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P U B L I S H E R ’ S M ES SAG E
R A N K I N G LO B BY I S T S & F I RM S IS A NECESSARY PUBLI C SERVI CE
he annual James rankings of
Georgia’s top registered lobbyists and governmental affairs
firms has become a staple for those
in the business. Read the resumes of
many well-known lobbyists, government affairs firms, lawyers and politicians. If they have been honored by
James, it is included in their bios, and
that in turn honors us.
How are these rankings compiled?
We start by soliciting online ballots
to get an instructive, although unscientific, road map regarding who our
influential readers nominate. (By the
way, Georgia has over 1,000 registered
lobbyists, so the “Top 100 Lobbyists”
represent the top 10 percent.) This is a
very nuanced industry, so there’s more
to our selections than just relying on
the readers’ poll.
These professionals are important
players in shaping public policy at
the city, county and state level—
and especially under Atlanta’s “Gold
Dome.” They must have access to
important decision makers so they can
offer strategic advice and counsel-something that can only happen after
trust and confidence are built. Since
elected officials are usually the ultimate
decision makers, many of the best
lobbyists often don’t promote their wins
but instead promote their champions.
That’s why we listen to, and question, movers-and-shakers across the
state to assist with our ratings. Some
are bipartisan elected officials, businesspeople and agency heads. Others
are lobbyists themselves, or they are
their clients.
We evaluate their suggestions
before we tally the listings, and
they give advice on individuals and
firms based on important criteria:
T
1) Their integrity, 2) their ability to
provide reliable information and 3)
their local and state legislative access
and success.
That’s where it can get complicated. Some have an impressive roster
of clients, others a few and some just
represent one prominent client or wellknown company or organization fulltime. Furthermore, some specialize in
state executive and legislative matters,
others focus on the state agencies, still
others focus on local government— and
some lobbyists and firms do it all.
Those are the research steps we
take and that’s how the process works.
new Lobbyist “Hall of Fame” inductees
This year brings more names
to our “Hall of Fame.” These worthy
inductees were recommended by
scores of lobbyists, clients and others.
This year’s inductees: John Watson,
Michael Griffin, Jenee’ Burke and
the late Ben Harbin.
Watson started working on political campaigns in 1993, was tapped by
former Gov. Sonny Perdue to be chief
of staff and later served as the state
GOP chairman. He has been tirelessly
working with Impact Public Affairs
since 2012.
Griffin is a pastor and longtime
lobbyist and public affairs representative for the Georgia Baptist Mission
board. A polished public speaker and
writer, he scored a big win this year-after a decade-long effort-— by helping
secure legislative passage of the Religious Freedom and Restoration Act.
Harbin was elected to state House
of Representatives from Columbia
County in 1994, served with distinction
for 20 years and was once the Appropriations Committee chairman. He
resigned in 2015 to be a lobbyist and
at the time of his death in April was a
senior advisor at Baker Hostetler.
Burke, now a partner with Georgia
Matters, was named by James as a
“rising star” in 2014-15. She went on to
become an accomplished lobbyist navigating Georgia's legislative, regulatory
and political landscape.
Notable notes on this issue
If you follow politics, check out
Matt Towery’s thought-provoking
analysis of the upcoming 2026 campaign for Georgia’s U.S. Senate seat.
The University of Georgia’s politics
guru, Dr. Charles Bullock, provides a
further snapshot of 2026 statewide
political races. In addition to articles
ranging from business and education topics to veterans and artificial
intelligence, we feature a Georgia city,
county or region. This time, the spotlight shines on Georgia’s ninth largest
city: Sandy Springs. Your publisher
also toured Atlanta’s Capitol building,
which involved climbing up into the
rafters, to report on an ongoing, extensive renovation project. And we publish a timely spotlight on the history
and legacy of the great Atlanta-based
Norfolk Southern Railway.
Do you receive our daily emails?
Did you know we also publish
an online daily political and business
news service jamesmagazinega.com
which focuses exclusively on Georgia?
If you subscribe to James Magazine
Online (only $17.50 a month or $200 a
year) to receive its daily emails, you get
a free James magazine subscription.
PHIL KENT CEO & PUB L I S H E R
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