The “Small” States: Who’s on First?

By Constance Campanella, President and CEO 

It happens every year. An idea pops up on the legislative agenda in a so-called “small state.” The appellation typically describes a state in which the affected company or industry has a minor presence and limited growth potential as compared to other states. States typically in this category include New Hampshire, Vermont, North Dakota, Hawaii and Alaska–among others.

In this case, analysis of the proposal indicates that it is, indeed, a bad idea and one that would be costly if adopted in California, New York, Florida or other “big” states.

But, since it is in a “small” state, a decision is made to not get involved–no lobbying or advocacy of any kind. Not even a letter or phone call. After all, it is said, we have limited resources and cannot engage everywhere.

True, no one can engage everywhere, but this analysis ignores a very basic rule of legislative trends–someone has to go first. Legislators ALWAYS ask what other state has done whatever is being proposed.   

That fact was influential earlier this year when a Maryland bill threatened to regulate the Internet–from Annapolis. During each legislative hearing that key question–Has any state done this?–was posed by legislators and answered by the business community opponents. “No, no state has done this. Maryland would be the first.” The bill, whose prime advocate was Maryland’s Attorney General, was amended to call only for an interim study and passed.

The very existence of a “first” makes all subsequent state actions less risky and less difficult. Getting a “first” on the books, no matter what or where it occurs, can be the legislative equivalent of a fissure in a dam.

Wisely, advocates often start their campaigns in “small” states precisely because they recognize that the resources of potential opponents will be less, thus improving their likelihood of success. With a signed law in hand, they can take their new idea anywhere and not have to ask legislators to go first.

Another advantage for advocates in the small states? Legislators are usually part time and have very little staff support to provide perspective on the hundreds of issues on which they must deal. So advocates can organize some grassroots activity, present their case and get a bill passed. And as the examples show, the ideas then spread.

Now ask yourself, can my company or trade association really afford to ignore that “small” state?

Regardless of whether the new concept is a good one or a bad one, assuming that its emergence in a “small” state deserves inattention is a risky proposition.

Here are a couple of examples of issues that began with enactments in “small” states:

Bans on the collection and sale of physicians’ prescription data: New Hampshire, 2006

Subsequently adopted in:  Illinois, Minnesota, North Carolina, Pennsylvania, Washington

Medical privacy laws: Hawaii, 2000

Subsequently passed in Arizona, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Florida, Georgia, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, North Carolina, Ohio, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, Texas.

***

Constance Campanella is the Founder, President and CEO of Stateside Associates. A veteran of 30 years of state and federal issue management experience, Ms. Campanella managed Stateside’s growth from a one-person firm to what one trade publication has called, “a behemoth in state lobbying.”

Encouraging Her to Run – Locally

By  Elizabeth Schneider, Manager Local Government Services 

It started on a residential street in St. Louis, Missouri with a busted manhole cover and a frustrated mother. After the noise from the cars banging against the damaged cover had disturbed her children’s naps one too many times the mom contacted City Hall, but was rebuffed.

So she started a petition drive and successfully got the street closed to through traffic.

And that was the beginning of Harriet Woods’s career in politics. She went from signature gatherer to City Councilwoman to State Senator to become the first woman to be elected and serve as Missouri’s Lieutenant Governor.

She was the inspiration behind the creation of Emily’s List which as a PAC and political organization has served as a powerhouse for pro-choice women seeking office at the state and federal level.  However, this month, officials over at Emily’s List made a noted shift by endorsing four female mayoral candidates running in four of the largest cities in the U.S.

But Emily’s List is not the only group out there encouraging women to strike out for local office. Numerous political organizations including PACs, partisan and non-partisan groups and leadership training programs see an advantage to putting their resources, as well as their money, behind such women.

Whether it is a numbers game – women make up 51% of the U.S. population and hold less than 20% of elected offices in the U.S. and as of January 2012, of the 1,248 mayors of U.S. cities with populations of more than 30,000, there were 217, or 17.4% women in charge – or simply a strategy to see women move up from local positions of power to say, the White House, the momentum is there.

Non-Partisan PACs who support female candidates with a focus on the local level include the Women’s TAP Fund (Taking Action in Politics), the Southeastern Institute for Women in Politics and the Pennsylvania’s Women’s Campaign Fund.

Ruth’s List recruits and supports pro-choice democratic women with a focus on city council and county commissions as does the Democratic Women’s PAC of Maryland , Colorado’s Blue Flower Fund  and the Eleanor Roosevelt Legacy PAC.

There seems to be no republican equivalent to what democrats are doing on the local level. PACs committed to electing conservative and republican women tend to focus on candidates for State and Federal office, such as the Susan B. Anthony List, SHE-PAC (Support Honor Elect) and VIEW PAC (Value in Electing Women).

Leadership training programs which prepare women to run for political office have also been growing.

One group, Emerge America, which started out in 2002 with one office in the Bay area now has offices in 12 states. Emerge provides a training program including workshops on fundraising, messaging and technology for democratic women.

