Fonfara's Lobbyist Choice Gives Nod To Sullivan & LeShane

Any lobbyist will attest to the fact that the business is all about relationships. That’s what lobbying firms are selling when they bid for contracts — relationships with legislators, with their staffers or with employees of state agencies.

And more often than in perhaps any other industry, the relationships lobbyists sell are personal ones, sometimes going back years. To a lobbying firm, such connections are incredibly valuable because they are so difficult for a competitor to manufacture or replicate.

Which is why when a member of the General Assembly privately hires a well-known Capitol lobbyist, it should leave other lobbyists shaking their heads. It’s not a good sign. If a senator trusts a member of the lobbying community enough to actually hire her himself, it’s a pretty sure bet he trusts her enough to listen to her views on pending legislation.

Like every other member of the General Assembly, State Sen. John W. Fonfara (D-Hartford) has every right to earn a living outside of the Capitol.

He has done so the old fashioned way, founding his own company, a billboard advertising firm called Face Value, from his home in Hartford in November 2005.

Last month, Fonfara won a contract with the city of Norwich to refurbish and sell advertising on four city billboards.

To assist his company in scoring the contract, Fonfara hired Jude Malone, of the Hartford lobbying firm Sullivan & LeShane.

That his company won the contract is only one sign that Fonfara made a smart hire. Besides being a native of Norwich, Malone has helped drive local Democratic candidates into the mayor’s office, city council and state legislature. She knows her way around town.

She’s also been lobbying at the state Capitol, by her own memory, for 17 years. In discussing her client, Fonfara, Malone doubted the relationship would have any effect on Fonfara’s work at the Capitol. She attested to the senator’s high standard of ethics, saying he drew a clear line between his work as a businessman and his service to the state.

Unique Situation
She pointed out that the contract was small and only for municipal work; it’s not as though Fonfara was hiring her to work on his behalf in the halls of the General Assembly.

Fonfara is not being accused of any sort of impropriety. Many state legislators work for companies that employ lobbyists. Some, like House Republican leader Lawrence Cafero, a partner at the Hartford law firm of Brown Rudnick, have discussed at length with state officials the steps needed to avoid ethical violations.

But the Hartford senator’s situation distinguishes itself because he personally decided which of the many influencers he sees every day to hire. It’s possible that other companies with employees serving in the legislature ask the advice of those employees when hiring lobbyists. Perhaps the powers that be at Northeast Utilities, for instance, ask state Sen. John A. Kissel (R-Enfield) what he thinks of Jay Malcynsky and Fritz Conway when it comes time to extend the company’s contract with Gaffney Bennett & Assoc., being that Kissel is an attorney for NU. (It would probably be a smart move, given how much time legislators spend with lobbyists.)

But for other lobbyists — particularly those competing with Malone for Fonfara’s votes — his hiring of Malone must be viewed as another arrow in Sullivan & LeShane’s quiver. One of Malone’s areas of focus is the Finance Committee, of which Fonfara is a vice chairman. Woe to the lobbyists who need to convince Fonfara that their proposals are more important than that of his employee. Does Malone think she would have a big advantage in that situation?

“That’s for somebody else to answer,” she said.

Fonfara, through his press agent, opted not to discuss the matter.

But one could certainly imagine the relationship helping Malone’s firm not only on pending bills, but in snapping up more business. To a potential client looking for a nod from the Finance Committee, wouldn’t Sullivan & LeShane have a leg up in getting the work?

Here’s a sample pitch the firm could give: If a committee leader trusts us enough to hire us, shouldn’t you?

Jonathan O’Connell is a Hartford Business Journal Staff Writer.