Community bankers’ well-timed PR campaign

From: POLITICO Influence - Monday Apr 03,2023 10:31 pm

Apr 03, 2023

With help from Daniel Lippman

TAKE IT TO THE BANK: The Independent Community Bankers of America, which represents the nation’s smallest banks in Washington, is rolling out a new campaign aimed at shoring up small lenders in the wake of last month’s collapses of Silicon Valley Bank and Signature Bank.

— The drive, which seeks to nudge consumers toward community banks and keep them there, had been in the works for some time, according to the trade association (April is Community Banking Month). But last month’s bank failures made the push even more pertinent. It also doesn’t hurt that the campaign coincides with a two-week congressional recess when lawmakers will be back in their districts meeting with constituents likely to bring up bank collapses.

— “Obviously, the timing is probably more important now than ever,” Rebeca Romero Rainey, ICBA’s president and chief executive, told PI, explaining that the turbulence that’s rocked banking over the past month has sparked intrigue from customers looking for guidance about banking options. However, she added, “not sure I would’ve choreographed it this way.”

— ICBA quickly sprang into action last month to distance its members from Silicon Valley Bank and any lingering uncertainty in the banking sector — and to make the case to policymakers that smaller banks should not be penalized “to cover the sins of the largest and riskiest institutions.”

— That rapid mobilization, and community banks’ broad support throughout Washington, appears to be paying off so far. The Biden administration is pursuing tougher banking rules that seem likely to spare smaller lenders — instead focusing on regional and midsize banks — while signaling an openness to letting community banks bear less of the burden for replenishing the federal deposit insurance fund that bailed out the failed banks.

— The campaign will feature ad buys and social media campaigns from ICBA in addition to arming members with market research highlighting millennials as a key target demographic and a “turnkey” toolkit so that banks can tailor the message to their communities.

— Asked if the bank collapses prompted any last-minute changes to ICBA’s campaign, Romero Rainey argued none were needed. “The underlying message is still exactly what we had intended before all of this happened,” she said. “Regardless of what happens moving forward … part of the message here is: Your local community bank is there for you in good times, and in challenging times.”

Welcome to April and welcome to PI. Send your best K Street tips: coprysko@politico.com. And be sure to follow me on Twitter: @caitlinoprysko.

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FIRST IN PI — BROWNSTEIN ADDS TOP VA STAFFER: Jon Towers has left the Hill after more than two decades working for the congressional veterans affairs committees. He’s joined Brownstein Hyatt Farber Schreck as a policy director, where he’ll lobby on many of the same issues he worked on in Congress and join former VA Secretary Jim Nicholson.

— Towers most recently served as the GOP staff director for the Senate Veterans’ Affairs Committee, where he got his start on the Hill and worked for 16 years altogether. In between his two stints on the Senate side, Towers spent a decade with the panel’s House counterpart, including as staff director.

— In an interview, Towers said that after 26 years on the Hill he was looking forward to working on veterans issues “from a little bit different perspective” and that he’ll work with clients interested in helping veterans and doing business with the Department of Veterans Affairs. He added that he was drawn to Brownstein because their bipartisan approach mirrors the dynamics of the veterans affairs committees on the Hill.

— Towers is subject to a one-year cooling off period from lobbying the Senate, but told PI that especially with last year’s passage of the PACT Act, with which he was heavily involved, “there are just a host of issues that I’m anxious to kind of roll up my sleeves and see … where my skill set might be best put to use here.” The VA “is a huge, sprawling entity and we think that clients can definitely benefit from his knowledge and experience,” said Will Moschella, the co-chair of Brownstein’s lobbying shop.

PRECISION STAFF MOVE TO UNIONIZE: “Precision Strategies, a leading Democratic consulting firm with close ties to the White House, has taken the first step toward becoming a union shop for some of its employees,” Axios’ Hans Nichols reports.

— “The company, with more than 120 employees, is at the beginning of a collective bargaining conversation that other Democratic public affairs firms — reliant on a progressive workforce — also are likely to face.”

— Staff at the firm, which was launched 10 years ago by Obama reelection veterans Stephanie Cutter, Teddy Goff and current White House deputy chief of staff Jennifer O’Malley Dillon, announced their intent to unionize last month with the Communications Workers of America and “last week, the firm’s management indicated it was willing to take the next steps toward unionization.”

— The firm is part of a broader trend in Democratic politics that has included union drives in political campaigns, the halls of Congress and liberal advocacy groups like Sunrise Movement. Becoming “the first prominent firm to move toward unionization also has its advantages, as many of Democratic clients will want to reward it,” but it could also set up a clash between private equity investors that have infiltrated the government relations and public affairs space in recent years — Precision is one of the latest beneficiaries of the glut of private equity cash downtown, and sold a minority stake to Boston-based Abry Partners earlier this year.

