More Lobbyist Fun

Over the weekend Colorado Confidential reported that three former state legislators had joined forces to start their own business. Democrat Fran Coleman and Republicans Joe Stengel and Lauri Clapp are now part of CSC Public Relations, LLC, a brand new lobbying firm based in Denver.

And according to government records, it doesn’t appear that they have any clients. Yet.

Meanwhile, another new firm has scored big with the appointment of former-lobbyist Todd Saliman to the Office of State Planning and Budget by Governor Bill Ritter. Roll Calls To Riches?

The Secretary of State’s electronic lobbyist database does not currently show any “employers,” I.E. clients, registered to Coleman, Stengel, or Clapp.

The trio resigned from their seats early last year, thereby avoiding the restrictions of Amendment 41, a constitutional measure passed by voters that requires a two-year “cooling off period” before politicians can be hired as lobbyists.

But only time will tell if their decisions were at all lucrative.

Replacing Saliman

Earlier in the month, the Confidential reported on lobbyist Tanya Kelly-Bowry and her new firm, TKB Consulting. When Todd Saliman was picked to be in Ritter’s cabinet his lobbying work was over, and Bowry ended up getting some of his clients.

And now, public records show that she’s working for most of them. Bowry now represents 12 of the clients that Saliman used to have.

Maybe a thank you note to the Governor is in order? 

Erin Rosa was born in Spain and raised in Colorado Springs. She is a freelance writer currently living in Denver. Rosa's work has been featured in a variety of news outlets including the Huffington Post, Democracy Now!, and the Rocky Mountain Chronicle, an alternative-weekly in Northern Colorado where she worked as a columnist covering the state legislature. Rosa has received awards from the Society of Professional Journalists for her reporting on lobbying and woman's health issues. She was also tapped with a rare honorable mention award by the Newspaper Guild-CWA's David S. Barr Award in 2008--only the second such honor conferred in its nine-year history--for her investigative series covering the federal government's Supermax prison in the state. Rosa covers the labor community, corrections, immigration and government transparency matters. She can be reached at erosa@www.coloradoindependent.com.