carolina: “N.C. budget chairs change seats, start lobbying careers” by Rob Christensen in the Charlotte Observer.
Washington: “Spin Control: Lobbying season kicks off in Olympia” by Jim Camden in the Spokesman Review.
Campaign Finance
Arizona: “Campaign finance violations targeted” by Yvonne Wingett Sanchez in the Arizona Republic.
Montana: “Montana bill seeks cash to fight ‘dark money‘” by Matt Gouras (Associated Press) in the Great Falls Tribune.
Ethics
South Dakota: “Sunshine laws draw support, resistance” by David Montgomery in the Argus Leader.
Government Tech and Social Media
“6 Ways to Optimize Gov-to-Citizen Communication” by Colin Wood in Government Technology.
Legislative Issues
Arizona: “Arizona’s new Legislature not demographically representative of population” by Mary Jo Pitzl in the Arizona Republic.
January 24, 2013 •
Thursday News Roundup
Here are some great articles for today’s government relations news summary:
Lobbying
“Sandy adds a twist to some firms’ lobbying efforts” by Alex Guillen in Politico.
“Business Lobbying In 2012 Soared, Buoyed By Fiscal Cliff Crisis” by Christina Wilkie in the Huffington Post.
“K Street stumbles for the second straight year” by Catherine Ho in the Washington Post.
Georgia: “Road contractors shower governor with campaign donations” by Greg Bluestein, Ariel Hart and James Salzer in the Atlanta Journal-Constitution.
Wisconsin: “Contract lobbying still ‘under the radar’” by Bill Lueders in Wisconsin Watch.
Campaign Finance
Arizona: “Jan Brewer taps lawyer for Clean Elections post” by The Associated Press in the Arizona Capitol Times.
Florida: “Florida group wants to end caps on campaign donations” by T.W. Farnam in the Washington Post.
Washington: “Lawmaker wants to fix Public Disclosure Commission online system” by Brad Shannon in the News Tribune.
Ethics
“Ethics Panel Requires Added Disclosure of Funds, Accounts” by Amanda Becker in Roll Call.
Connecticut: “Smoke shop owner pleads guilty in campaign finance case” by Mark Pazniokas in the Connecticut Mirror.
Iowa: “Iowa Ethics and Campaign Finance Disclosure Board seeks complaint process change” by Rod Boshart in the Sioux City Journal.
Texas: “Weak Disclosure Laws Keep Public in the Dark” by Ryan Murphy and Jay Root in the Texas Tribune.
Elections
“Missouri House passes elections bill” by Elizabeth Crisp in the St. Louis Post-Dispatch.
Virginia: “Lawmakers move to change Va. electoral vote system” by Julian Walker in the Virginian-Pilot.
Washington: “Washington state lawmakers press for speedier election results” by The Associated Press in the Oregonian.
From the State Legislatures
Idaho: “Wednesday highlights in the Idaho Legislature” in the Idaho Statesman.
Redistricting
Virginia: “Va. House Speaker holds key to redistricting vote” by Errin Haines and Laura Vozzella in the Washington Post.
Virginia: “Stewart cheers Va. Senate redistricting” by Laura Vozella in the Washington Post.
January 23, 2013 •
Missouri’s Eighth Congressional District Seat Vacated
June 4 will be the date of a special election
Governor Jay Nixon is set to announce June 4, 2013 as the date of a special election to fill Missouri’s Eighth Congressional District. Congresswoman Jo Ann Emerson submitted a letter of resignation to become president and CEO of the National Rural Electric Cooperative Association.
The Eighth District will not have voting representation in the House until June due to state law and the Military and Overseas Voter Empowerment (MOVE) Act. The MOVE Act requires local election authorities to begin transmitting ballots to military and overseas voters 45 days before a general, primary, or special election for federal office.
State law allows independent candidates to file for special elections up to the midway point between when an election is called and when it is actually held. Republican and Democratic party committees will nominate their candidates for the special election.
January 23, 2013 •
South Carolina’s Special Election Attracts Special Candidates
Special Primary Scheduled for March 19, 2013
The special election to fill House District 1 and succeed Tim Scott in Congress is attracting notable candidates including Democrat Elizabeth Colbert-Busch, the sister of Comedy Central’s Steven Colbert. Colbert-Busch works at Clemson University as director of sales and marketing for the Wind Turbine Drivetrain Testing Facility.
