Lobbyist

WASHINGTON - The pharmaceutical industry named as its top lobbyist yesterday a congressman who has been overseeing it. The job is said to come with a $1 million-plus salary. Rep. Billy Tauzin, 61, a Louisiana Republican who exercised jurisdiction over the industry as chairman of the Energy and Commerce Committee, will become president of the Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America on Jan. 3, when his retirement from Congress after 24 years takes effect. Watchdog groups Public Citizen and Common Cause criticized him for using his public service for personal benefit.

A longtime aide to Gov. Martin O'Malley will become Baltimore County's top lobbyist. Yolanda Winkler is the new director of government affairs, replacing Frank Principe, who left to join the state Department of Transportation, County Executive Kevin Kamenetz announced Tuesday. Winkler has more than two decades of local and state legislative experience. She most recently served for three years as special assistant and legislative liaison in the governor's office, where she helped direct and implement state and federal policy, and worked with state agency heads to improve services.

A Democratic blogger is stirring an online discussion over whether Maryland's main tea party group is operating out of bounds by pushing for state legislation without having registered as a lobbying organization. It's not unusual for small, new groups to run afoul of the state Ethics Commission by failing to file required paperwork, but the issue has captured attention in this case because members of the conservative group Americans for Prosperity rail against "registered lobbyists" in their pitches to supporters.

Members of Congress indignantly deny they can be bought for the price of a good dinner. That's beside the point. What a lobbyist can buy for the price of a dinner, or a chance to mingle at a charity golf tournament, is access to a legislator or influential staff member. Access is power in Washington.It means a lobbyist can deliver a client's message where it might not otherwise be heard. The closer to the power center a lobbyist can reach, the higher the fees. That's why the U.S. Senate's vote to sharply restrict gifts is more than symbolic.

Democratic state Sen. Edward J. Kasemeyer, who was defeated by Republican Christopher J. McCabe in the November election in District 14, soon will become a lobbyist for the Montgomery County government.Kasemeyer was hired Monday by Montgomery County Executive Neal Potter as director of state affairs -- an appointed position that pays between $55,000 and $85,000 a year.In his new post, Kasemeyer will help Potter and the Montgomery County Council work with the county's Annapolis delegation to develop a state government agenda that would benefit the county.

WASHINGTON -- Thomas Dine, executive director of the largest pro-Israel lobbying organization in America, was forced to resign his post today, a week after acknowledging that he had described Orthodox Jews as "smelly" and "low class."Many consider Mr. Dine, 53, head of the America-Israel Public Affairs Committee, or Aipac, one of the most powerful lobbyists in Washington. His downfall came as a result of an interview he gave four years ago to an Israeli journalist, David Landau. The interview came to light when Mr. Landau's book, "Piety and Power: The World of Jewish Fundamentalism," was published a few weeks ago by Hill & Wang.

MIAMI --Sporting a beige baseball cap, disgraced Washington lobbyist Jack Abramoff blew into Miami for a few hours yesterday to plead guilty to federal fraud charges stemming from his controversial purchase of a South Florida fleet of gambling ships. Abramoff wore the cap as he arrived in a black Lincoln Town Car accompanied by his two lawyers. He took it off during his plea hearing, then donned it again as he dashed out the side door of the Miami federal courthouse. Abramoff's brief court appearance followed his guilty plea Tuesday in a separate Washington corruption case - a widening Justice Department investigation in which he is the star witness.

The attorney representing opponents of a slots parlor at Arundel Mills mall in a new legal challenge is a registered lobbyist for the Maryland Jockey Club — the project's most vocal opponent — according to Anne Arundel County records. Harry C. Blumenthal, an Annapolis attorney, is representing a homeowners association and three residents of a nearby housing development in a complaint alleging that Anne Arundel County officials improperly approved the Cordish Cos.' plan to accommodate increased traffic around a planned slots parlor and entertainment complex at Arundel Mills.

Cashing in on 28 years of public service and political contacts, Lt. Gov. Melvin A. Steinberg has decided to become a lobbyist and lawyer with the firm of his longtime aide and protege, Alan M. Rifkin."

An article in yesterday's editions incorrectly stated the number of terms Robert R. Neall served as Anne Arundel County executive. The correct number is one.The Sun regrets the error.The Maryland Chamber of Commerce, determined to persuade next year's General Assembly to cut taxes and enact other measures to improve the state's business climate, will announce today that it has hired former legislator and two-term Anne Arundel County Executive Robert R. Neall as its lead lobbyist.The chamber also will announce that it has retained Ronald Nelson, a former deputy secretary in the state Department of Environment, to lobby on behalf of Maryland businesses that believe environmental regulations are overly burdensome or unnecessary.