Top Lobbyist

There’s strength in numbers. That’s the conclusion of The Hill newspaper, which recently cited NRECA CEO Glenn English as one of the top lobbyists among Washington, D.C. associations. “English runs a group with broad grassroots power,” The Hill said in its May 21 edition, which pointed out that the chief executives of trade associations have to strike a balance among hundreds of members and then effectively convey that on Capitol Hill.

“Complicating the effort for trade group CEOs, however, is that not all of their members see eye to eye on things,” the paper said. “One has to constantly preach the benefits of sticking together to companies that may be competitors on another playing field.” English knows his way around the legislative process as a former 10-term congressman from Oklahoma.

He said the grassroots strength of NRECA is what truly makes it stand out. “Electric co-ops represent the interests of 42 million people in 47 states. There are very few groups that have such a broad base. “In this case, I am the representative of the recognition earned by the NRECA staff, statewide managers and the membership at large,” English said. “When we work together for a common purpose, elected officials must take our members into account.” A few other former congressmen also made the list, including Dave McCurdy of the Alliance of Automobile Manufacturers and Dan Glickman of the Motion Picture Association of America.

– Steven Johnson, Electric Coop Today, June 5, 2009