Republican candidates include wealthy businessman Martin Skelly and former South Carolina Governor Mark Sanford.
The special primary is scheduled for March 19. If no candidate gets more than 50 percent of the vote, a runoff will be held April 2. The special election will be held May 7, 2013.
January 21, 2013 •
Missouri Special Election for House District 157
April 2, 2013 now day of election for two races
Governor Jay Nixon has set April 2 as the date for a special election to fill the vacant seat in House District 157.
The seat became vacant after State Representative Don Ruzicka was appointed to serve on the Board of Probation and Parole.
The governor has also issued an April 2 writ of election for House District 76.
Photo of Governor Nixon by Bernard Pollack on Wikipedia.
January 18, 2013 •
Pennsylvania Sets Special Election Dates
Voters in two districts will elect new representatives
The state has announced that two special elections will be held on May 21 to replace two outgoing state representatives. In district 42, voters will be looking for Matt Smith’s replacement after he ran and won for both a seat in the state house and state senate.
The voters in district 95 will be replacing Eugene DePasquale, who left his position to become the state’s auditor general.
Primary elections will not be held for either of these seats, as the parties will be choosing their nominees.
January 15, 2013 •
Special Election for Kentucky House District 52
Election scheduled February 12
Governor Steve Beshear has set the special election to fill the House District 52 seat for February 12, 2013.
The election will fill the unexpired term of Sara Beth Gregory, who won a special election to the Kentucky Senate after former senate president David Williams resigned to accept a circuit judge appointment by Governor Beshear.
January 14, 2013 •
Monday News Roundup
Let’s start off the week with these lobbying, campaign finance, and ethics news articles:
Lobbying
“Newly unemployed lawmakers buzzing about million-dollar lobbying jobs” by Kevin Bogardus in The Hill.
California: “Interactive graphic: Hidden lobbying expenses” by Sharon Okada in the Sacramento Bee.
California: “California’s lobby laws keep many influence-peddling details secret” by Laurel Rosenhall in the Sacramento Bee.
Nevada: “Lobbyists sit through ethics training in Carson City” by David McGrath in the Las Vegas Sun.
“Two Buerkle staffers land jobs with Washington, D.C., lobbying firms” by Mark Weiner in the Post-Standard.
Campaign Finance
“Money in Politics This Week” by Syed Zaidi in the Brennan Center for Justice Blog.
“FEC Appointments Are Deciding the Future of Campaign Finance” by Alex Gauthier in the Independent Voter Network.
Mississippi: “Judge sets trial date for campaign finance case” by The Associated Press in the Mississippi Business Journal.
Wisconsin: “Mike McCabe featured speaker, topic is Campaign Finance Jan. 26 public meeting” in the Bay View Compass.
Ethics
“Harry Reid Disavows Report Linking Him to Bribery Case” by Neils Lesniewski in Roll Call.
Texas: “Some State Legislators Blur Line Between Public and Private Interests” by Emily Ramshaw in The New York Times.
State Legislatures
“More than Half of State Legislatures Convened this Week” by Angela Andrews in NCSL’s The Thicket blog.
Washington: “Key players to watch in the Washington Legislature, which convenes Monday” in the Seattle Times.
The Presidential Inauguration
“Critics Decry Looser Rules For Inauguration Fundraising” by NPR in Oregon Public Broadcasting.
“Fund-Raising Is Lagging, So Far, for Inaugural Plans” by Nicholas Confessore in The New York Times.
“An inauguration first: Apps” by Steve Freiss in Politico.
January 10, 2013 •
Minnesota Sets Special Election Dates
Date Ensures that College Students May Participate
Governor Mark Dayton has set special election dates for two house seats after the incumbents turned in their resignations on January 7.
The special elections for the house seats in districts 14A and 19A will take place on February 12.
The special primary, if necessary, will take place on January 29. Both districts are home to large college student populations, so the governor decided to ensure that as many students as possible would be back for the election.
January 8, 2013 •
California Special Election Scheduled
Senate Districts 32 and 40
Governor Jerry Brown has called a special election for Senate Districts 32 and 40 to fill vacancies.
The primaries will be held March 12, with runoffs on May 14, 2013.
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