March 29, 2024
BANGOR DAILY NEWS (BANGOR, MAINE

Dutremble adviser to become lobbyist

Gregory G. Nadeau, a policy adviser to Senate President Dennis “Duke” Dutremble, will return to the private sector as a lobbyist for the Maine Alliance, a business advocacy organi- zation.

“Greg is well known and highly respected in both the public and private sectors,” said George N. Campbell, president of the Alliance, in a prepared statement. “We’re pleased that someone with Greg’s governmental experience and integrity will carry forward the Alliance’s policy goals of economic development and environmental protection.”

But it is precisely Nadeau’s experience that concerns some observers. For them, the easy movement of people between state government and advocacy groups poses a dilemma.

“I think it is a problem,” said Kenneth P. Hayes, chairman of the political science department at the University of Maine. “It opens up access that others lack. A person close to Dutremble would have considerable access, and Greg is a player with lots of avenues to the political process.”

Nadeau’s move is well within state ethics laws.

“In the Legislature or private sector, I’ve worked to bring business and government together to solve economic development problems,” Nadeau said. “This opportunity presented itself and it was too good to pass up.”

The issue of a “revolving door” surfaced recently in Washington. President Clinton had to defend two top aides against charges of profiteering from government service when they left to become high-powered lobbyists.

Nadeau has worked in both the commercial and residential development industries. Additionally, he served as state representative from Lewiston from 1979 to 1990. For two years before joining Dutremble’s staff, he was president of Public Policy Associates, a lobbying firm.

“Greg played a significant role in developing the Maine Economic Growth Council, a consensus-driven process for state economic planning,” Dutremble said in a statement. “His knowledge of Maine’s political system, combined with extensive private sector experience, is an asset to any organization.”

As vice president of governmental relations for the Alliance, Nadeau will fill the position vacated by Kay Rand who left to become campaign manager for independent gubernatorial candidate Angus King.

Hayes, who also is active in Common Cause, wondered whether there should be laws to preserve the public interest to prevent people from becoming lobbyists upon leaving high-level government jobs.

A state law covers only executive employees — the governor, attorney general, secretary of state, treasurer, the National Guard, employees of the state’s institutions of higher education and appointees to state boards.

For a period of one year, it prevents them from lobbying the agency or board on matters for which they were responsible while employed by the state.

While some states have laws barring legeslative employees from joining the ranks of lobbyists, Maine is not one of them, said Marilyn E. Canavan, administrative assistant to the Commission on Governmental Ethics and Election Practices.

“It’s incumbent upon me to approach my new role positively and avoid direct conflicts,” Nadeau said. “When I joined Duke’s staff, I avoided issues that I had worked on when I was a lobbyist.”


Have feedback? Want to know more? Send us ideas for follow-up stories.

comments for this post are closed

You may also like