Women in Politics - Part 6 - Lobbyists, PACs, Special Interest Groups
by ROCHELLE A. SHENK

If you're considering a career in politics as a legislator, you know it's important to get the pulse of your constituents, and you'll need to be available to discuss issues with them or to hold forums to get input, but there are also other groups such as lobbyists, political action committees (PACs) and special interest groups that have important information for you to consider on specific issues.

"We are information brokers, and we broker compromise," explained Judy Eschberger, esq., director of lobbying services at Novak Strategic Advisors, Harrisburg. A lobbyist since 1997, she has a background in law and legislative affairs.

"People want public officials and government to do things for them. They have expectations that when they put the garbage out it will be picked up, and when they send their children to school they will be safe. They also want good roads. Pennsylvania is a huge state-we have more state roads than any other state-but we've also got an aging infrastructure. There's a cost to all these things, and legislators have to weigh those costs when preparing a budget. But we want it all, and everyone's list of priorities differs," she explained.

As a lobbyist Eschberger and her firm represent clients who have an interest in government affairs. "It would be difficult for a legislator or anyone to have information on every issue. My job is to educate legislators as to why it's a good idea to do or not do something. We provide a credible and truthful representation of the facts on behalf of our clients to create a give and take debate. We tell our clients to tell us the good, the bad and the ugly about their issue so we're prepared," she said. She noted that at every level of government there's interaction with other associations or groups.

As a lobbyist it's important to know the state's legislators as well as other state and national issues in order to know how to craft your argument. "Every time you open the paper your issue changes. When something major like 9-11 or Columbine happens, issues immediately shift. After Columbine, the issue of school safety came to the forefront and issues that were at the forefront the day before became secondary," Eschberger remarked.

Prior to her affiliation with Novak Strategic Advisors, Eschberger served as counsel to the Senate of Pennsylvania's Democrat caucus for four years. In that capacity she advised five legislative committees for the caucus: Aging and Youth; Banking and Insurance; Labor and Industry; Local Government and Veterans' Affairs, and Emergency Preparedness. She noted that during that time she learned about the legislative cycle (discussing issues at the "right" time is important) as well as the legislative process. "I learned about the process from the inside out. I also got to know the people I work with today and built relationships with them," she commented.

Some of the issues she's worked on in her capacity as Senate attorney and as a lobbyist include the Growing Greener program; alternative energy; worker's compensation reforms; health care reform; local tax reform; tax credit legislation; changes to the PACE and CHIP healthcare programs; and Tobacco Master Settlement legislation. "The fact that I did litigation has been helpful. As a litigator I learned how to present arguments," she explained.

Like Eschberger, Pat Halpin-Murphy, the founder and president of the Pennsylvania Breast Cancer Coalition, has been involved in government for some time. From 1987 to 1995 she served on the executive staff of Governor Casey, and since then has served as government relations director of the Pennsylvania Federation of Teachers. A breast cancer survivor herself, she founded the Pennsylvania Breast Cancer Coalition in 1993. It is a non-profit organization and the only statewide grassroots organization that speaks to and for breast cancer survivors. "We are dedicated to finding a cure now ... so our daughters won't have to. That's both our motto and our mission," she stated.

She explained that she founded the organization since there were many things that breast cancer survivors needed that were not available to them. Legislatively that included insurance coverage for reconstructive surgery and money for research. "Generally speaking we needed a collective, unified voice. That's what motivated me to found the Pennsylvania Breast Cancer Coalition and that got the ball rolling for what has become our annual statewide Keystone Breast Cancer Conference," she said.

At the time she founded the organization she was a member of Governor Casey's administration and involved in government and politics. The governor asked her to organize a rally promoting breast cancer awareness. She didn't put herself on the program but the governor and others urged her to do it. "When the governor asks you to do something-you do it! I spoke at the rally and haven't stopped since," she remarked. She indicated that through experience she learned that there were breast cancer organizations already established in Philadelphia and Pittsburgh, but nothing was available statewide for women throughout Pennsylvania.

To get the organization's message out to the legislature, it relies upon grassroots activism of those who are affiliated with our organization; those who receive a quarterly print newsletter, monthly e-newsletter "Pink Link," and those who are otherwise involved with the work the organization does. The Pennsylvania Breast Cancer Coalition also has active advocates--each year in October the organization hosts a scientific training for individuals who are interested in becoming breast cancer advocates; this training coincides with the Keystone Breast Cancer Conference. Halpin-Murphy noted that after attending the training participants are better informed, more confident, and more likely to contact their public officials and urge their action on breast cancer issues.

"We definitely have had an impact on legislative issues," she stressed. Most recently, the Pennsylvania Breast Cancer Coalition worked with Representative George Kenney on legislation to provide free mammograms for eligible women 40 to 49. It will go into effect after July 1, 2006. "We issued a Call to Action and encouraged everyone we reach to contact their legislators and urge their support of this bill. And it worked; the bill was passed quickly and unanimously!" she remarked.

In 1997 the organization worked with the legislature to pass a bill requiring insurers to cover the cost of reconstructive surgery after mastectomy and in 2002, representatives of the organization worked to remove the six-year time limit on mandatory insurance coverage for reconstructive surgery following mastectomy.

The Breast Cancer Coalition has also worked to extend Medicaid for breast cancer treatment and establish the Income Tax Check Off for Breast and Cervical Cancer Research which allows Pennsylvanians to designate all or part of their state income tax refund for breast cancer research. "We felt that more needed to be done legislatively with regard to research in Pennsylvania. We worked with Representative Katie True to introduce a bill in October of 1995 which was signed into law in May of 1997. So it wasn't an easy process, but we truly believed that if people had the option to donate part of their tax return to fund breast cancer research, they would," Halpin-Murphy said.

To date over 1.7 million has been raised for breast cancer research. She stressed that every penny raised through the income tax check off goes directly to researchers right here in Pennsylvania. The Pennsylvania Department of Health Cancer Advisory Board administers the funds.

Pat Halphin-Murphy
Founder & president of the Pennsylvania Breast Cancer Coalition

What is your advice to women considering a political career?
Volunteer. The best way to get involved in any activity that you are interested in is to volunteer. Whether that is for a political campaign, the Pennsylvania Breast Cancer Coalition, your local legislator - that is a great way to get involved and become knowledgeable about things you feel passionate about.

Judy Eschberger, esq,
Director of lobbying services at Novak Strategic Advisors, Harrisburg

What is your advice to women considering a political career?
I love the challenge of my job and the fact that I wake up every day knowing that I have the ability to change one part of the world for my clients. I advise people to be prepared to work hard and work all the time; to be aware that everything they do has a public aspect-part of being in politics is that your life is public; you have to remain credible (to your clients or your constituents if you're a legislator).

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