When he was a boy, back home in Chicago, Marty Farmer earned extra money for school by delivering beer to some local taverns.
He remembers one of those saloons particularly well; the Rostenkowskis lived next door.
When he went to Washington years later as a young lobbyist for First National Bank of Chicago, the relationship he developed in his beer-hauling days would serve him well. Dan Rostenkowski was an influential member of Congress, who would later become chairman of the House Ways and Means Committee.
Today, though, the 53-year-old Mr. Farmer is a power in his own right. A commuter lobbyist who arrives in Washington Tuesday morning and leaves town Thursday night (the same pattern followed by most members of Congress), Mr. Farmer wields influence now on behalf of Florida-based Barnett Banks Inc.
Part of his power stems from relationships he has spent a lifetime developing.
From the old Illinois group Rep. Rostenkowski, former Democratic Rep. Frank Annunzio, House Republican Leader Robert Michel Mr. Farmer networked out. Today he is on a first-name basis with most of official Washington, from the House leaders to the men and women who staff the regulatory agencies.
"Time and experience mean a lot," he said. "You have to truly enjoy the political process."
But a good deal of his clout stems from his pocketbook.
Barnett Banks has one of the largest political action committees in the banking industry or any other industry, for that matter. In this election cycle, Mr. Farmer expects to raise and distribute $300,000.
"I start at the beginning of the year with a piece of paper," Mr. Farmer says. "Seventy thousand dollars to $100,000 goes to the Senate, with the majority going to the 34 who are up for election. Another chunk goes to the House Banking Committee, then some to Energy and Commerce, Ways and Means, and Rules."
More money goes to members from his home-state delegations, Florida and Georgia; the rest goes to House and Senate leaders and the political parties.
Mr. Farmer keeps his life in focus by taking off a couple of hours when he can and heading to the basketball courts. When he's in town, he's sometimes joined by Hill aides, including Joe Seidel from the House Banking Committee's Republican staff.
Most of his evenings are taken up by fund-raisers, receptions, and the kinds of political activities that dominate a lobbyists life. But as close as he is to the Washington political establishment, Mr. Farmer said lobbyists should remember their relationships with lawmakers are just that: relationships, not friendships. "Remember, they were born with their own friends. Then they're part of a system they have to know the other 434 House members. So lobbyists are pretty far down the list. You develop a familiarity, but not a friendship."
Marty Farmer
Lobbyist Barnett Banks Inc.
601 24th St.
Jacksonville, Fla. 20007
202-293-3144
