Drew Wilson
The lobbying firm led by Ron Book continued to put up powerhouse numbers in the third quarter, new compensation reports show.
He and lobbying partners Rana Brown, Kelly Mallette and Gabriela Navarro represented 100-plus clients during the reporting period, amassing more than $2.1 million in legislative lobbying revenues and tacking on an additional $500,000 lobbying the executive branch.
Florida Politics estimates lobbying pay based on the middle number of the per-client ranges firms list on their compensation reports. Contracts are reported in $10,000 increments up to $50,000. Using median estimates, the firm ranked No. 6 on Florida Politics’ Q3 Lobby Firm Rankings.
Three contracts on the firm’s legislative compensation report measured in at $100,000 or more. Title Clerk Consulting Company provided the biggest payday at $143,000 for the quarter, followed by Performance Title Services at $128,000 and Ashbritt at $100,000.
The firm’s contracts with the Miami Project/Buoniconti Fund to Cure Paralysis and K.A.S. & Associates also broke the cap on range reporting, registering at $55,000 and $50,000, respectively.
Local governments were a substantial source of income for the team, with well over a dozen counties or municipalities retaining the firm last quarter. The set included Miami-Dade County at $35,000 and the cities of Marathon and Miami Beach at $25,000.
Also on the list: Aventura, Cooper City, Coral Gables, Dania Beach, Fort Lauderdale, Marco Island, Margate, Miami, Miramar, North Bay Village, North Miami, North Miami Beach, Pinellas Park, Sunny Isles Beach, Sunrise and Tamarac. Each paid the firm $15,000 for legislative lobbying work in Q3.
On the executive side, Ashbritt was far and away the largest contract at $100,000. It was followed by Reveam at $25,000 and 7-11, Bright Health Group and Broward County at $15,000 apiece. The rest of the clients listed on the executive branch compensation report fell into the up-to-$10,000 bracket.
Overall, Book’s team reported earning no less than $1 million in legislative lobbying pay and between $250,000 and $500,000 in executive branch pay. At the top end, the firm may have earned as much as $3.07 million.
Florida lobbyists and lobbying firms faced a Nov. 14 deadline to file compensation reports for the period covering July 1 through Sept. 30. Compensation reports for the fourth quarter are due to the state on Feb. 14.
