Subject: POLITICO Influence: Islam & Driesman to host Van Hollen, DSCC — Podesta Group hires Terry Neal for PR — Wyatt Closs to Democracy Partners
From: POLITICO Influence <[email-masked]>
To: <[email-masked]>
Date: Tue, 3 May 2016 12:03:32 -0600

By Isaac Arnsdorf | 05/03/2016 02:00 PM EDT

With help from Cogan Schneier and Brianna Gurciullo

NORTON MANOR: IT entrepreneur Frank Islam and his wife, Debbie Driesman, are hosting a fundraiser next week at their nine-acre Potomac estate for Chris Van Hollen, fresh off his primary win for the Democratic nominee for Senate from Maryland. The invitation also names Sen. Barbara Mikulski, whom Van Hollen aims to succeed, and Sens. Ben Cardin (D-Md.) and Tim Kaine (D-Va.). As a DSCC event, contributions top out at $33,400.

AMERICA! Rep. Joe Crowley (D-N.Y.) is taking a weekender to New York next month to hear Paul Simon at the Forest Hills Stadium and fundraise at the new hotel in the MetLife Clocktower on Madison Square.

- iHeartMedia PAC, Consumer Technology Association PAC and Intuit 21st Century Leadership Fund are hosting a fundraiser this month for Rep. Jared Polis (D-Colo.).

FIRST IN PI: The Podesta Group hired Terry Neal, the former Washington Post reporter who worked at Hill + Knowlton and most recently was chief communications consultant for Fannie Mae, as a principal in its PR practice. Neal has worked on campaigns for Johnson & Johnson, Deloitte, Ford, Microsoft, Citigroup, Computer Sciences Corporation, America's Natural Gas Alliance, BET and the U.S. Marine Corps. The Podesta Group said its PR shop's revenue tripled in the past five years, as lobbying firms seeking new income sources amid a stagnant LDA market continue to expand into communications.

HAPPY HOOSIER TUESDAY! It could be Ted's last stand. Pitches and tips to [email-masked].

THIS FRIDAY: Playbook Breakfast with RNC Chairman Reince Priebus. Doors at 7:30 a.m.; program at 8 at Hyatt Regency on Capitol Hill, 400 New Jersey Ave. NW. RSVP: http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=d3cdf401825c731060c9ae15b83c21123e9b5708ee52e597988aad321df0a558

PEOPLE TO EMAIL: 

- Democracy Partners hired Wyatt Closs, principal of Big Bowl of Ideas, as a partner. "There is a real challenge out there in terms of fully utilizing all that the arts and what I like to call 'popular media organizing,' can offer to advance key issues of the day - it's not an afterthought or about 'prettying up' your message - it's about a vibrancy and amplification of what you or your organization should be talking about in a way an editorial column never will," he said in a statement. "It's your translator to the masses, and changes the very environment and arena in which organizing happens."

- Brownstein Hyatt Farber Schreck hired Thomas Krysa, a former SEC associate regional director and criminal tax prosecutor, to its litigation team in Denver.

- McDermott Will & Emery formed a new corporate tax team with Jay Singer and David Sherwood, both from Ivins, Phillips & Barker. Singer used to work at Deloitte and the IRS. 

- Miles Lackey is leaving the Rules Committee, where he was Democratic staff director, at the end of the month to serve on the staff of Trinity Church in Lower Manhattan. Ranking Member Louise Slaughter (D-N.Y.) named Don Sisson, currently special assistant to the president for legislative affairs at the White House, as the new staff director.

- Ogilvy Washington promoted Nick Ludlum to executive vice president and group director of corporate and public affairs. His clients have included Boehringer Ingelheim, the government of Chile, Computer Sciences Corp., DuPont, Educational Testing Services, EyeMed Vision Care, Five Guys Burgers and Fries, LexisNexis, Luxottica, the government of Mexico, Panasonic, Pioneer, Ventura Foods and WellPoint.

- Sen. Jerry Moran (R-Kan.) promoted Katie Niederee from press secretary to communications director and Carter Baum to press secretary from correspondence director, press assistant and deputy press secretary. He also hired Jordan Langdon, who was communications director to Rep. Jeff Denham (R-Calif.), as deputy communications director.

- CTIA will honor Reps. Fred Upton and Frank Pallone at a reception May 18.

LATE NIGHT WHEN YOU NEED MY VOTE: Buzzfeed News' Caroline O'Donovan reports that Uber has been texting customers in Texas, urging them to vote for a ballot initiative in Austin today that would repeal an existing city law requiring rideshare drivers be fingerprinted as part of their background checks. Uber and Lyft authored the measure, known as Prop 1, and have spent more than $8 million in Texas to promote it. Uber has been texting customers on their personal cellphones, and some disgruntled users have taken to Twitter to air their annoyance at the practice. At least one tweeted he will not vote for the measure solely because of the texts. http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=d3cdf401825c7310819956282b6b6578b9b223b75e1012af1e647875857d2171

PASS: SIFMA lobbied hard against the fiduciary rule, but now the big banks on its board don't want to participate if there's a lawsuit against the rule, Pro Financial Services' Patrick Temple-West and Zachary Warmbrodt report. Wells Fargo is especially opposed, two sources familiar with the matter said. Others including JPMorgan Chase and Morgan Stanley have suggested they expect to be relatively unharmed, but a lawsuit could hurt their image. The U.S. Chamber of Commerce and the American Council of Life Insurers are debating whether to sue.

