Business citizen
Want a law changed? new dorsey lobbyist tells how
by Beth Ewen Teresa Lynch joined in January Dorsey & Whitney, the Minneapolis law firm, as legislative affairs director, where she lobbies on behalf of corporate clients at the Legislature. Before that she was chief lobbyist for AT&T. Despite her powerful credentials, she doesn’t believe that only the state’s biggest firms can make their voices heard. A former state legislator, Lynch encourages small-business owners to get involved with the law-making process.
Upsize: Tell me about your new job at Dorsey.
Teresa Lynch: There are several clients whom we respresent at the Legislature, either because they are proactive about wanting something passed, or it’s defensive. I take that message and I bring that to the legislators.
We start with the committee that the bill will go to. At any point it could improve, get stalled, it could get worse, it could go away. We just track the issue all the way through.
Upsize: You’re not an attorney. Is that unusual, to be in a law firm?
Lynch: We come from different backgrounds. I happen to be a former legislator. I think it’s misunderstood. People think I have an “in,” but in fact legislators are going to act on issues based on their beliefs and their constituents’ wishes.
Upsize: What are some issues that for sure will come up this session?
Lynch: The biggest issue that I will be working on is the gaming issue. Gov. Pawlenty has put forward his gaming plan, and we do represent the Shakopee tribe, which runs Mystic Lake casino. Supervalu is another client, but it’s too early to discuss their issues.
Upsize: Many small-business owners believe they can’t get their views heard at the Legislature, that politicians are owned by the big players.
Lynch: I really think it’s common to hear that people are intimidated by the Legislature. They’re just regular people, like you and me. These are regular people who have done a very significant thing. They’ve put themselves out there in the public eye, and they’ve gotten elected. Now you hear negative things about politicians, but almost to a person they want to do the right thing, and they really struggle to learn what they need to know to decide on all these issues.
Upsize: What can a person do to get attention?
Lynch: Go there. Meet your legislator. They’ve made it very easy to find out who your legislator is, with contact information [www.leg.state.mn.us]. We’ll take clients over, and once someone goes over there and meets them, the comments we hear are, “Oh, they’re really nice.”
It is a citizen legislature, although it is more and more full-time. In Minnesota, unlike big states like California where the races cost so much, this is still something that’s achievable by a regular person.
Upsize: But do they really want to hear from you?
Lynch: Legislators are more responsive to their constituents than to anyone. They look at me and people like me with a jaundiced eye — I’m a hired gun. They will listen to their constituents.
Upsize: How do you find the right committee that would handle your bill?
Lynch: I don’t think it matters one iota if your legislator is on the committee that deals with your industry. If you go to yours, that legislator can introduce a bill that can be taken to the right committee. That way your legislator can be your advocate.
Upsize: Doesn’t that take time?
Lynch: Business owners will say, “I can’t do this, I have a business to run.” But if you feel strongly that there’s something wrong with the law that needs to be changed, recognize that this is going to take a while, perhaps. You have to be persistent.
Upsize: What’s an example of how this works?
Lynch: A constituent in my district was a home day-care provider. She couldn’t get auto insurance. We passed the bill simply because I thought it was wrong that she couldn’t drive those seven children or whatever in her car. I had to learn, too. Other legislators will teach you how to get through the process.
Upsize: That seems so specific. Can you really pursue something so minute?
Lynch: A lot of bills are written specifically to address something. If I’m persuaded as a legislator that something specific will help, I’ll pursue it. That’s why you have so many bills.
Upsize: How many?
Lynch: During a two-year cycle, maybe 2,400 go through. Maybe a hundred or a couple of hundred pass.
Upsize: How can I increase my chances of being heard?
Lynch: The first thing is to contact them. Don’t stalk them, but bring it to their attention. If you hound someone too much they’ll say, “I don’t have time for this.” Then find others that agree with you, maybe other business owners who are affected.
Three e-mails on the same subject gets someone’s attention, maybe five. It’s always better if you can build a coalition, because then it’s not a lone voice. If you can touch many legislators, that helps.
That’s why e-mails are important. We didn’t have that when I was there. Don’t overdo it. Be respectful of the immense pressures legislators have. It’s amazing how they have to be experts on so many things.
Upsize: Do mass campaigns work?
Lynch: Volume is important, but if I recognized a form letter, it became less important. A handwritten letter from a constituent, that always gets attention, because who does that any more? I’d caution these folks to be concise, brief, and be considerate.
Upsize: Some of these points sound like good sales tactics. What about thinking of the legislator’s desire to get a bill passed and get noticed?
Lynch: There are some legislators that are of the mind that government is too big and they shouldn’t pass all these new laws. But regardless of their political beliefs, they go there to make a difference.
No one, I promise you, even my family, knows that I got that bill passed for day-care providers, but I know that I made a difference and that’s important.
Upsize: We read about how deadlocked and polarized the Legislature is today. Is that true, or is that hype?
Lynch: I think it’s true, and I think it’s because legislators aren’t able to relate at a personal level with each other. I go back to when I was there, we had many industry receptions that we’d all go to. We really got along, because we knew each other as human beings. But times have changed, it’s just the way it goes, and there are plenty of folks that find a way to get to know each other.
Compromise is the outcome that you get when you go to the Legislature. You’re not going to get everything you want.
Upsize: That’s an important point. Is that a potential danger for a business owner, that the compromise might be worse than what exists?
Lynch: You have to say, how important is this to you, and that’s where legislators can help, too. A legislator might say, how reasonable is this to pass? Or they might say, “Let’s throw it out there and see what happens.”
Upsize: So you say people should get involved.
Lynch: Go for it.
Upsize: And don’t be intimidated by the fancy lobbyists from Dorsey, and the big corporations like Supervalu?
Lynch: Absolutely not. They see us all the time and they can discount us much more easily.
[contact] Teresa Lynch is legislative affairs director for Dorsey & Whitney in Minneapolis: 612.492.5191; lynch.teresa@dorsey.com; www.dorsey.com
