In response to questions raised by a liberal group yesterday about freshly declared Senate candidate Jane Norton’s paperwork-free history in lobbying, the Colorado Independent made some phone calls:
Was Jane Norton a health-industry lobbyist? If so, what did she lobby for, exactly?
From 1994 to 1999, Norton headed the lobbying department of Englewood-based Medical Group Management Association, “the principle voice for the medical practice association.” Norton was the executive director of the Office of State Government Relations and the Office of Strategic Relationships. Directly after her tenure at MGMA, Norton was appointed by Gov. Bill Owens to head the state’s Department of Public Health and Environment, a position in which she oversaw multiple state “planning groups” that engineered health coverage across Colorado, this time being paid by tax payers to work as the “principle voice” for health-care consumers.
Calls to MGMA confirm she headed the association’s lobbying department.
“Yes, this is the lobbying arm of the organization,” a spokesperson at the Department of Government Affairs confirmed. Human Resources staffer Jenny Morales said that the group Norton headed used to be called the Office of Strategic Relationships and is now simply called the Department of Government Affairs.
“In speaking with some of our tenured employees,” Morales wrote in an email, “Ms. Norton held a number of positions at MGMA. One of which was Director of Government Policy in 1994. When she left the Association, her job title was Executive Director Strategic Relations.”
And for all you know, “strategic relations” is a lot like…lobbying, isn’t it? Anyway, not a lot really refuted here for Norton–of course, the Norton campaign’s Cinamon “Has To Win Someday” Watson didn’t call the Independent back, a media relations trick she no doubt learned on the Bob Beauprez 2006 campaign. Or was it the 2004 Pete Coors campaign? We digress.
Look, it’s not like there’s anything legally actionable here. It was over ten years ago, Norton’s held (sort of) elected office since then, the statute of limitations has no doubt expired. All this is is a sidebar for her campaign launch–but a useful segue into a longer conversation about Norton’s close and manifold connections to the old-school D.C. lobbyist plutocracy. We’re not exaggerating, from what people are starting to forward around it’s an unusually deep rabbit hole.
For the time being, remember all the Republicans up in arms a couple of weeks ago about Norton being rammed down their throats from a D.C. backroom? You’d better believe it, folks.
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representing someone other than Coloradans. As nearly as I can tell, Michael Bennet was the top choice of the Obama administration. I guess that particular Senate seat doesn’t really belong to Colorado.
If you are going to create innuendo and speculation, please try to do a better job of masking it.
So she had a job, so what? She worked for doctors in their capacity as small business people, so what?
Did she break any laws or do something unethical? Is MGMA some sort of nefarious stealth lobbying group?
Did she do something illegal as the director of the Depatment of Health? I recollect she was part of poking Planned Parenthood in the eye – what a surprise for the Owens administration. I also recollect that Planned Parenthood got caught have told less than the truth about some things at that time. Neither Owens nor Planned Parenthood were exactly on the side of truth and justice.
Did she do something illegal or unethical as Lt. Governor – God knows that there is so little to do there that it would have been obvious.
Feel free to take her on over her beliefs and public policy issues – that’s what we are supposed to do. But don’t do a sloppy job of creating some sort of thinly veiled Red Menace attack like Joe McCarthy did. Either do it right or get a heck of a lot better at creating your fantasies.
The one to brand her a lobbyist? If so, you need to do a better job as this won’t resonate.