Robert Garagiola was the majority leader of the Maryland Senate and has stepped down from that office. He has now joined Alexander & Cleaver, an Annapolis firm with a major lobbying presence. In an interview Garagiola commented that his initial plan is to focus on local government relations in Montgomery County. Garagiola comments, “there is a lot to be done in Rockville. I’ll re-evaluate state-level lobbying in the future.”
According to the Washington Post, in Maryland former legislators are barred for 90 days from helping clients “during the first legislative session after their departure.” Perhaps in this way certain conflicts of interests don’t arise. In all cases, Senate President Thomas V. Mike Miller Jr. a democrat from Calvert says that Garagiola “remains my good friend.” He continues by saying that he looks forward to working with Robert in the future and that Alexander & Cleaver and their clients will ultimately benefit from Robert’s tremendous talent.
As of last week, democrat Gov. Martin O’Malley appointed Brian J. Feldman, a Montgomery democrat to fill Senate District 15’s empty seat. Alexander & Cleaver made an announcement that along with Robert Garagiola, Kerry Watson, senior advisor to Prince George’s County Executive Rushern L. Baker III is also joining the firm. Kerry Watson has served on the police force and is also a liaison to the county council. Alexander & Cleaver is an experienced lobbying law firm handling business law, government entities, non-profits, all areas of legal matter for businesses and corporations as well.