September 16, 2009 12:55 AM UTC

"Yes, This Is the Lobbying Arm"

• 3 Comments
• by: Colorado Pols

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.