Maine: Tardy makes up for lost time

I'm again busy with a story that has me digging in lobbyists' disclosures and -- once again -- I accidentally ran across Josh Tardy, the immediate past House GOP leader here in Maine.

As I reported here last month, Mr. Tardy has found employment in a new lobbying partnership with (former Maine Democratic Party chair and) corporate lobbyist Jim Mitchell, where he's representing Corrections Corporation of America before his former legislative colleagues.

Now Tardy's client list has filled out. He'll also be representing some 20 other corporations including Anthem, G.M, PhRMA, Eli Lilly, MaineHealth, Proctor & Gamble, and J.D. Irving and will be the principal lobbyist for Altria (formerly known as Philip Morris), the Maine Trial Lawyers' Association, Maine's teachers' union, and, Maine Racing LLC, the new name for the entity that wants to build a racino in Biddeford.

I also learned it's no surprise that Tardy jumped straight from representing the people to representing corporations. His father, Robert Tardy, is also a legislator-turned-lobbyist. And guess where dad got the idea? Why from Josh.

Here's a passage from the Center for Public Integrity, a few years back: Former Republican lawmaker Robert Tardy retired from the Maine House of Representatives in the mid-1990s. "My older son was an attorney, and he said I was wasting my experience and said I should be doing some lobbying," said Tardy. Later, that son, Josh Tardy, was elected as a Republican to the House, where he serves as assistant minority leader.

Don't waste that experience!