What is a Lobbyist?

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--Devin Northam, Arcadia High School
--Christy Vaught, Marion Senior High School

One of the biggest questions during MGA is what is a lobbyist? During our interview with a few of them, we got many different responses. Some of the male lobbyists said that they didn’t really do anything, and a lot of freedom came with the position. However, most of them said that the real role of a lobbyist is to persuade the committee members to kill or pass the bills in question. Wells Bridgeforth, who attends Trinity Episcopal School, said, “We do a lot of behind the scenes work.”

Different techniques for persuasion used are keeping arguments until a decision is made. Samantha Ciniello and Logan Wright said, “Patrons try to get on our good side and we kind of run the debates of the bills that we lobby.” Many of the Lobbyists like their position because of the relaxed and laid-back pace that is kept throughout and the intriguing debates they have during committee. So now that you know what a lobbyist does, do you want to become one?

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