You’ve been a lobbyist in CT for over 25 years. How did you get started?
I got interested in politics probably back in junior or senior year in high school. I had been selected for a program to go to Washington. I came back and worked on a congressional campaign for Glenn Carberry (the C in TCORS), and continued to maintain that relationship through undergrad and then grad school. After grad school in Boston I came back to CT to start working as a junior lobbyist with a firm shortly thereafter.
Can you describe the role of a lobbyist to the layperson?
Alan Deckman
The role of a lobbyist is to really first understand your client and what your client’s needs are, and what their desires are, so that you’re on the same page as it relates to expectations. The second goal of a lobbyist, or the importance of a lobbyist, is really understanding the legislative process, understanding how the process works, how the committee process works, how the legislature interacts and interfaces with the executive branch and the various state agencies. And then, thirdly, really having the relationships in order to be able to deliver your client’s message and your client’s position to the legislature, the legislative leaders, and other folks within the legislature, for them to get an understanding on the issue. What a lobbyist does is to provide factual advocacy on behalf of the client. So first, it’s important to know the process and really understand how it works, but also to understand the important policy-makers and have relationships with them, and also have a reputation, so that they trust what you’re saying as being factual and truthful, and make sure you’re maintaining that level of integrity throughout the entire process.
What makes a good lobbyist?
Being accessible, being available, following up, providing answers to questions that are requested of you. Also staying on the cutting edge of information, across whatever industry you’re working on, utilizing information coming from different states, the federal government, and really being the interface or being the front-person for your client’s issues: maintaining that accessibility and being available to have those conversations, whether they’re 30-second conversations, or a multi-hour conference with legislators and the client.
What’s your favorite part of being a lobbyist?
I am a super-competitive and passionate person. I enjoy the competition of representing a client’s issue, trying to maximize the success for them regarding whatever the client objective is. I enjoy the intellectual fight, and to maximize and find the outcome that benefits the client.
The thing that’s most fascinating or most interesting, after doing this for so long, is the challenge of helping clients to confront the most difficult, tricky situations. To me it’s like the Rubik’s cube with extra colors. That’s what gets me fired up and really involved. I enjoy the challenge. Playing competitive sports my entire life growing up, this is my competitive sport: the lobbying world.
What sports did you play?
Baseball and basketball, and I ran. Lobbying is my sport now, you know?
Can you describe founding TCG, and the journey of the firm?
In 1995 I joined TCORS law firm, who at the time had a government relations operation, and I worked with them for 11 years. Then in 2006 there was a spin-off from the law firm, to TCORS Capitol Group, LLC. I became the president and principal owner, and we became more diversified and started to offer association management services in addition to lobbying services. And that has become a pretty substantial side of what we do on a day-to-day basis.
Association management services became an extension to the various nonprofits that we represent and work with. We saw a need for part-time executive director/association management services to the various non-profits that we were lobbying for, managing the day-to-day operations of their voluntary trade associations. We had the skill set to come in and assist, support, and ultimately begin to manage their day-to-day operations because most of the trade associations have volunteer boards. That’s an area we’ve gotten involved in and have done really well at.
We do one-time events for corporate and nonprofit clients, whether it’s wine tastings, golf tournaments, seminars, fundraising, or trade shows. We’ve gone virtual very quickly: we do virtual planning for board meetings, conferences, fundraisers, annual meetings. We handle everything: we work with the AV folks, we do the virtual management platforms, we do the storyboards, we do the narration, we help with the development of all the marketing materials, we coordinate the invites, we work with all the subcontracted folks. We handle A-Z for all the virtual events.
How have things shifted with the advent of the pandemic?
Relationships are more important now than ever before as it relates to the lobbying world, because of the shutdown of the legislature, or at least the legislative office building at the State Capitol, so it’s even more important now to have the relationships to be able to be in touch with the legislators, key staff, Commissioners of the state agencies, and also members of the Executive Branch. Relationships are the bridge to continued lobbying and dialogue with important decision-making. And as it relates to association management, the biggest change is obviously going from in-person meetings, conferences, and fundraisers, to the virtual world. That’s a transition we made overnight to the benefit of many of our associations, to at least help them to continue to move along their agendas, and to continue to provide services to their members, as well.
When we could do conferences in person, associations could make money to do programming throughout the year. The costs come down significantly because you’re doing virtual, but you’re not getting the same level of sponsorship, you’re not getting all of the exhibitors, you’re only getting some of that. The question is: how do you make all that work? That’s one thing we have been trying to figure out, right? That’s the hard part, but we are making significant and positive progress.
How has the firm evolved over the past several months, in response to COVID?
We responded with urgency and quickness and just jumped in and started talking to clients and seeing what their needs were, listening to them, hearing what their struggles were, and then trying to really look a few weeks in advance of where we thought things were headed. We’ve tried to really position the clients as best we can with the circumstances, and also with what has been happening in the state and country.
Looking ahead to 2021, and the continuing pandemic, where are things headed?
I think things will be much the same until the spring. The virtual world is going to stay for quite some time, and will be a permanent fixture to some degree in the years to come, as it relates to association management services and practices. The question is: how big of a permanent fixture is it going to be? Lobbying will be virtual for the first few months of the year and I do believe we will be back in some fashion at the State Capitol later in the spring.
Last question: What is your all-time favorite band/film/guilty-pleasure snack?:
Oh jeez, I’m gonna have to think about that. Green Day always seems to get me going when I need a lift. Definitely Twizzlers, and a few Mike and Ike’s never hurt anyone…