NRCC VETS LAUNCH NEW FIRM: A pair of former operatives for House Republicans’ campaign arm have launched their own media and public affairs firm. The new venture from Michael McAdams, who was the NRCC’s communications director during the 2022 cycle and remains executive director of House Majority Whip Tom Emmer’s political operation, and Jared Solomon, the NRCC’s ad guru, will be called Spotlight Media Group.

— The firm will create TV and digital ads for Republican candidates and conservative groups in addition to providing public affairs services to trade groups, companies and individuals. In a statement, Emmer, who ran the NRCC last cycle, called McAdams “one of my most trusted political advisors” who he said “will provide tremendous value for his clients.” He added: “When it comes to making ads that cut through the noise, there’s no one better than Jared Solomon.”

FRIENDS IN HIGH PLACES: The New York Times’ Eric Lipton and Dionne Searcey report that Israeli billionaire Dan Gertler has enlisted perhaps the most peculiar ally yet in his yearslong fight against U.S. sanctions for allegedly bilking the economy of the Democratic Republic of Congo to the tune of more than $1 billion through corrupt mining and oil deals: Congolese President Felix Tshisekedi.

— The effort by Gertler, who has long denied corruption accusations, has previously included entreaties to the Trump administration by former FBI Director Louis Freeh and attorney Alan Dershowitz. Former Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin granted Gertler some sanctions relief on his way out of office, but the sanctions were reinstated the same year by the Biden administration.

— The lobbying efforts by Tshisekedi, who appealed to President Joe Biden directly, and some Congo-based civil society groups, “came after Mr. Gertler agreed to return to Congo an estimated $2 billion worth of mining and oil-drilling rights secured over the past two decades.”

— “In exchange, the Congolese government agreed to pay Mr. Gertler’s companies $260 million and to help him lobby in Washington to have the sanctions revoked, the agreement with Mr. Gertler says. The move would allow Congo to resell the mining rights to new investors.” The apparent reconciliation hasn’t appeased human rights groups, though.

IF YOU MISSED IT OVER THE WEEKEND: With Biden apparently gearing up for a reelection campaign focused on the urgency of the climate crisis — based on touting the clean energy investments and economic benefits of the landmark climate legislation he signed into law last year, POLITICO’s Eli Stokols has a great deep dive on how climate groups and their deep-pocketed benefactors as well as activists helped force a political “sea change” for the environmental movement in Washington.

— One signal of the group’s change in political muscle? “The climate coalition’s hard-won success is even being held up now as a template for other progressive advocacy groups. When Anita Dunn, a senior adviser to the president, has met with care economy activists about their priorities falling out of the final version of the IRA, she’s urged them to study the environmental groups’ political metamorphosis and the kind of long-term commitment that’s often required to win in Washington.”

Jobs Report

SPOTTED at a dinner Friday at Paraíso Taqueria to celebrate Solidarity Strategies being named creative agency of the year by Campaigns & Elections, per a tipster: Solidarity’s Chuck Rocha, Luis Alcauter and Daysi Gonzalez, Mayra Macias of Building Back Together, Mari Urbina of Indivisible, Farah Melendez of the Democratic Attorneys General Association and Marina Orcutt of Watershed Strategies.

— The Motion Picture Association has named Cesar Castillejos as vice president of communications, public affairs and advocacy for Latin America and Carlos Monroy as advocacy director for Mexico. Castillejos most recently led communications for Mexico’s Federal Judiciary Authority and the National Supreme Court of Justice and Monroy previously served as senior adviser to former Mexican Secretary of Economy Tatiana Clouthier.

— Liz Varner has joined Teneo’s D.C. office as a vice president focused on corporate communications and media relations. She was previously an account supervisor at Edelman.

— Greg Lemon is joining Koch Industries as communications director. He most recently was director of corporate communications at Targeted Victory.

— Dentons Global Advisors has promoted Eric Altbach, Paul Ansah, James King and Atman Trivedi to partners in the Washington office.

— Laurel Loomis Rimon has joined Jenner & Block as a partner and co-chair of its fintech and crypto assets practice in the Washington office. She was most recently a member of the CFPB investigations and fintech practices at Paul Hastings and is an O'Melveny & Myers and DOJ alum.

— Jorge Elorza, the former two-term mayor of Providence, R.I., is the new CEO of Democrats for Education Reform and its affiliate Education Reform Now think tank, Morning Education reports.

