James September-October 2024 web - Flipbook - Page 4
P U B L I S H E R ’ S M ES SAG E
RATING GEORGIA’S LOBBYISTS & FIRMS TRICKY, BUT NECESSARY
anking Georgia’s leading lobbyists and government affairs
firms is a tricky proposition.
But that is our “homework assignment” this time every year. It’s important that we first solicit online ballots
so James can get an instructive guide
as to who our influential readers
nominate and choose. (By the way,
Georgia has over 1,000 registered
lobbyists, so the “Top 100 Lobbyists”
represent the top 10 percent!)
Because this is a very nuanced
industry, there’s more to the selections
than our readers’ poll.
These professional men and
women are major players in shaping
public policy at the local and state
level— and especially under Atlanta’s
“Gold Dome.” Offering strategic advice
and counsel to decision makers can
only happen after trust and confidence
is built. And since the elected officials
are the ultimate decision-makers,
many of the best lobbyists often don’t
promote their wins, but instead promote their champions.
That’s why the James team talks
to, and listens to, movers-and-shakers across the state to assist with our
“homework assignment.” A few are
top, bipartisan elected officials, businesspeople and agency heads. Some
are accomplished lobbyists themselves, or they are their clients. We listen to their suggestions before we tally
the listings. They all give James advice on individuals and firms based on
important criteria: 1) Their integrity, 2)
their ability to provide reliable information and 3) their local and state legislative access and success.
R
Bear in mind when reviewing
the ratings that some lobbyist firms
as well as some solo lobbyists have
an impressive roster of clients, others
have a just few and some just represent one prominent client or wellknown company or organization.
To further complicate rankings,
some lobbyists specialize in state executive/legislative matters, others focus
on the state agencies, still others focus
on local government— and there are
lobbyists and firms that do it all.
We are still contemplating how
to further categorize so many lobbyists with so many specialties for
next year’s “top 100” ratings. Maybe
that’s why after the first 25 the other
75 could generally be classified as
“noteworthy professional lobbyists.”
A final thought. Citizens are represented in the political system not
only by elected representatives, but by
political parties and political/business
interest groups. These all overlap, so
lobbyists can be essential elements of
this system. If you have a policy issue of
concern or are in a business profession
impacted by government, you might
consider joining an organization which
represents your interests. Or consider
hiring one of these lobbyists or government affairs firms to represent you. This
is especially necessary if it involves
entities ranging from the executive
and legislative branches of the federal
and state government to the governing
bodies of counties and cities.
gia’s changing demographics, future
elections and, as the years go by, what
political party could control various
levers of power in the state’s executive,
legislative and judicial branches. In
this context, Lt. Gov. Burt Jones reviews past legislative policy successes,
speculates on the November elections
and cites policy issues he’d like to see
passed into law. Also, in addition to this
issue’s articles ranging from business
and education topics to healthcare and
NIL in sports, we occasionally report on
a Georgia city, county or region. This
time, we asked local freelance scribe
Brian Benefield to inform readers about
some history and current happenings
in Marietta-Cobb County. As a bonus,
your publisher interviewed Cobb Superintendent Chris Ragsdale about his
challenging job managing one of the
state’s top public-school systems.
Do you receive daily
James Magazine Online emails?
I’d be remiss if I didn’t plug our sister company’s online daily political and
business news service jamesmagazinega.com which focuses exclusively on
Georgia. Its reporters, as well as opinion contributors from various parts
of the political spectrum, follow daily
happenings with an eye toward giving
readers information not generally
found in the mainstream media. If you
subscribe to James Magazine Online for
a year (only $17.50 a month or $200 a
year) to receive its daily emails, you get
a free James magazine subscription.
Other notes on this issue
If you follow politics, consider reading Matt Towery’s thought-provoking
look into his crystal ball regarding GeorPHIL KENT CEO & PUB L I S H E R
4
JAMES
SEPTE M B E R/O C TO BE R 2 0 2 4
