Taylor Shellfish Has a New Friend: Lobbying Firm Glover Park Group

[Update 3/19: Taylor's "new friend", Glover Park Group, is mentioned in a 3/17 Equal Times article entitled "Pr firms at the service of human rights abusers." It will be fascinating to see what sort of "conversation" GPG develops for Taylor Shellfish and the Pacific Coast Shellfish Growers Association.]

 

The best politics money can buy.

Control the process, you get what you want.

Sometimes. Sometimes not.



The little fish in the big pond needs a big fish for a friend
Taylor Shellfish and the Pacific Coast Shellfish Growers Association, through their law firm Plauche and Carr, have hired WPP's Glover Park Group to address federal permitting issues in Washington DC. WPP bills itself as "the world's largest communications services group, employing 179,000 people working in 3,000 offices in 111 countries." As one of WPP's >450 separate companies listed, GPG is noted as being "...a nationally-recognized strategic communications and government relations firm."

Still a little fish of the  new big friend
To put in perspective where Taylor Shellfish falls in GPG's client list, Foreign Influence Explorer reports on foreign funding sources and expenditures of lobbying groups. It notes GPG's client list includes Abu Dhabi Investment Authority ($342,000 in 2013), Government of the Arab Republic of Egypt ($750,000 in 2014), Taipei Economic And Cultural Representative Office in the United States ($1.6 million received in 2013, $353,000 in 2014).  Open Secrets reports that domestically, Berkshire Hathaway ($180,000), the American Bankers Association ($280,000), United Health Group ($240,000) and Fuels America ($620,000) are a few of their clients. In the past, Taylor Shellfish has been reported to have spent $20,000 with Vitello Consulting, in 2006. The Pacific Coast Shellfish Growers Association is reported to have spent $50,000 with lobbyist David Weiman, in 2008. In short, while past experience is no indication of future performance, in Washington DC they are still a small fish, but to their credit, they are focused.

Taylor Shellfish/PCSGA: We need to "control the conversation" on Federal permitting
The Sunlight Foundation Reporting Group reports the purpose GPG has been enlisted by Plauche and Carr, fronting for Taylor Shellfish and the Pacific Coast Shellfish Growers Association, is to deal with "Federal permitting related to shellfish operations." Whether this is to address current issues Taylor Shellfish is not pleased with or to begin lobbying for changes in the upcoming Nationwide permits for 2017 which the Corps of Engineers uses in its oversight of the shellfish industry is unknown. Maybe they just need help communicating. What is known is "controlling the conversation" and "leading the action" with "rock stars" is one way to get what you want. Sometimes. Sometimes not.

Get involved. The shellfish industry is and they don't like regulatory oversight.