End of the session?

I don't have any time to post new thoughts today, so I'll borrow a small article I wrote in December of last year before the session started. Now that we're in the midst of a partial government shutdown, this piece is a refreshing glance back to the days approaching the start of the session.
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Capitol Cowboy
by Justin Roth
December 17, 2004

A reproduction of a painting sits on the scarred hardwood floor of John Curry’s cold corner office. The painting depicts two blanket-smothered cowboys riding drooping horses through a windy snow-covered prairie. Curry looked out his window at the Minnesota State Capitol building four blocks away, still free of snow in December.

“I walk to that building in my wing-tips all winter” Curry said, pointing out the window to the tall pasty dome.

Curry is the legislative director at the Minnesota Center for Environmental Advocacy, an office of about 20 people. Light spills into the office through Curry’s large wood framed window reveals the building and the path he will walk all winter. Around the window, peeling paint has been covered up with more paint to try and slow the chipping.

Curry has requested from his employer a Segway, a two-wheeled stand up scooter, to help him get to the capitol on the snowy days. They declined, but he still thinks it would be nice to have an easier way up there.

Every day of the session, from January to May, Curry walks up to the building and talks to senators, representatives and other groups in an effort to increase the number of votes on bills that will benefit the environment. He says he puts in 40 hours a week at the capitol building, and then around 25 hours a week more at the office. The ironic factor is he joined the advocacy group to have more time for his family.

His resume includes a job as a staff at the Minnesota House of Representatives, work on several political campaigns and lobbying for the Hennepin County Attorney’s Office. When he had a little girl he wanted to continue campaigning, but the 18-hour days were not family-friendly. He mentioned that he wanted to work for the environment so he called the center for environmental advocacy. He was hired during his call to the center, but he worried about his limited environmental experience. He was told ‘if you know lobbying, we can teach you environment.’

His long days are due to the amount of time meeting with politicians takes. He says he has from six to eight committees that he has to meet with about several different bills, and there are usually over a dozen members on each of those committees. He has to spend 15-20 minutes on each person on each committee for each bill he wants to discuss. Then he has to come back to the office to organize everything. On top of that, he says trying to schedule time with a legislator takes about an hour.

In addition to meeting with politicians, he has to meet with other groups that may have similar goals as the MCEA. This adds difficulties to the task because his group likes to work quickly.

“We’re more of a cowboy organization,” Curry said. “We take an issue and go. Working with coalitions adds more stress”

Curry recently talked to a woman who didn’t want to bring in other groups that helped the goal they were working towards. He says some of the groups that share environmental goals can surprise some people. He says hunters, while they tend to be conservative, obviously share goals with environmentalists, who tend to be liberal. On the other hand, Curry says even environmentalists can clash. The Sierra Club recently disagreed with the MCEA while the government sided with the center. Curry said it could have confused the public, but Curry convinced the Sierra Club to take a neutral stance.

The power to get your way as a legislative assistant comes from relationships, Curry said.

“Even if they oppose your bill, they will still meet with you if they have a respect for the way you present the facts,” Curry said.

But inside his office decorated with children’s marker drawings and pictures of his family, he prepares for the upcoming session. He says sometimes there is not enough time in the day.

“Sometimes when you’re close to defeat, you’re right on the edge,” Curry said. “If I work harder, someone might call their legislator. The wife and kids get ignored, the dog doesn’t get walked and the home doesn’t get cleaned.” But he has also negotiated time off during the summer. He said a lobbyist is worthless when there aren’t politicians meeting.

“Over the summer you’ll find me being a dad,” he said. “You’ll find me at the state fair or at the science museum.”

John Curry will soon he will be braving the Minnesota prairie on the snowy four-block journey to the capitol, in his wing tips. He’ll be the cowboy, John Curry, lobbying for the environment.