A day in the life of the Detroit Regional Chamber's government relations team

Wouldn't it be nice to have your own personal lobbyist? Well, you do. In fact, you have a whole team. The Detroit Regional Chamber's government relations team eats, sleeps and breathes business, advocating for a pro-business agenda in local, state and federal government. Through the Chamber's Political Action Committee (PAC), lobbying and the Chamber's programming, the government relations team educates members and tackles the issues affecting businesses in Southeast Michigan.

Comprised of Sarah Hubbard, Claudia Berry, Melissa Trustman, Brad Williams, Rebecca Schneider and Brain Kandler, the six-person team works hard on advocacy efforts and providing a plethora of ways for Chamber members to get involved and voice their opinions.

"People often have the misconception that their legislators won't listen to what they have to say," says Sarah Hubbard, vice president of government relations. "It's simply not true. We represent nearly 23,000 members and can help them be heard. Legislators want to know the opinion of the business community on issues before them."

What does the team do on the federal level?

When not working with her team in Lansing, Hubbard spends time in Washington DC working on federal policy.

On average, Hubbard travels to Washington monthly to meet with government relations professionals representing Michigan firms, members of the Michigan Congressional Delegation and their staff to discuss federal policies affecting Michigan businesses. Many Michigan-based companies and universities maintain full-time Washington offices that advocate on their behalf. Leveraging the Chamber's broader membership behind large job-providers' critical federal concerns helps create more jobs here in Michigan.

Primarily, Sarah's work in Washington has related to border crossing issues between the U.S. and Canada. The Chamber's relationship with the Embassy of Canada and businesses, local units of governments and other chambers of commerce from across our northern border - in both the U.S. and Canada - helped create a national coalition that works exclusively in support of border crossing issues. Regulations that secure our country must also balance the needs of our economy and the business community. We work to find solutions that both increase security and enhance the free flow of trade and people across the northern border.

Another important group Hubbard works with is the U.S. Chamber

of Commerce and the North American Competitiveness Council, which is headed by prominent U.S. businesses who frequently cross both our northern and southern borders. Their findings on economic growth, competitiveness and security are used to make recommendations to North American heads of state, which in turn help make policy decisions.

So what is the team's role in Lansing?

The majority of the team's work is done in Lansing working on policy issues affecting the state and the region. A typical morning sometimes begins by attending a fundraiser. Fundraisers for candidates are continually thrown and make a great place to talk to legislators and other political figures that are influential in making policy change. They also serve as a great way for the Chamber to show support for or against a business issue.

After the fundraiser, the team heads in separate directions. Williams walks to the Michigan House of Representatives office for committee hearings on the Michigan Business Tax. Once finished, he hustles to the Capitol Building to catch the Senate session and talk to legislators about various tax and small business issues.

Meanwhile, Kandler meets with representatives to hear about upcoming environmental and regulatory bills and communicate the Chamber's views on the legislation.

"Meeting face-to-face with legislators is key," mentions Kandler. "Open and honest dialogue establishes trust and a fluid communication process."

Trustman convenes groups of lobbyists and legislators to discuss our region's transportation infrastructure and supply-chain needs. Recently, she organized an opportunity for the House Transportation Appropriations Sub-Committee to hold two informational public hearings at the Chamber's Detroit office.

"Bringing legislators to our offices in Detroit and giving them direct exposure to our infrastructure needs and our border with Canada is very important," said Trustman, "decision-makers understand our needs much better when they can see it for themselves."

Communication is critical, especially when speaking to legislative committees that may or may not agree with the Chamber's position. Typically, the government relations team communicates the Chamber's position to the committee chairs and other members before a bill is heard in the committee. Officially casting a position to the committee establishes the Chamber's policy stance on public record and shows outside parties where the Chamber stands and why.

After the House Environment Committee meeting, Kandler congregates with other

lobbyists to get their views on important bills. Meanwhile, Williams begins his

afternoon by sitting in on a Senate Finance hearing. Many times, Williams is asked

to testify on a particular bill before the committee. He prepares written testimony

for his public remarks, which are immediately followed by a question and answer session with the committee members.

After the meeting concludes, Williams heads back to the House office building to follow up with representatives when they return from House session. It is here that he goes over bills and legislation in greater detail, one-on-one with various members of the Michigan House of Representatives.

Concurrently, Kandler drafts a position paper for the Chamber Board of Directors on a regulatory bill. After thorough discussion, the government relations team summarizes their findings and recommends a stance to be voted on by the Chamber Board of Directors.

When critical business issues are under active discussion during session before the House or Senate, the entire Government Relations team descends on the State Capitol to work together in support of member needs. "There's strength in numbers and our team can communicate with all members of the legislature quickly when needed," said Hubbard.

Chamber PAC and Public Transit

Claudia Berry works hard and invests a lot of time in bettering public transit in our region. Typically, she begins the day by planning meetings of the Chamber's Transportation Action Groups (TAGS). These meetings provide regular updates on the inventory of regional transportation assets, identifying gaps or deficiencies in the existing transportation system and services. The updates are used to make recommendations on how to strengthen the multimodal transportation network and make the region more competitive nationally and globally. TAGS address issues related to roads, border crossings, rail, air, waterborne, public transit and freight traffic.

Later in the morning Claudia leaves the office to attend a luncheon with regional transportation industry stakeholders to encourage their input and involvement in Chamber transportation initiatives. Afterwards, Claudia hurries to a meeting of partner organizations (SEMCOG, Detroit Renaissance, One D, etc.) to discuss how to collaborate on key public policy priorities for the business community.

"The ultimate success of our efforts is contingent on the strength of the relationships we build and maintain with our members and area stakeholders," stresses Claudia.

There is no doubt relationship building is what Claudia does best. By midday Claudia is back in the office and on a conference call with national partner organizations like the U.S. Chamber, among many others. Traditionally, these partnerships provide additional size and leverage to influence public policy and enhance business and economic development. Claudia also uses the stances derived from the partnerships to help plan the Chamber's Political Action Committee (PAC) meetings.

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