LOBBYING: BIG HITTERS WIELD POWER IN CAPITOL

JEFFERSON CITY -- It was just after the election of his good friend Tom Eagleton that John Britton decided to hang out his shingle as a lobbyist.

Already living in Jefferson City, where he had been executive director of the Missouri Bituminous Contractors Association, and thus had some experience in the influence business, Britton decided to expand the number of companies and groups that would pay to have their voice heard in Capitol corridors.

Britton's first important lobbying client was to become the one he still is best known for: Anheuser-Busch Co., which had long had its share of corporate irons in the state's political fires.

Britton's employment would serve to increase the brewery's influence in the capital, but it would also help build one of Missouri's political legends: John Britton & Associates.

This lobbying firm has over the years represented some of the state's largest industries and causes. And as it has grown, Britton's associates -- with his blessing and help -- have developed their own lucrative firms.

After all, Britton, who was a classmate at Harvard with a young law student named Robert F. Kennedy, has been around long enough to know that today's political enemies can become tomorrow's friends, and vice versa.

On behalf of clients Britton takes few political prisoners, but in his personal life, he and his expensive suits add dash at any social caucus.

Britton's client list, which varies from session to session while retaining many long-standing firms, includes such organizations and companies as the Alliance of American Insurers, Association of Missouri Electric Coops, St. Louis Bi-State, Burlington Northern Railroad, Enterprise Leasing, Lincoln University, Missouri Anheuser Busch Wholesalers, Missouri Association of Life Underwriters, Missouri Historical Society, Missouri Wine & Spirits Association, Monsanto Chemical, American Motion Picture Association, St. Louis Cardinals, St. Louis Symphony and the American Tobacco Institute.

It is not hard to understand why Missouri has one of the lowest beer tax levies in the nation, why beer wholesalers are able to enjoy one of the most stringent distribution protection laws in the United States, and why many efforts to curtail smoking in public places have failed.

Nor how BiState was able to secure a $10 million operating loan to keep its MetroLink trains operating, and why the General Assembly approved multimillion-dollar loans to symphony orchestras in St. Louis and Kansas City.

Lobbyists, after all, are paid to secure assistance for their clients and aren't responsible if their employers don't repay special favors.

One of Brittons' most popular former associates is Bill Gamble, often described by legislators and other state officials as the epitome of good humor and charm. Gamble today is the head of a highly successful lobbying firm in Jefferson City.

The influence business has other successful and distinguished heavy-hitting members, including John Bardgett Sr. and John Bardgett Jr., Harry Gallagher, Sandy Rothchild and Richard Wiles.

Represented by these firms are many of the state's most prestigious and wealthy corporations, all employing respected and top-quality men and women to look after their interests in the state capital.

But a growing number of small-client firms are making their appearance in Jefferson City these days. It seems fairly easy to attract new clients, and even if their needs are minimal, many corporations feel easier knowing they have a representative walking up and down the Capitol's marble corridors.

With the proliferation of lobbyists has come still another innovation -- the creation of firms comprised of former state employees and officials now representing clients who have interests related to decisions made in the Capitol.

Although a conduct code prohibits attempts to influence former fellow workers for a year, there is little to prevent a former member of the legislative branch.

Some former employees seek to represent interests over which they had control simply by advising clients while refraining from seeking active assistance from their old agencies. Former officials who now perform lobbying chores in the Capitol are well known, and often well liked, even if their effectiveness is sometimes reduced.

Another development is the creation of consulting firms by former state officials, who lend their general expertise in state government to special groups and coalitions.

For example, James Moody, who served as director of the important Office of Administration in the Ashcroft administration, now regularly offers advice to professional groups, such as statewide education organizations.

One such organization recently sought his assistance in opposing public signatures for the Hancock tax-limitation proposal.

One more recent trend is the widespread use of lobbyists by gambling firms across the country. Seeking to refine or reform numerous restrictions, these firms now are spending big money for their own lobbyists in Missouri.

Some lobbyists, according to sworn records on file in the Ethics Commission office, are specializing in representing gambling interests and are enjoying lucrative fees as a result of their work and their clients' eagerness to secure special favors and dispensations from official quarters.

One out-of-state gaming firm official, when questioned about his activities in Missouri, told this reporter to mind his own business, "if you know what's good for you." The gambler's lobbyist would have strongly advised against making cheap threats to the media.

Tuesday: Missouri's invisible lobbyists