United by Interest, the bipartisan, majority-minority-owned public affairs shop whose partners include GOP lobbyist Sam Geduldig and Democratic lobbyists Mike Williams and Jennifer Stewart, is looking to put together an otherwise unlikely coalition of lawmakers to pass legislation aiming to streamline the reentry into society of individuals who’ve completed their sentences for nonviolent drug-related crimes. The Clean Slate Act, introduced by Sens. Bob Casey (D-Pa.) and Joni Ernst (R-Iowa) in the Senate and Reps. Lisa Blunt Rochester (D-Del.) and Guy Reschenthaler (R-Pa.) in the House, would create an automatic sealing process for nonviolent drug-related crimes and a petition process for sealing other qualifying, nonviolent crimes.Sam Geduldig, a partner at CGCN Group, is formalizing a partnership with four Democratic lobbyists by launching a new firm called United by Interest. CGCN, a Republican lobbying shop, had struck up an informal alliance last year with several lobbyists close to the Congressional Black Caucus and the Congressional Hispanic Caucus, including Michael Williams of the Williams Group, David Morgan of D. Morgan & Partners, Jennifer Stewart of Stewart Strategies & Solutions and Joe Velasquez. All of them are joining the new firm, along with Jim Terry of TDS Public Affairs, a Republican. Four of the six partners are people of color; all of them will continue to work at their existing firms as well as United by Interest.