The Sue Shear Institute, based in St. Louis, at the University of Missouri-St. Louis (UMSL), is a non-partisan issue-neutral leadership training program to educate women on the need for leadership in public policy. Ready to Run, created by The Center for American Women and Politics at Rutgers University, is a national training and candidate recruitment program with the goal of electing more women to public office.

The National Federation of Republican Women runs a campaign management school to train republican women on how to effectively win elections through workshops dedicated to everything from fundraising to get out the vote activities.

She Should Run serves as a non-partisan clearinghouse of research and resources as well as an online tool with a mission to “dramatically increase the number of women in leadership positions.”

On the worldwide stage, the U.S. ranks 93rd out of 139 countries in the number of women in our national legislature and this year there are 1,781, or  24.1%, of the 7,383 U.S. state legislators that are women. Perhaps state and local have eclipsed national as the new focus.

***

Elizabeth Schneider is the Manager of Local Government Services at Stateside Associates. In this role, Ms. Schneider oversees Stateside’s Local Government Monitoring services and stays ahead of issue management trends as they emerge at the local level.

Selling City Hall

By  Heather Williams, Vice President 

What has billions of dollars to spend on goods and services and a purchasing power greater than the federal government?

The more than 89,000 units of local government, a group that includes counties, cities, townships and special districts.

Realizing this, local governments are leveraging their buying power more now than ever. By entering into purchasing cooperatives, these local governments are able to take advantage of economies of scale, to effectively increase their access to goods and services and reach a larger vendor market. While these types of purchasing cooperatives have been around for some time, local government participation has grown tremendously over the last decade.

All 50 states have authorized their local governments to enter into purchasing cooperatives. Compare that to only 30 states having the same authority in 1998. The units of local government that could be considered for inclusion in a particular purchasing cooperative include counties, cities, towns, districts, boroughs, plantations, villages and school districts. Each purchasing cooperative sets its own parameters for the types of local government participation, the process to enter into the cooperative and the supplier selection process.

These purchasing cooperatives are similar to the federal GSA schedule, only specifically focused on the needs of localities. With a market this large and growing, the trend is to see smaller, more specific, purchasing cooperatives being created. These smaller organizations often include a smaller regional subset of states, but can be comprised of any combination of public agencies and/or states. While these smaller purchasing cooperatives are entering the market, twelve of the largest purchasing cooperatives already comprise approximately $10 billion in market share.

One of those cooperatives, U.S. Communities Government Purchasing Alliance represents approximately 25% of the market share, making it the largest of the local government purchasing cooperatives. Founded and owned by National Association of Counties (NACo), National League of Cities (NLC), The Association of School Business Officials, International (ASBO), The National Institute of Governmental Purchasing (NIPG) and U.S. Conference of Mayors (USCM), it represents more than 55,000 public agencies and has 28 suppliers with 23 contracts for goods and services amounting to annual sales of approximately $1.5 billion.

Why is this so important?

By combining their purchasing power, localities have shifted the balance of power from the seller to the buyer. By making a single contract at the local level the basis for a larger multi-jurisdiction cooperative contract, local governments can leverage the opportunity and capitalize on concessions from companies.

Likewise, companies that still rely on selling to local jurisdictions on an individual basis and that don’t capitalize on the benefit these local government purchasing cooperatives provide are missing out on business opportunities.

How does a company make sure they are best positioned to win local business?

The relationship between local government Groups and local public sector sales is apparent beyond the fact that NACo, NLC and USCM founded and own a local government purchasing cooperative. Tapping into both universes, that of local Groups and local government purchasing cooperatives, will provide the greatest foundation for your public sector sales divisions to capitalize on opportunities within local governments.

Winning a contract to become a supplier to U.S. Communities, or any other of the numerous purchasing cooperatives, is not dependent on participation in local government Groups. But it does help.

For example, a Stateside client joined a local officials Group as part of an overall local government affairs strategy. With a large local government purchasing cooperative opportunity on the horizon, our client is able to use their work with the Group as one component of a much larger strategic plan to best position the company to win the contract.

With the increasing role state government affairs programs are playing in the local government arena, finding strategic engagement opportunities is essential. Working with the appropriate Groups provides opportunities to build brand awareness and create positive relationships with their staffs and local government officials themselves. These strategic opportunities can add value and help navigate through a complex and ever-evolving world of local government public sector sales and can help ensure a state government affairs program is providing the support and value an organization’s sales team needs.

***

Heather Williams works at Stateside Associates to help clients manage state and local government issues. As Vice President at the company she also manages client relationships with key Groups, including her “alma mater,” the Democratic Legislative Campaign Committee (DLCC), where she served as National Finance Director.

***

A Public Affairs Council (PAC) webinar on the same subject, Lobbying at the Local Level, featuring Stateside Associates President and CEO, Constance Campanella, is available now as a podcast.