| | | | | |  | | By Theodoric Meyer | Presented by Facebook | With Daniel Lippman FARA FRIDAY: A limited-liability company based in Baku, Azerbaijan, has hired Portland PR in support of the company's work on behalf of the Azerbaijani government. The firm will provide the company with "US & international media engagement, media monitoring, digital recommendations, spokesperson training and preparation of documents/materials as requested," according to a new Justice Department filing. Portland PR started working for the company on Oct. 19, according to the contract, weeks after fighting broke out between Azerbaijan and Armenia in the disputed Nagorno-Karabakh region. — The conflict has drawn attention in Washington, with Secretary of State Mike Pompeo meeting separately last week with the Armenian Foreign Minister Zohrab Mnatsakanyan and Azerbaijani Foreign Minister Jeyhun Bayramov. A resolution introduced by Rep. Jackie Speier (D-Calif.) earlier this month condemning Azerbaijan and Turkey's role in the conflict, meanwhile, has drawn 88 co-sponsors. — The Armenian National Committee of America and the Armenian Assembly of America have pressured Turkey and Azerbaijan's Washington lobbyists and consultants to stop working for the countries, and they won a victory last week when Mercury said it would stop representing the Turkish government. Turkey still retains Greenberg Traurig and Capitol Counsel, while Azerbaijan's government is represented by BGR Group. Investment Corporation, the Azerbaijani company that hired Portland PR, also brought on the S-3 Group earlier this month for help with social media. Portland PR's three-month contract is worth $30,000 a month. Good afternoon, and welcome to PI. Days until Election Day: 4. Are you sending your clients memos to prepare them for Joe Biden's potential transition and administration — or the second term of Donald Trump 's presidency? Send them my way, along with tips and intelligence on lobbying, the transition and potential Biden cabinet picks: tmeyer@politico.com. You can also follow me on Twitter: @theodoricmeyer. | | | | A message from Facebook: A vote counted is a voice heard
Check your registration status, explore voting options in your state and get access to the latest, official information from election authorities in our Voting Information Center on Facebook and Instagram.
Explore the Voting Information Center now | | | LAYOFFS HIT DCI GROUP: The lobbying and public affairs firm DCI Group laid off six people today in the latest indication that the pandemic-driven economic downturn hasn't spared K Street , POLITICO's Daniel Lippman reports. "Today, we reluctantly made the difficult business decision to reduce our firm's headcount by six people," a spokesperson for the firm said in a statement. "We are a tightknit group where everyone is like family, which made this action even more difficult. We believe we've ridden out the COVID storm better than most, and yet felt we needed to take this step for the long-term strength of our company." About 100 people remain at the firm, according to the spokesperson. LIVE EVENTS COALITION ASKS FOR AID: Congress has left town until after Election Day, but the letters pleading with lawmakers to pass another relief bill keep coming. The #SaveLiveEventsNow Coalition — which is made up of talent agencies such as Creative Artists Agency and Endeavor; the events giant Live Nation; unions such as the Actors' Equity Association, the International Alliance of Theatrical Stage Employees and SAG-AFTRA ; and other groups — sent letters to lawmakers on Thursday urging them to do more. "While some live event entities were able to receive assistance from the Paycheck Protection Program, the vast majority are still waiting for help while we are prevented from operating by government mandate," the coalition wrote. — The coalition isn't the only group pushing for more relief for live music business, of course. The National Independent Venue Association has pressed lawmakers for months to pass the Save Our Stages Act, a relief bill introduced by Sens. John Cornyn (R-Texas) and Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn.) that's backed by more than half the Senate. (A companion bill in the House has drawn 155 co-sponsors.) The association retains Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld for lobbying help. | | | | A NEWSLETTER FOCUSED ON GLOBAL HEALTH: At a high-stakes moment when global health has become a household concern, it is pivotal to keep up with the politics and policy creating change. Global Pulse connects leaders, policymakers, and advocates to the people and politics driving global health. Join the conversation and subscribe today for this new weekly newsletter. | | | | | WHY THE PENTAGON BAILED OUT A TRUCKING FIRM: "The Department of Defense offered few details to a congressional