— Maryanne Martini is now communications deputy at No Labels. She most recently was communications director for former Rep. Tom Rice (R-S.C.).

— Hope Beaghley has been promoted to be a director in the strategic communications division working on food and agriculture clients for FGS Global.

— Emily Samsel is now vice president of communications at Boundary Stone Partners. She was most recently national communications director at the League of Conservation Voters.

— Sally Slater has been promoted to be executive vice president at the marketing communications firm The Bliss Group. She’ll continue to be the firm’s head of innovation.

— Brandon Farris is now vice president of energy and resources policy at the National Association of Manufacturers. He most recently led federal government relations for the Chemours Company.

— Emily Martin is now a policy director at the Asian American Hotel Owners Association. She previously was a coordinator at the U.S. Chamber of Commerce Institute for Legal Reform.

— John Buntin is now a senior adviser at the Council on Criminal Justice. He most recently was director of policy and community safety for Nashville Mayor John Cooper and is an alum of Governing Magazine.

— Madeleine Russak is joining Signal Group as vice president. She previously was comms director for Sen. Mazie Hirono (D-Hawaii). The firm is also promoting Jess McCarron and Scott Lusk to executive vice president.

— Maura Gillespie is launching Bluestack Strategies, where she will be founder and principal. She most recently was deputy chief of staff for former Rep. Adam Kinzinger (R-Ill.).

— Barclays Americas CEO Richard Haworth will become board chair of the Institute of International Bankers.

— David Watkins is now director of government affairs for the Union of Concerned Scientists’ climate and energy program. He previously was staff director for the House Natural Resources Dems.

— Nicole Siegel is the Gates Foundation’s new senior program officer of postsecondary communications, per Morning Education. She was previously the director of advocacy for social policy, education and politics at Third Way.

— Emmi Navarro has been promoted to senior education advocacy adviser at Third Way, and Ben Cecil has joined the think tank as a senior education policy adviser. He was formerly an associate analyst at the American Council on Education.

— Kendyl Parker is now campaign manager for Rep. Zach Nunn’s (R-Iowa) reelect. She previously was a manager at FP1 Strategies.

— Janel Forsythe is now media associate for the Campaign Legal Center’s campaign finance and ethics team. She previously was a strategist at UpShift Strategies.

— Sasha Stashwick is joining Carbon180 as policy director, per Morning Energy. She leaves the Natural Resources Defense Council after 15 years, most recently serving as director of the industrial policy, climate and clean energy program.

New Joint Fundraisers

Team Emmer (Rep. Tom Emmer, Electing Majority Making Effective Republicans (EMMER PAC))

New PACs

Actions Speak Louder Than Tweets PAC (Hybrid PAC)
Join US (Super PAC)
Save Our Constitution PAC (Super PAC)
Viasat, Inc. Political Action Committee (Viasat PAC) (PAC)

New Lobbying REGISTRATIONS

Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld: Central Romana Corporation, Ltd.
Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld: Euroapi
Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld: Zero Technologies LLC D/B/A Zerowater
Axon Enterprises: Axon Enterprises
Brody Group L.L.C. Public Affairs: Dsb Technologies
Burrell International Group LLC: Arsenal Medical, Inc.
Burrell International Group LLC: Otogenetics
Capitol Resources, LLC: Lobaki
Foley & Lardner LLP: Los Angeles World Cup Host Committee LLC
Foley & Lardner LLP: Monument
Foley & Lardner LLP: Wasabi Technologies
Ge Healthcare Technologies Inc.: Ge Healthcare Technologies Inc.
Mr. Tim Chrisman: Distinctive Edge Partners
Parry, Romani, Deconcini & Symms: Enginuity Power Systems
Pillsbury Winthrop Shaw Pittman LLP: Censys, Inc.
Pillsbury Winthrop Shaw Pittman LLP: Slashnext, Inc.
Port Side Strategies, LLC: Avaaz Foundation
S-3 Group: Genevant Sciences, Inc.
S-3 Group: Synopsys, Inc.
Strategies 360: Cowlitz Indian Tribe
Watershed Results LLC: Ruffed Grouse Society/American Woodcock Society
Water Strategies, LLC: Twin Loups Reclamation District

New Lobbying Terminations

Federal Hall Policy Advisors, LLC: Snapdocs, Inc.
Ibex2 Solutions, LLC: O'Brien, Gentry & Scott Obo X-Bow Launch Systems
Meridian 122 LLC: Flextech Alliance, Inc.
Mr. David Patrick: Jet1 LLC
Slaiman Consulting LLC: Siriusxm

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