EGGXEMPT: The Guardian's Sam Thielman reports major agriculture lobbies, including the United Egg Producers, the National Cattlemen's Beef Association and the National Pork Producers Council are petitioning Congress to change the Freedom of Information Act, requesting to restrict public access to communications between agricultural promotion boards, like the American Egg Board, and USDA. The effort comes after documents obtained via a FOIA request revealed the government-backed AEB attempted to stifle competition from Hampton Creek, a California-based food startup, potentially violating the rules that govern how the Board uses its funding. http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=d3cdf401825c73100aeff12d3b4554ee9b3bda2ce25f45e39ac9f621fc7ad723

FLACKING FOR FLINT: The drinking water crisis in Flint, Mich., has led to increased activity on K Street, reports E&E Publishing's Kevin Bogardus. Two dozen groups reported lobbying on Flint in the first quarter of the year, usually focusing on specific legislation moving through Congress to provide aid to the city. Some groups, like the Natural Resources Defense Council, have been working on clean water issues for years, while others, like the National Education Association, are concerned about the people affected by the crisis, such as children and teachers. The list includes Gephardt Government Affairs lobbying for the Water Quality Association, the Wessel Group on behalf of the Alliance
 for American Manufacturing, McWane and the United Steelworkers, Venable working for the Ohio-based Garretson Resolution Group, Envision Strategy lobbying for the law firm Napoli Shkolnik, and more labor unions including the AFL-CIO, the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees and the Service Employees International Union. http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=d3cdf401825c7310a9e7d2dfda78ecb1b03d7112672db089ba41d19283fdebf6

COUNTDOWN: Puerto Rico began to default on its $422 million debt payment Monday, leaving Congress only a few weeks to approve legislation for a financial fix before the country needs to start servicing a much bigger $2 billion pile of debt in early July. POLITICO's Rachel Bade and Colin Wilhelm report it will be a steep climb, as House GOP leadership will need to get more conservatives on board with a bill that some call a "bailout," and Democrats will need to convince a few of their own lawmakers to sign onto legislation with provisions such as a minimum wage cut. http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=d3cdf401825c7310cf17d8cc82e4c459f29b99da3d0fe3e35b3f54267f5b0a00

ON THE HILL: The National Cooperative Business Association CLUSA International's members are in town to urge members of Congress to join the recently formed Congressional Cooperative Business Caucus, chaired by Reps. Ed Royce (R-Calif.) and Mark Pocan (D-Wis.), and to support H.R. 1567/S. 1252, the Global Food Security Act. NCBA CLUSA is also requesting at least $26,5 million for the Rural Cooperative Development Grant Program in the FY2017 Agriculture, Rural Development, Food and Drug Administration and Related Agencies Appropriations bill. 

SPOTTED at the grand opening of the Robert C. Byrd traveling exhibit on April 29 at West Virginia's Shepherd University: Erik Fatemi, Cornerstone GR and grandson of the late Senator; Ray Smock, former U.S. House of Representatives' historian who is now executive director of the Byrd Center; Richard Baker, former U.S. Senate historian; Craig Bury, IBM and former Byrd staffer; Dionne Davies, former Byrd staffer who just retired from the American Bankers Association.; Mike Fulton of the Asher Agency; Barbara Videnieks, former chief of staff to Byrd; Charles Friddle, FirstEnergy; Marie Prezioso, Piper Jaffray; Martha Anne McIntosh, former office manager/scheduler to Byrd; Brady King, American
 Institute of CPAs.

NEW JOINT FUNDRAISING COMMITTEES:
Moran Victory Committee (Non-Qualified Non-Party, Joint Fundraiser)

NEW PAC REGISTRATIONS:
American Innovation Fund (Non-Qualified Non-Party With Non-Contribution Account)
Badger State Rural (Non-Qualified Non-Party, Unauthorized)
Central Valley Students for Change (Independent Expenditure-Only Committee, Unauthorized)
Immigration for Americans (Non-Qualified Non-Party, Unauthorized)
Mizzou Country (Non-Qualified Non-Party, Unauthorized)
Sicley for 2016 (Independent Expenditure - Person or Group, Unauthorized)

NEW LOBBYING REGISTRATIONS:
1-800 Contacts, Inc.: 1-800 Contacts, Inc.
Bockorny Group, Inc.: General Motors LLC
Capitol Core Group, Inc. (formerly known as MICA-PR): Alert Plus, LLC
CDB ProjX LLC: McAllister & Quinn (on behalf of Clemson University)
Constantine Cannon, LLP: Professional Licensing Coalition
Corley Consulting, LLC: Kelly Hart and Hallman LLP
Harbinger Strategies, LLC: The Depository Trust & Clearing Corporation (DTCC)
Mehlman Castagnetti Rosen & Thomas, Inc.: 1-800 Contacts
Simon and Company: Stanislaus Council of Government
The Glover Park Group LLC: Konecranes PLC
The Kutler Group: Federation of American Hospitals
Thegroup Dc, LLC: Huntington Ingalls Industries
Thegroup Dc, LLC: Lockheed Martin Corporation
Thegroup Dc, LLC: Wal-Mart Stores, Inc.

NEW LOBBYING TERMINATIONS:
None

TERMINATIONS - NO ACTIVITY:
Middle East Petroleum (Uk) Ltd.: Middle East Petroleum (Uk) Ltd.
Jochum Shore & Trossevin PC: Lyft

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