oversight committee about why a struggling trucking company, YRC Worldwide , was determined to be critical to national security, a designation that allowed it to receive a $700 million stimulus loan," The New York Times' Alan Rappeport reports. "The loan, which was approved in July by the Treasury Department, has been the subject of a congressional inquiry into whether the money was properly awarded and why YRC, which ships military supplies, was designated as critical to national security. The Congressional Oversight Commission, which was set up to police stimulus funds, has also been examining whether YRC's ties to the White House were a factor in a loan." — "In a letter to members of the commission the Defense Department provided limited explanation for why YRC deserved so much government assistance. The letter, which was reviewed by The New York Times, said that YRC qualified for the loan because it was the Department of Defense's largest domestic shipping provider, moving food, electronics and other supplies to military bases around the country. The explanation echoed the justification that the Treasury Department shared when it approved the loan in July, but provided no additional reason why the firm, which was on shaky financial ground and had been sued by the government, should receive a bailout when other shipping providers were available." SPENDING ON CALIFORNIA BALLOT MEASURE FIGHT HITS $200 MILLION: "California officially has its first $200 million ballot campaign, courtesy of the homegrown tech industry," POLITICO California's Jeremy White reports. "Proposition 22 always figured to be an enormously expensive fight. Five gig economy firms invested $110 million just at the outset of their effort to exempt themselves from a new state law that could force them to treat app-summoned workers as employees rather than contractors." — "The campaign has lived up to those expectations. A late October $3.75 million outlay from DoorDash pushed proponents' fundraising total to roughly $203 million. Virtually all of that has come from five companies trying to preserve their contractor-reliant business models: Uber, Lyft, Postmates, Instacart and DoorDash." The union-backed opposition campaign, meanwhile, "has pulled in about $20 million. That used to be a decent sum in California ballot campaigns, but is merely one-tenth of what their opponents have committed." But Prop 22 could still fail. "A Berkeley IGS poll this month found the measure short of a majority, claiming support from 46 percent of likely voters." MESSINA, DUGGAN ADVISING LOBBYING REFERENCE SITE: Christina Davies, a former vice president for partnerships at the Asia Society, this week launched Poligage, a new site that bills itself as "the world's first online marketplace for public policy insights and government affairs services." The site's outside advisers include Jim Messina of the Messina Group and Juanita Duggan, the former head of the National Federation of Independent Business and other trade groups, who departed NFIB abruptly last year.
| | | — The American Society of Association Executives has promoted Christopher Vest to vice president for corporate communications and public relations. He'll continue to lobby for the trade group as well. | | | |   | | | | | | Arizona Fighting Fund (Sen. Martha McSally, NRSC) | | | In Our Hands (Leadership PAC: Rep. Andy Kim)
Indiana First PAC (Super PAC)
Protect the Results PAC (Hybrid PAC)
TruGreen PAC (PAC)
| | | | SUBSCRIBE TO TRANSITION PLAYBOOK: We're excited to launch a newsletter written for insiders that will track the appointments, the people, and the power centers of the next administration. Both Team Biden and Team Trump have been working behind the scenes for months vetting potential nominees and drafting policy agendas. Transition Playbook takes you inside those preparations, personnel decisions, and policy deliberations. Don't miss out, subscribe today. | | | | | | | New Lobbying Registrations | | CFM Strategic Communications (Conkling Fiskum & McCormick): Clark Regional Wastewater District
Ricchetti Incorporated: Neurocrine Biosciences, Inc. | | New Lobbying Terminations | | McGuireWoods Consulting (A Subsidiary of McGuireWoods LLP): The App Coalition
McGuireWoods Consulting (A Subsidiary of McGuireWoods LLP): Amazon.com
McGuireWoods Consulting (A Subsidiary of McGuireWoods LLP): Booking.com B.V.
McGuireWoods Consulting (A Subsidiary of McGuireWoods LLP): Digital Content Next
| | | | A message from Facebook: Explore Facebook's Voting Information Center
More than 39 million people have visited our Voting Information Center, which makes it easy to check your registration status, explore voting options in your state and prepare to vote safely.
Explore the Voting Information Center now | | | | | | | Follow us on Twitter | | | | Follow us | | | | |
No comments:
Post a Comment